The Madras High Court on Friday order that cinema halls and theatres in Tamil Nadu shall function with 50% occupancy only till January 11. According to reports, the court passed the order on a petition that was filed against the government order passed by the state government.
The latest government ordering allowing theatres to operate with full occupancy received a lot of flak from the general public. The outbreak of novel coronavirus is still far from over. Hence, many feared that allowing 100% occupancy in theatres could increase the chances of a second wave of Covid-19.
As per the MHA guidelines issued in October, cinema halls and theatres outside containment zones were allowed to reopen but with 50% occupancy. A SOP document was also issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for the theatres and multiplexes to follow once they open their doors for the public. Following this, the government of Tamil Nadu had reopened theatres from November.Â
However, actor Vijay, whose film Master is lined for release on January 13, met Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and reportedly requested him to allow 100% occupancy in theatres. Following this, actor Silambarasan also had requested the Chief Minister to allow full occupancy in movie theatres given his film Easwaran is also lined up for release for Pongal. The government’s order permitting full occupancy in theatres came shortly after these meetings.