Aa rahi hai public! For the first time since Covid-19 struck, cinema halls sold out

Nagpur: It seems that cinema halls will indeed end up with a ‘happy’ Diwali weekend as Friday set the cash registers ringing again, thanks to the release of multi-starrer movie — Sooryavanshi. For the first time since Covid-19 struck, cinema halls witnessed the ‘housefull’ phenomenon with at least six local theatres fully sold out.
Manohar Wadhwani, a national level movie distributor said, “This is fantastic news for everyone because across the country cinema halls are witnessing footfalls. In Nagpur alone we had multiple housefull shows on Friday, which is a great sign for the sector.”
In an earlier report of TOI, Wadhwani had mentioned that November 5 weekend will be a ‘blockbuster’ because of new releases. Wadhwani said, “People come for content. When we reopened earlier, there was no new content to show the masses hence the response was poor.”
Cinema halls had been closed for months and got permission to reopen after relentless lobbying by associations. The reopening came with such strict protocols that many feared it may kill the buzz of movie watching experience.
A cinema hall owner said, “No food or drinks allowed inside halls, is almost like taking away 50% of the fun. Second rule is of alternate seating, something which no other business follows. Do you have this in trains, bus, flights, restaurants etc? Still it is the public which has finally spoken out. They want to be back in cinema halls and were only waiting for a super hit movie.”
Movie theatres across Nagpur witnessed heavy bookings for their afternoon slots, which may now emerge as the preferred time slot.
Another theatre owner told TOI that government must now step in and ease the curbs. “New movie releases are lined up and till Christmas our schedule is packed. But we are operating with only 50% capacity, which in the most simple terms means that our potential revenue will continue to be half. The state government must understand that livelihoods of so many people are connected with this business,” said the owner.