Anando Sangbad Live :“People need entertainment and more importantly the continued closure of cinema halls is ruining the entertainment industry. The Government has given permission to malls, markets, public transport and every other sector with physical proximity yet cinema halls including multiplexes situated inside malls are not permitted to open. It defies logic, In fact hall owners have the leverage to control the number of viewers and maintain all possible physical distancing, sanitization protocols and open the halls for viewing. Imagine the plight of the ushers, concession boys, housekeeping staff, all in the lowest salary bracket, they are not equipped to get any other job they are the majority in these sectors. As a hall owner I really feel sad and helpless for them”.
Batting for the employees facing near penury in the lowest rung of the film exhibition business, he added, “Hall owners are a miniscule percentage of the heads involved, the rest are in far more stress than the employers. I opened the restaurant Burnt Garlic situated in the ground floor of Priya and 8-9 are earning something now, all I told them was, whatever the margins are it shall be shared out between you all, no further cash influx from my side, they are quite happy with that”.
“Theatres in the United States are scheduled to reopen in July with Christopher Nolan’s ‘Tenet’ arriving on July 17 and Disney’s ‘Mulan’ arriving on July 24. In the Middle East, Dubai like UAE has opened its screens with stringent safety measures in place in the occupancy numbers along with sanitization and distancing norms.”
“Finally it would be an individual’s choice to avail the facilities but please do not kill the sectors.”