Mumbai: Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday held a virtual meeting with single screen and multiplex theatre owners to discuss reopening of theatres in the state. Thackeray said the cultural department has prepared a standard operating procedure (SOP), and a decision on unlocking theatres, which have been shut for nearly seven months, will be taken once that is finalised.

The meeting comes a day after the state government issued a notification allowing many sectors to open up, including Metro rail services and government and public libraries. The Centre has allowed theatres to re-open from October 15, but the Maharashtra government is yet to take a decision on the issue. Thackeray said reopening of theatres posed a concern and the state wanted to tread cautiously especially with a surge in Covid-19 cases in many countries forcing another lockdown. “In a cinema hall, people are in a closed air-conditioned space for nearly two hours. Hence, we want to ensure complete cleanliness and sanitization as well as physical distancing. There is a need to ensure only 50% seats are occupied,” he said.

He added the entertainment industry which is headquartered in Mumbai is a major contributor to the state’s economy, hence, the government was keen to restart it.

Voicing the industry’s concerns, secretary of the Multiplex Association of India, Prakash Chaphalkar said, “Several states in India may have permitted cinema halls to function, but no big movies will release till cinema halls reopen in Mumbai. They cannot risk losing revenue through pirated prints. Even after reopening theatres here, our losses will initially increase because we will incur full costs on electricity, salaries and overheads while operating at half capacity.”

Cultural affairs minister Amit Deshmukh said they were aware the festival season was an important one for the industry.

“Single screen owners are particularly anxious because spectators will need to feel confident before they step into cinema halls, even at 50% capacity. We want the state to allow us to reopen soon with proper safeguards so that we can at least start drawing viewers back,” said Chaphalkar.

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Mumbai: CM Uddhav Thackeray said attempts to malign and “finish off ” the Hindi film industry or “to shift it” will not be tolerated. Thackeray’s statement, the first he has made on the issue, comes in the backdrop of the probe by multiple agencies into actor Sushant Singh’s death which was seen as a deliberate campaign to target Bollywood. TNN

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Multiplexes and single-screen cinema halls are expected to reopen after the finalising of a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray told stakeholders on Thursday that he will consider giving a go-ahead once the cultural affairs department’s SOP is confirmed. If Cultural Affairs Minister Amit Deshmukh is to be believed, movie buffs should be able to visit cinemas before Dussehra and Diwali.

Deshmukh said the festival time was important for the entertainment industry which releases new movies in this period.

Thackeray, Deshmukh and senior bureaucrats held a meeting over video conference with industry representatives on Thursday. The Ministry of Home Affairs’ (MHA) guidelines of September 30 allowed cinemas, theatres and multiplexes to reopen at 50 per cent capacity October 15 onwards. Cinema halls in Delhi and parts of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat opened with stringent dos and don’ts from Thursday, while several other states haven’t permitted it.

So far, Maharashtra, the state with the highest number of Coronavirus cases, allowed restaurants and bars to reopen early this month and on Wednesday, permitted Metro rail, weekly bazaars and libraries to resume. Places of worship, gyms and local trains (for all commuters) haven’t been allowed to reopen yet.

Thackeray reminded industry representatives of a re-imposition of lockdown in European countries, Australia and Sweden. “Winter is coming and it may increase the influence of the virus. Since the audience will sit for at least two hours in air-conditioned cinema halls, a preventive protocol must be followed in letter and spirit,” Thackeray told the industry representatives.

Thackeray said that Bollywood was making films at par with Hollywood and has a global fan base. “The industry has created so many jobs and it has made many people popular. But it is painful for me to see that a section of people is defaming the industry. I will not tolerate efforts to weaken Bollywood and shift the industry elsewhere,” he said.

- Priority for digital ticket booking. But box office counters will be open for regular and advance booking

- Staggered show timings

- No food inside the hall; food courts to avoid crowding at the counters

- Social distancing, masks, hand sanitisers

- Thermal screening of audience

- Seating arrangement with alternate seats empty

- AC temperature in auditorium or cinema hall can only be between 24°C and 30°C

- Moviegoers with higher temperature to not be allowed entry, to get ticket refunded