With a surge in COVID-19 cases in Tamil Nadu and elsewhere, the Tamil film industry has been left with no choice but to hit the pause button for now.
Insiders said the industry would be able to get back on track only if cinema halls open throughout India. Producers and theatre owners said it was up to the Central government to decide when theatres would be reopened.
A senior executive from a popular theatre chain said there was already a perception that it would be a long-haul before theatres reopen. “We can see that cinema halls are going to be one of the last businesses to open. It won’t be high-priority right now,” said the executive, requesting anonymity.
Producers said decisions on making substantial investments in movies had been put on hold for now. Speaking to The Hindu, producer G. Dhananjayan said there was a “pause” in operations. “There is a lot of fear among people. Artistes and technicians are scared of contracting the infection. Pre-production activities are going on but that doesn’t mean anything. Everybody is in pause. Everyone is waiting for the pandemic to end,” he said.
Even financiers had stopped pressurising producers to pay interest on loans. “The issue has not been resolved. They told us these could be discussed once normalcy returns.”
‘Not just T.N.’
Well-known film distributor and exhibitor Tiruppur Subramaniam said the exhibition industry would only benefit if cinema halls opened throughout India.
“The Central government has to take a call. It won’t work if Tamil Nadu alone opens cinema halls. They must open all over India for movies to release on a scale like before,” he said.
He added that the issue of movies releasing directly on OTT platforms had been resolved for now.
“We have decided not to speak of anything and wait until the theatres reopen,” he said.