The show is on

KOCHI: After the Covid pandemic forced the shutdown of cinemas in the state for more than 10 months, Mollywood is slowly returning to normal with theatres resuming screening and new releases queueing up. And industry bigwigs believe that normalcy will return to the sector by Vishu in April 

The initial dose of the much-needed vaccine for cinemas in Kerala to overcome the Covid-19 impact was administered by Master featuring Tamil megastar Vijay. The film, which was released on January 13, was well received in Kerala. The theatres are allowed to issue tickets only for a maximum 50 per cent of their actual seating capacity. However, Master succeeded in wooing huge crowds back to theatres in the first three days, thanks to the box office draw of Vijay.

Nine days on since Master hit the screens,  Vellam helmed by Prajesh Sen and starring Jayasuriya — the first Malayalam film, post the Covid-induced shutdown — got a decent opening on Friday. Theatre owners said the initial response to Vellam was quite encouraging. Even at fifty per cent capacity, Master helped the distributors, who had bagged the movie’s Kerala rights, to reach break-even. 

“The good initial collection garnered by Master is a positive cue. However, we cannot judge the situation based on a Tamil movie’s collection alone. The feedback about Vellam is pretty positive. Let’s see how it fares at the box-office,” said M C Bobby,  general secretary of Film Exhibitors’ United Organisation of Kerala.

He said during the pre-Covid era, most of the collection of a movie in theatres in Kerala came through second shows. “The families usually prefer second shows. That is how it has worked. After a day’s grind, they unwind by going for a movie and the second show or late-night show was the preferred choice. Now, after the cinemas reopened,  second show is not allowed. Only three shows are possible now. So theatre owners are still hard-up financially,” he added.

In Kerala, there are nearly 700 releasing theatres spread across 130 releasing stations (a station is the city/town/panchayat where the theatre is situated). Apart from a few undergoing maintenance, most of the cinemas are functioning. In the coming weeks, more movies are expected to hit the screens. We hope there will be a marked improvement in the situation  by March-April,” he said.

Hopes on vaccination

Along with the rest of the country, Covid-19 vaccination drive has started in Kerala and it will have a positive impact on the film industry,  say producers. “If 30 per cent of the population is vaccinated, we will able to stem local transmissions to a certain extend. This will give more confidence to moviegoers. I believe that by the time Vishu season dawns in April or the latest by June, things will improve and cinema will be able to rebound from the crisis caused by the pandemic,” said G Sureshkumar, president of Kerala Film Producers’ Association (KFPA). According to Sureshkumar, the fact that some families have mustered the courage to visit cinemas is highly encouraging.

“This is an extremely positive development. The initial response indicates that movies will draw crowds if the content is good. With several big movies featuring top actors slated for release in the coming weeks, we can hope for an increase in footfall,” he added.