KOCHI: The office-bearers of Kerala Film Chamber (KFC), the apex body of film organisations in Kerala, have decided not to open the theatres on January 13. They said the state government is yet to respond to the demands put forth by them for an integrated Covid-19 relief package for film industry without which Mollywood cannot overcome the impact of the pandemic.
“We will think of opening cinema halls only if the government approves our demands which include waiver of entertainment tax, relaxation on fixed charges from power tariff of theatres and special package for films which were produced before Covid-19 crisis,” said Kerala Film Producers Association (KFPA) president Rejaputhra Renjith.
The representatives of all film bodies, including Film Exhibitors United Organisation of Kerala (FEUOK), KFPA and Film Distributors Association also attended the meeting. “It was a collective decision. Moreover, it is impractical to go ahead without relaxations by screening movies under restrictions. Theatres can only conduct two shows a day with 50 per cent capacity.
Everybody is talking about screening ‘Master,’ the Vijay movie. However, theatres need more content to go ahead in the coming days. The producers of already completed Malayalam films are not in a state to release the movies in the current scenario,” he added.