#UnlockCinemaSaveJobs: Dharma Productions, Anurag Kashyap, RSVP Movies And Others Appeal To Government For Restarting Cinemas
The industry's statement to government urged that airlines, railways, retails, restaurants, gyms, have been restarted as part of the unlock. "Cinemas are equipped with better facilities for crowd management in stringent hygienic environments while maintaining applicable social distancing norms," the statement further read.
The cinemas in India, single screen and multiplex, have been shut since mid-March due to coronavirus outbreak in the country. While malls, local transport, gyms, and many offices have resumed operations, cinemas continue to remain shut. Despite several please from theatre owners and the film industry, there seems to be no ray of hope for the cinemas. Now, a producer's guild and film industry folks have launched a campaign hashtagged #UnlockCinemaSaveJobs to urge the government to reopen the businesses across the country. Hyderabad's Prasad IMAX Theatre Employee Dies By Suicide, As Cinema Halls Continue to Remain Closed To COVID-19.
As per a report by The Quint, at least, 100 single-screen theatres in India will have to permanently shut following the revenue loss amid COVID-19 pandemic. A statement from Producers Guild along with Multiplex Association reads, "At the rate of a monthly loss of Rs 1500 crore, the cinema exhibition industry would have lost up to Rs 9000 crores in the six months of the lockdown."
The statement urged that airlines, railways, retails, restaurants, gyms, have been restarted as part of the unlock. "Cinemas are equipped with better facilities for crowd management in stringent hygienic environments while maintaining applicable social distancing norms," the statement further read. Tamil Film Producers Put Forth Conditions to Theatre Owners on Releasing New Movies When Multiplexes Re-Open.
The campaign garnered support from a host of Bollywood celebs. Nimrat Kaur, Anurag Kashyap, Himansh Kohli, Onir have tweeted. Studios like Dharma Productions, RSVP have also extended support.
Nimrat Kaur
Dharma Productions
RSVP Movies
Raj Kumar Gupta
Anurag Kashyap
Himansh Kohli
Anubhav Sinha
Onir
In the recent past, studios were forced to release movies online skipping theatrical route. Dharma's Janhvi Kapoor starrer Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl was one of such movies. Vidya Balan's Shakuntala Devi, Alia Bhatt's Sadak 2, Sushant Singh Rajput's Dil Bechara were some other titles that streamed on OTT platforms directly.
Across several countries, including the worst-hit US, many theatres have resume operations. Christopher Nolan's film Tenet has reignited the box office already earning over $200 million globally.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 15, 2020 05:19 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).