The Maharashtra government on Tuesday issued Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to reopen auditorium and cinema halls from October 22. The coronavirus pandemic had an overwhelming effect on the film industry as many movie shoots and theatres across India were halted twice. In 2020, film production activities and theatres business came to a standstill from mid-March when the pandemic first struck India, only to be restarted for a few months from October and November in various parts of the country.
Under the guidelines, issued by the state government, cinema halls, theatres and multiplexes will be allowed to open with 50 per cent seating capacity. Also, visitors will be asked to show their ‘safe status’ on the Aarogya Setu App. Furthermore, regular covid-appropriate behaviour including masking, physical distancing, covering of face while coughing/sneezing, regular hand sanitisation etc need to be followed.
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The decision to allow cinema halls to operate came after filmmaker Rohit Shetty and Dr. Jayantilal Gada, Chairman and MD of Pen Studios met Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray last month to discuss the reopening of the theatres across the state. The meeting, led by Gada and Shetty along with key theatre representatives and exhibitors, was held in Mumbai. Soon after the meeting, Rohit Shetty announced the fresh release date of his much-awaited directorial Sooryavanshi. The film, co-starring Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif, is scheduled to release on Diwali, November 5.
In September, the Multiplex Association of India (MAI), along with leading multiplex chains PVR and INOX had also urged the Maharashtra government to reopen theatres in the state on an “urgent basis”, claiming that the film exhibition sector that provides employment to lakhs of people had lost an estimated Rs 9,000 crore in the last six months.
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