During the inauguration of the two-day FICCI Frames event in Mumbai recently, Union Secretary for Information and Broadcasting Apurva Chandra said that the success of National Cinema Day, when several cinemas lowered ticket prices to Rs. 75, proved that people still crave entertainment.

“We just saw on September 23, that when ticket prices were brought down to Rs. 75, all shows were full – including the morning screenings. This shows that people are willing to go to theatres as long as the price points are right and people can afford it. This is an indication to the film industry that people are still craving movies in theatres, and we have to work along with the public to know how we can bring people back to theatres,” he said.

Chandra added that the ministry is also working with states to formulate a Model Theatre Policy to open more cinemas across the country.

He said, “Over the past five to six years, the number of theatres in India has been on a decline. We need to reverse this trend. From 12,000 a few years back, now the number is down to 8,000. Meanwhile, China has increased its theatres to 60,000 and that’s the reason why Indian films are doing better in China than in India. It is a trend we need to reverse. We will assign the Film Facilitation Office to work with Invest India to come up with a single-window portal for opening theatres. Setting up more theatres is like setting up an industry.”

He added that this will also ensure the public gets more avenues to watch the magic of films in theatres.