KOCHI: Though the Nipah virus was confirmed by the Health Minister on Tuesday, film distributors hope that the industry will not get affected by the disease. The Eid releases, slated for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, are expected to go ahead as per the initial plan.
Ernakulam, where the disease was identified, is one of the major markets of Malayalam cinema. The lion’s share of the revenue for a film in central Kerala comes from Ernakulam region where more than 25 cinema halls are located. “With the government successfully containing the disease last year, people are not that much scared of Nipah.
We think the industry will not be affected much,” said marketing strategist and executive producer Gokul Nath G. Shafi’s movie ‘Children’s Park’, Vinayakan-starrer ‘Thottappan’, Aneesh Anwar’s ‘Grandfather’, Vinay Fort’s ‘Thamasha’ and Aashiq Abu’s ‘Virus’ are the movies slated for June first week release. The bookings of the movies have already begun on online booking sites.
Call to postpone release of ‘Virus’
A section of social media users has urged director Aashiq Abu to consider postponing release of the movie ‘Virus’, which has the Nipah outbreak in Kozhikode as its central theme. According to them, the detailing of Nipah at this point of time will create panic among viewers. However, the makers of the movie are yet to give any hint on change in the release date. The movie is slated for a Friday release.