Lockdown threatens existence of single screen cinemas

The Covid-19 pandemic and the resultant lockdown imposed to curb the virus has sounded a possible death knell for single screen cinemas of Gurugram, which are taking

The Covid-19 pandemic and the resultant lockdown imposed to curb the virus has sounded a possible death knell for single screen cinemas of Gurugram, which are taking heavy monetary losses.

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Though the government has eased out restrictions considerably in the fourth phase of the lockdown — that will end on May 31 — a ban on opening of cinema halls and theatres remains.

Theatre owners and administrators said that while single-screen cinemas had stopped being profitable with the arrival of multiplexes, the lockdown had dried up even their meagre earnings and exacerbated losses.

A decade ago, Gurugram had six single-screen cinemas of which only two survive today — Payal and Raj. A third one, Shakuntala, has not been running for several years now. While both Payal and Raj had been running in losses and struggling to stay afloat as multiplexes mushroomed, the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown could prove to be the last nail in the coffin for these cinemas.

Bhanu Pratap Singh, who has been managing affairs at Raj Cinema for the past 20 years, said that the lockdown had added to the losses of theatres which were already struggling. “One has to pay for electricity and other routine activities. People working here have to be paid salaries. We have three people working for us in different capacities. Two of them are still around, while one has gone back to his hometown due to the lockdown,” said Singh.

He added that employees were being paid during the lockdown, with concessions, considering the current financial situation. “The operator and the cleaners are permanent employees, who need to be paid,” he said. Singh said that on routine days, the revenue earned would be used for paying the salaries of employees and some other costs, but with that drying up, the losses were mounting with no relief in sight.

Singh said that so far, the plan was to see how the situation develops once lockdown restrictions on cinema halls are lifted. Besides the financial loss, the loss of audience was a major cause of concern. “The plan is to run the theatre like before, once the lockdown ends. We were in losses earlier as well. This time, however, we have lost our audience as well. We will have to assess the situation, since people who usually watch films here are mostly migrant workers who have gone back to their hometowns,” said Singh.

Payal cinema in sector 14 has also been shut since the lockdown began. Rameshwar Dayal, manager, Payal cinema, said that a decision on running the theatre would be taken by the owners, once lockdown restrictions are lifted. “Single screen cinema theatres were never making profits, but with the lockdown, even the meagre earnings have dried up. Guards and cleaners need to be paid for their services. The expenses continue as before and the losses are just adding up now,” said Dayal.

The exodus of workers from the city is also likely to have a massive impact on the theatre’s future, he added. “We are not sure if and how the theatre will work post the lockdown. Our audience usually comprises labourers and with most of them going back to their hometowns, we are uncertain about the future,” said Dayal. He said that bouncing back might take many months, since cinemas were the first to shut down and might be the last ones to open.

Joginder Kalra, one of the owners of Shakuntala Cinema, a single-screen theatre that stopped operations a decade ago, said single-screen cinemas had no or little earnings and the only way of survival was converting them into a multiplex. “Single screen cinemas don’t have an income source. They were running as a formality before the lockdown. Now, the losses will only multiply,” said Kalra. He added that single-screen cinemas can change into three-four screens cinema to keep with the changing times. Kalra said he has applied for the conversion of Shakuntala into a multiplex and the process was underway.