No first day, first show as theatres in Maharashtra were not prepared to reopen

Theatres and multiplexes in the city could not begin the show on the first day, after the state government gave permission to operate theatres from Thursday, for

Theatres and multiplexes in the city could not begin the show on the first day, after the state government gave permission to operate theatres from Thursday, for the want of preparedness to adhere to the new standard operating procedure (SOP) in the view of Covid-19 pandemic.

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According to the theatre and multiplexes operators, the decision was announced on Wednesday, with barely a few hours left in the day and the SOP was issued on Thursday, the day announced for the opening. “There is huge arrangement which needs to be done before actually running the show. It was not possible within a few hours. We will start our Maharashtra operations from Sunday,” said Devang Sampat, CEO, Cinepolis India, which has nine premises across Maharashtra.

Rajiv Patni, COO of INOX Leisure Ltd, said “We are completely geared up and prepared for the new normal, which would assign topmost priority to safety and hygiene and begin the operations soon.”

Majority of single-screen theatres plan to start their operations from next Friday. “Filmmakers also need time to prepare for their release, and hence, we will open from next Friday,” said Nitin Datar, president of Cinema Owners and Exhibitors Association of India.

There are approximately 450 single-screen theatres across Maharashtra.

The SOP mandated that the occupancy should not be more than 50% of the total capacity and that the seats that are not to be occupied be marked during booking.

It asked multiplexes to ensure that their show timings be staggered so that there is no crowding and also ensure that intervals of different shows do not coincide. It also mandated that all patrons should be wearing face covers/masks and sanitisation needs to be done after every screening.