Mumbai: Cinema turnstiles are beginning to turn again with biggies such as Akshay Kumar’s Bell Bottom lined up for release. The industry insiders are hopeful but also wary. They say they are only too conscious that the road to economic recovery is riddled with uncertainties in Covid-19 times. As Covid-19 numbers dip in parts of India, Delhi and Mumbai have allowed theatres to open at 50 per cent capacity. Several states, including Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, have also permitted cinemas to resume operations.
“We are eagerly waiting to see theatres reopen with full capacity. That said, we also acknowledge the uncertainty of the current situation. As the adage goes, health is wealth – and it is all the more important now,” said Dharma Productions CEO Apoorva Mehta.
“The extensive vaccination drive being carried out across the world is a ray of hope and optimism. As and when the majority of the population are fully vaccinated, the sense of safety and assurance of stepping out will return,” an optimistic but cautious Mehta added.
Distributors and producers have announced the release of a slate of films this month.
Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar said Monday his film Bell Bottom will release in theatres August 19 in 3D and 2D. It will be the first major film to have a theatre release since the outbreak of the second wave Covid-19.
The Ranjit M Tewari-directed thriller also stars Vaani Kapoor, Lara Dutta and Huma Qureshi. It was originally scheduled to release in April this year but was postponed to July 27 due to the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
The lineup lists a host of Hollywood movies, including the latest Fast & Furious installment, director M Night Shyamalan’s Old, Oscar-nominated Promising Young Woman, animated feature The Croods: A New Age and Bob Odenkirk-starrer Nobody.
Reliance Entertainment Group CEO Shibasish Sarkar is awaiting the release of two big films from his stable, Sooryavanshi and 83. He said long-term planning may not work.
“You can worry about something only if things are in your control. No one has clarity and let’s start accepting that for a situation that is much larger, people have to be flexible and agile and if there is a situation then we have to make quick calls and there has to be backup calls,” Sarkar said.
Jayantilal Gada of Pen Studios, which is distributing Bell Bottom as well as Alia Bhatt-starrer Gangubai Kathiawadi, RRR and Attack, said all of these films will release theatrically.
“We are hopeful about the future. Both the central and state government are doing their bit to contain the spread of the virus. They will give permission to reopen when they feel the situation is normal and safe,” Gada said Wednesday.
“We are also trying to understand what is happening in which state and then accordingly we will make announcements. I am hopeful business will be more, once we return to normalcy, mainly because people have been devoid of family outings during the pandemic,” he added.
It has been more than a year that the theatrical business came to a standstill with the pandemic forcing cinema halls and other crowded places to down their shutters in March last year.
