On-ground: Showtime only by Diwali and that's a very good thing

We may be a week away from Diwali, but the state government's recent decision spread festive cheer among theatre owners across Maharashtra — on Wednesday, the Uddhav Thackeray-led government greenlit the reopening of cinemas at 50 per cent capacity after an eight-month shutdown. 

Theatres gear up for the reopening next week

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh says that most theatre owners were caught unaware by the sudden announcement, and are likely to throw open the doors only by next week. "We can't have safety measures and programming in place overnight. At such a short notice, no new film is ready. Most cinemas will start before Diwali," he states.

Trade buzz suggests that Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari and Indoo Ki Jawani may enjoy a big-screen release

Exhibitors were apprised of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) — which include staggered seating, thermal checks and mandatory use of masks, among others — on Thursday morning. PV Sunil, managing director, Carnival Cinemas, notes that the Maharashtra government has introduced a rule that is not followed in other states.

Theatres gear up for the reopen

"While allowing only packaged food is part of the Centre's SOPs, the state government has also stated that nobody can carry food inside the hall. So, during the intermission, patrons will have to wrap up their meal [at the cafeteria] before going back to the auditorium. We need to see how we can implement this," he says, before adding, "We will need three to four days to sanitise all the theatres and get the staff on board. We are hoping to restart operations by Wednesday or Thursday."

Now, the bigger hurdle facing the theatre owners will be lining up movies as most new releases — including Akshay Kumar's Laxmii, Anurag Basu's Ludo and Rajkummar Rao's Chhalaang — have queued up for digital premieres in the coming week. Amit Sharma, managing director, Miraj Entertainment, hopes to bounce back into business next Friday with Manoj Bajpayee and Diljit Dosanjh's new release. "We are keeping our fingers crossed for Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari. If there's a fresh release, the audience will be kicked about coming to theatres. But if we don't hear anything from the makers, we will have re-runs." Echoing his sentiment, Manoj Desai, executive director, G7 multiplex, says, "I will open my theatres on November 13. Hopefully, we will have a new release in Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari. There is no point in re-releasing past hits."

SEE YOU ONLINE: Festival releases Laxmii, Chhalaang and Ludo will have digital premieres next week

Rajiv Patni, COO, INOX Leisure, adds, "We are completely geared up for the new normal, assigning topmost priority to safety and hygiene. We will start opening our cinemas as per operational readiness."

Exhibitors are eyeing a big-screen release of Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari

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