Theatre owners say the earlier rules were that at least 120 shows had to be screened. “It means a minimum four shows daily for a Marathi film. They have now made it more stringent. In our theatres, Marathi films play at prime time slots (between 12 pm to 9 pm). If the government wants to penalize someone who isn’t following it, that is fine,” says Rajender Singh Jyala, chief programming officer, PVR INOX Limited.

However, not everyone is happy about these new rules. Joginder Tuteja, trade analyst, says this decision “doesn’t make any sense”. “It’s like a quota system that exists in jobs, etc. You can reinforce this in the government sector, but when you do it in privately owned businesses, then what you are doing is restricting them from doing their business which I am not in favour of.”

Exhibitors, too, aren’t happy with this decision by the Maharashtra government. Akshaye Rathi feels it should only be about the films which the audience is keen to watch. “If people want to watch a film, why will theatres not showcase it and earn money? Sometimes Marathi films get lopsided heavy showcasing, and vice versa. I truly think if we want businesses to prosper, rather than penalizing theatres, the idea should be to incentivize a local industry. There are subsidies for the Marathi film industry anyway. The cinemas would feel the pinch especially in times where we are emerging from pandemic times,” he shares.