India cinemas reopen, hoping to lure back movie-mad fans

A worker sanities inside a theater hall ahead of the scheduled reopening of cinema theaters on Oct. 15 as the COVID-19 coronavirus imposed lockdown eases further in Mumbai on Oct. 13, 2020. Image: AFP/Indranil Mukherjee

The pandemic has clobbered theaters worldwide but in India, home to the planet’s most prolific movie industry, it has upended a culture that treats the stars of the silver screen almost like gods.

After the recent loss of several luminaries to coronavirus, cancer and even suicide — as well as a Bollywood drugs scandal — the industry is desperate for some good news.

But it may have to wait, with some states still keeping theaters closed — including Maharashtra and its movie-mad capital Mumbai — and film studios offering no new releases.

At the Sharada Cinema in Bangalore on Thursday, there was only a small trickle of customers for the morning showing of action fantasy “Kaanadante Maayavadanu.”

One of those in line was businessman Chandrashekhar Naidu, who said he was “excited” to return to the cinema after the almost seven-month-long coronavirus-imposed hiatus.

“I prefer watching movies on big screens, mobiles don’t give you that much pleasure,” the 55-year-old told AFP.

The Indian Express daily quoted unnamed industry executives as saying that advance bookings were very low, and some cinemas scrapped previously scheduled morning screenings.

India’s largest operator PVR — which lost $30 million in the last quarter — on Thursday was only screening movies for employees, police and their families, before opening to the public on Friday at selected locations.

“Right now, what we are working on is getting the confidence of people back by letting them know that the cinemas are safe and secure,” said Lalit Ojha, a regional director for INOX, the country’s second-largest multiplex operator.

“We are hoping to have a blockbuster release at Diwali,” Ojha said, referring to next month’s Hindu festival that usually spells a bonanza for theaters and retail businesses.

A trip to the cinema remains an affordable pursuit in India, with as little as 75 rupees ($1) buying three hours of drama, dancing and song in air-conditioned luxury.

At high-end chains like INOX, before the pandemic patrons could get biryani or hot fudge sundaes delivered to their recliners.

But with temperature checks at the door, half the seats left empty for social distancing, and only a limited selection of food, the experience now is a far cry from what was previously on offer.

‘Vicious circle’

Nervous producers have so far refrained from lining up any big-ticket releases, with many pushing their films directly to streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime.

“It’s a vicious circle — people won’t come to cinemas unless there is fresh content. And producers won’t release a movie without some guarantee that it will do good business,” film trade analyst Komal Nahta told AFP.

“Ultimately, someone will have to take a chance and release an exciting film,” he said.

A handful of producers are reportedly ready to take the risk, with at least one Hindi film, “Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari”, due for release on Nov. 13 — Diwali weekend.

Top Bollywood producer Aditya Chopra is also preparing to release “Bunty Aur Babli 2,” a sequel to a 2005 hit, at the same time, according to media reports.

But with India’s virus cases surging past seven million, the threat of infection remains strong, prompting authorities in Mumbai, the home of Bollywood, to put off reopening cinemas for the time being.

“Mumbai is the heart of the film industry — if theaters are closed there, half the battle is already lost,” said analyst Nahta.

In such uncertain times, if the remaining cinemas are able to sell even half the tickets available — 25% of normal capacity — they can celebrate, he said.

“If they manage to fill 60% of the seats on offer, it will be superb news for the industry.” IB

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