HYDERABAD: Some cinema theatres in Hyderabad are downing their shutters permanently as every day is a fight for survival during the pandemic. Single screens have been without business for over 18 months now, just trying to stay afloat seems impossible.
Single screen theatres such as Amba Theatre at Mehdipatnam, Sudharshan at Chikadpally, Galaxy Cinema at Tolichowki, Sree Mayuri at RTC X Roads, Sree Rama at Bahadurpura, Sree Sai Raja Deluxe at Musheerabad, Sampoorna Theater Vanasthalipuram, Shanti Theatre at Narayanguda, Raj Laxmi Theater at Uppal, and Swapna and Santosh Theatre at Abids are shutting down for good.
M Vijayender, secretary of the Telangana Theatre Owners Association, says, “Theatres have suffered a massive loss in the last 18 months. Besides, further losses in future are inevitable. We are trying to re-establish the same atmosphere as before, but it is really going to be a challenge.”
When the government lifted the lockdown last year, theatres could not do well with 50 per cent occupancy. “When it allowed theatres to open with 100 per cent occupancy, the second wave hit Hyderabad which led the city into a second lockdown. This was unbearable,” he says. The association, after the closure of nearly 25 single screens in the State due to Covid, has requested the State government to reduce entertainment tax, electricity bills and also sought permission to charge a parking fee.
“It is the only way in which we think we can manage to survive,” Vijayender says. “Single screens were already running in losses as multiplexes mushroomed all over the city. Covid has just aggravated our financial trouble, now we have decided to close permanently,” says Balgovind Raju, the owner of Sudharshan at Chikkadpally.
A popular movie hall, Sudharshan Theatre gew over the years to be a city landmark. Galaxy, on the other hand, was the best in Hyderabad when it has opened. It continued to be one of the best single-screen theatres until recently. “But its owners could not bear the losses and had to shut it down. I’ve seen the theatre in its full glory and now I am seeing it get demolished,” says Mohammed Abid, a caretaker at the theatre in Tolichowi. Galaxy is being demolished to make space for a commercial estate.