The National Cinema Day, an initiative started by the Hindi film industry when it was coping with reduced footfalls in the aftermath of the crippling COVID-19 lockdown, is now becoming some kind of a joke. A joke which the industry is playing on itself!
In a bid to attract patrons to the cinemas, the admission rates for films are brought down — usually to Rs. 99 — by cinemas (both, multiplexes and single-screens) which participate in the National Cinema Day celebrations. It has been observed that the public, lured by the affordable ticket price, come to watch films in large numbers.
But the footfalls for today’s new releases — Emergency and Azaad — even in cinemas where the ticket price is Rs. 99, are so low that it seems, people are not interested in watching films even if the admission price is low. Of course, the nomenclature for this week is Cinema Lovers’ Day instead of National Cinema Day, but there’s no other noticeable difference, besides the terminology. The Cinema Lovers’ Day — or National Cinema Day — seems to have lost its sheen. Content is what ultimately matters, and if the content does not find the approval of the audience, they don’t want to watch a film even at a low admission price!
Frankly, the National Cinema Day was first celebrated on September 20, 2022, but its variation is now celebrated whenever a new film, with dim chances of survival at the box-office on the opening day, releases. Even the public seems to have realised that the National Cinema Day or the Cinema Lovers’ Day has less to do with the industry’s love for the cinema-going public and their token of appreciation for cine lovers and more to do with poor content vying for their attention.
With this ploy also failing to work, what’s next on the cards? Rs. 99 prize money to everyone with a free ticket for watching a film? After all, everything’s fair in love… for our audience, right? So what if they don’t love our films!