Delhi film frat on extension of cinema closure: Disappointing but understandable

With Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) issuing an order that cinema exhibition in the Capital will not resume on October 15, despite a Union home ministry directive, things are back to square one for the city’s film trade.

For now, closure of all cinema exhibition has been extended till October 31 in Delhi. There is no surety that the state government might agree to the opening of cinema halls even after that.

“After the overwhelming response to ‘Khaali Peeli’ at the drive-in screening in Gurugram, our spirits were high on welcoming audiences back to theatres. However, the decision by DDMA has been a bit disappointing after the good news from the home ministry,” Shreyans Hirawat, Director at the film production company, NH Studioz, told IANS.

“However, we respect the decision and can only pray and anticipate to revisit the same at the earliest possible. We also want safety of audiences before anything else. As most film studios are speculative on the footfalls in theatres to start planning the releases, Delhi and Maharashtra play the most critical role contributing to 50 percent of the BOC (box office collection) nationwide,” Hirawat added.

Raj Kumar Mehrotra, general manager at the Capital’s Delite Cinema, shared that the total loss of the industry so far, would be “somewhere around Rs 3000 to 4000 crore due to missing the festive season releases, partial opening of territory cinema halls, and big budget producers refraining from releasing their films”.'

Read More: https://www.bhaskarlive.in/delhi-film-frat-on-extension-of-cinema-closure-disappointing-but-understandable/