KOCHI: Film producers and distributors in the state heaved a sigh of relief on Tuesday, as fans of Tamil superstar Vijay -- seemingly at the end of their rope -- bought out en masse tickets for the opening day of the actor’s much-awaited ‘Master’, which is supposed to mark the reopening of cinemas across Kerala on Wednesday. Though there will only be three shows per day at 50 per cent capacity in each theatre as per the Covid precautionary protocol, tickets for almost all of Wednesday’s shows were sold out by noon on Tuesday.
“My theatre has already sold tickets for at least the first three days of screening,” said A K Sunil, proprietor of Ragam Theatre in Thrissur. Sunil, like many other theatre owners, was apprehensive if people will be ready to visit cinemas after a gap of nearly 10 months. “However, the initial response has been highly positive. This has come as a huge relief to us,” he added.
However, more sops and relaxations are required for theatre owners to recover from the impact of Covid-19, said Sunil. “For instance, though my theatre is a 700-seater, we can only sell 350 tickets as per protocol. The average ticket rate is Rs 100, and we will get about Rs 35,000 for a full house. Besides, we can screen only three shows per day.
Even if we get a total of up to Rs 1,05,000 in a day, as much as 60 per cent of it will go to distributors. Another 15 per cent is for tax. Amid all this, theatre owners get only the remaining 25 per cent. From this, we also have to manage the wages of the staff, operation cost, electricity charges, etc,” he said.According to Sunil, permission for a second show screening will make a huge difference. “Actually, until the theatres are allowed to operate in full capacity, it will be really difficult for us to survive,” he added.
Safety measures in place
As per the health department’s instructions, cinemas will only admit a person after thermal scanning. Sanitisers will be placed at the entrance and seating will be rearranged so people can sit in alternate seats to ensure social distancing.
“All screenings will strictly adhere to Covid protocol. We hope the entertainment industry will bounce back soon,” said Liberty Basheer, owner of Liberty Theatre complex, Thalassery.The morning show of Master will begin at 9am in more than 350 screens across Kerala. As the movie is supposed to be a breather to the industry, film bodies have not imposed any restriction on the number of releasing centres. Among Malayalam movies, Jayasurya-starrer Vellam, directed by Prajesh sen, will hit the screens on January 22.