The Film Exhibitors United Organisation of Kerala has requested the state government to consider permitting theatres to reopen and has also submitted a set of demands, including the waiver of various taxes and a financial package to support the revival of the business.
Speaking to Silverscreen India, FEUOK’s General Secretary Sumesh Joseph Manarcaud said, “Almost all the industries in the state have reopened except cinema theatres and hence, we have demanded that the government allow the reopening of theatres with four shows per day.”
“For the noon shows, the audience is generally from the younger age group. Since colleges are closed, noon shows will not see a lot of footfall now. So we hope second shows with the family audience will help in reviving the business,” he added.
Noting that theatres have been shut for around 18 months in the last two years due to the pandemic, Sumesh said they have requested the government to waive fixed tax on electricity, building tax, professional tax, contributions to welfare funds of Chalachitra Academy and Kerala State Film Development Corporation, and the license fee payable to the respective local body.
To help theatre owners recover from the losses incurred during the lockdown, in January, the Kerala government had announced a waiver of entertainment tax for cinemas from January to March and assured a 50% reduction of the fixed charges on electricity. The FEUOK has now asked for a complete waiver of the fixed electricity charges from March 2020 to December 2021, reasoning that even when they reopened for a short period during the interim, theatres were operating at low occupancy.
Sumesh added that they have also requested the government to provide financial assistance as theatre owners will need to invest some money to make arrangements for the reopening of the theatres and to make up for the losses that were incurred during the shutdown. “Some of the staff who were working in theatres have been forced to move on to other jobs like construction and painting to eke out a living. The few others who are still employed by theatres are being paid only half salaries. So reopening of theatres will be helpful for a lot of people dependent on this industry,” he said.
Earlier, the makers of the Mohanlal-starrer Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham had announced that the film will release on August 12 in theatres worldwide and had also requested an exclusive three-week run for the film in over 600 theatres in Kerala.
When asked for an update on the film’s release, Sumesh said, “We are still awaiting a response from the government regarding reopening theatres. Only after that is sorted, will we discuss with the producers about the release.”
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Earlier, when Anto Joseph, producer of two big films, Fahadh Faasil-starrer Malik and the Prithviraj Sukumaran-starrer Cold Case, announced that he was opting for a direct-to-OTT release for both films, Liberty Basheer, President of the Kerala Film Exhibitors Federation, had told Silverscreen India, “We are looking forward to the Onam festive season. Marakkar is scheduled to release on August 12. We hope the theatre industry will return to normalcy from Onam.”
Meanwhile, on Sunday, Kerala recorded 18,607 fresh cases, taking the total number of active Covid-19 cases in the state to 1,76,576.