With the Centre having fixed October 15 as the date for reopening cinemas, of course, with only 50% occupancy, it is now for the various state governments to decide for their respective states if it would be advisable to adhere to the date or delay the reopening. The decision of the different state governments would depend upon the position of the coronavirus cases and their numbers in the various states.
The governments of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Bihar, Gujarat, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Puducherry and Chhattisgarh have given cinemas in their states permission to proceed with the reopening with effect from 15th October. In West Bengal, cinemas reopened on 1st October, without waiting for the Centre’s permission. The clarification from the governments of Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana is awaited. Reportedly, the government of Delhi will not permit cinemas in the Union territory to restart operations till 31st October.
The governments of Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Kerala are still unlikely to permit cinemas in their states to reopen on 15th October in view of the intensity of the spread of the coronavirus. The exhibition sector of Maharashtra met Maharashtra cultural minister Amit Deshmukh on 1st October to request the state government to allow cinemas in the state to reopen on 15th October, in keeping with the Centre’s directive. The representatives, who met Deshmukh at Sahyadri, the government guest house, told him that Maharashtra and particularly Bombay was the nerve centre of the film industry and it was, therefore, imperative for cinemas to reopen in the state with the other states which were looking to reopen cinemas on 15th October. Nitin Datar, president of the Cinema Owners and Exhibitors Association of India, told Amit Deshmukh that Maharashtra was the birth place of movies and hence there should not be a delay in the reopening of cinemas in the state.
Deshmukh promised to look into the matter and discuss the same with chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, and revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat. Prior to this meeting, a government directive had mentioned that cinemas in Maharashtra would likely open after 31st October. The delegation, which called on Deshmukh, was hopeful that cinemas in the state may now be allowed to reopen from Dassera.