A few days ago, the Maharashtra government sent out a circular stating the standard operating procedures for cinema halls in the state. According to the guidelines, theatres can only go up to 50 per cent occupancy. Food and beverages will also have to be consumed outside the theatre, and staff and audience above the age of 18 will have to be double vaccinated. Single queue systems and use of online reservations and payments are being encouraged. Show timings will be staggered to avoid crowding at the theatre premises, too. Despite several limitations, theatre owners are quite excitedly looking forward to welcoming patrons back inside cinema halls.

Kamal Gianchandani, CEO of PVR Pictures and also the head of the Multiplex Association of India, says, “Cinemas have been prepared for a very long time to open their doors to patrons in Maharashtra. In fact, we have been operational in more or less every part of the country since July this year. Thanks to the vaccinations, the public sentiment of fear and uncertainty is wearing out really fast.”

While talking about the demand for outdoor entertainment, he adds, “There’s increased positivity in the business. If you look at the recent businesses by films like Honsla Rakh (Punjabi) and Doctor (Tamil), you’ll realise that the business is looking up and it is likely to exceed expectations. We’re actually bracing for a busy and rocking winter this year.”

Akshaye Rathi, director, Saroj Screens Pvt Ltd, believes that the business is experiencing a mix of excitement, caution and nervousness. While content makers have announced dates for some big ticket ventures to release, others are still opting for a wait-and-watch policy. “After a long spell, and with all that the central and state governments and healthcare workers have done, it looks like the business might soon go back to the old normal. After Sooryavanshi releases on Diwali, there’s a queue of films like Eternals, Bunty Aur Babli 2, Pushpa, RRR, Gangubai Kathiawadi, Laal Singh Chaddha, '83, Jersey and so on. The audience will be spoilt for choice when they start catching up with movies at theatres. The SOPs issued by the state government are similar to the rest of the country, but we do believe that they will be liberalised with time.”

One of the prominent bones of contention between the audience and theatres has been the price of tickets — historically, with a few exceptions, the prices sky-rocket during the festive season. To this, Akshaye adds, “In comparison to global standards, ticket prices in India are still pretty low, although the services and the experience, especially in multiplexes, is at par with international players. The average cost of a film ticket won’t exceed Rs. 200, irrespective of whether a film plays in the festive window or not. It’s about the show timings, the day of the week, the experience that’s thrown in and so on.”

A year ago, when cinema halls had reopened for the first time since the pandemic, even the festive season had failed to bring in the kind of footfall the business was eager for. This time, however, theatre owners believe that the audience is more than willing to come back. “The difference is that the vaccination drives have made it a safer bet for the audience to step out and watch movies. They want to make up for the lost time,” says Devang Sampat of Cinepolis, adding, “With films like Venom: Let There Be Carnage and No Time To Die, and a bunch of Marathi films, theatres are roaring to go in Maharashtra. There are only positive signs for the business right now.”

However, Nitin Datar, president, Cinema Owners and Exhibitors Association of India (Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Gujarat), issues a word of caution. He says, “By Diwali, hopefully all the operational theatres, single screen included, will be up and running. But right now, I believe that about 30 per cent cinemas, which are single screens, may not be able to pull up their shutters. They’re burdened with costs for electricity, licenses, NOCs, rentals and so on. They’ve not made a penny but they have to pay a lot just to reboot their business. Even multiplexes may not open all their screens together unless they see some kind of footfall. The fact that even a family will have to be seated using distancing measures inside the hall can prove detrimental to the ticket sales, and this needs to be addressed sooner than later. The guidelines are a bit too harsh for the business to settle in. We have to stagger screen timings to avoid crowding because there will be surprise vigilance visits from government officials. No theatre wants trouble there. Many single screen theatres don’t have online booking systems for anything. Despite all of this, we’re a business that’s been waiting to open up and here we are. Hindi or English, we know one thing that a continuous flow of good content — not necessarily star-led — will be required to keep the shutters rolled up for good.”

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- 50 per cent seating allowed

- No operations in containment zones

- F&B not allowed inside the hall

- No entry without masks

- Fully vaccinated staff

- AC temp at 24-30 degrees

- Aarogya Setu app mandatory