Even though the State government has allowed cinemas to reopen with 50% capacity from Tuesday onwards, a majority of them will remain closed, as exhibitors are waiting for a response from the government regarding the demands they put forward.
Cleansing the theatres, carrying out maintenance work and making them ready to welcome viewers on a short notice is also a tall order for many of them.
Tax waiver
One of the major issues raised by the exhibitors is with regard to the reduction of the Goods and Services Tax on the tickets as well as exemption from entertainment tax for a fixed period. They have also demanded that the monthly fixed electricity charge of more than ₹50,000 be waived, as the cinemas had remained closed for the past nine months.
“Since we were unsure of when we would be allowed to open the theatres, we had not renewed our annual licences. A lot of maintenance work also has to be carried out. Also, we have to arrive at an understanding with the distributors on the films to be screened. Everything depends on the stand that the government would take regarding our demands” says M.C. Bobby, general secretary of the Film Exhibitors' United Organisation of Kerala (FEUoK).
The government had allowed reopening of the theatres with 50% occupancy, but the exhibitors have been demanding that at least 80% occupancy be allowed, with which physical distancing between two viewers might not be possible.
New release
The Tamil Nadu Government on Monday allowed theatres to open with 100% occupancy, ahead of the Pongal release of the Vijay-starrer Master.
In Kerala too, exhibitors as well as distributors are hoping to iron out the issues before the next weekend, in time for the Vijay film’s release.
On Tuesday, the exhibitors are meeting to discuss these issues, while on Wednesday, the representatives of the exhibitors as well as the Kerala Film Distributors’ Association and the Kerala Film Producers’ Association will participate in a meeting convened by the Kerala Film chamber, in which a decision on the way forward will be taken.
The distributors are also not keen to provide films until the theatre owners pay the pending amount of around ₹23 crores.
“Immediate opening of cinemas is impractical. A lot of work, including updating the sound system, maintenance work and cleaning, has to be completed. The cleaning and maintenance expense itself would come to more than ₹1 lakh. We have a fixed charge of ₹50,000 per month, although our usage charge is only around ₹5,000, for the weekly trial run of the projectors. The government has to waive these fixed charges as well as the building and other taxes which we have been paying all these months, when the theatres remained closed. Else, it is hard for many to survive in this sector,” says Gireesh, who runs the Sree Padmanabha theatre in Thiruvananthapuram.
