Hyderabad: With Tamil Nadu permitting
100% occupancy in theatres
, relaxing Covid norms, the
Telugu film industry
too has asked
Telangana and Andhra Pradesh governments
to remove the 50% occupancy norm.
After the Unlock 5.0, the Centre had relaxed lockdown norms and said up to 50% occupancy could be allowed in theatres, which were the last to be allowed to open with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) in place
Telugu Film
Producers Council (TFPC) has written to AP chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and his Telangana counterpart K Chandrasekhar Rao and pointed out the decision taken by Tamil Nadu on January 4 to permit 100% occupancy in view of the decrease in number of Covid cases. They urged the government should consider the request of the council in view of the problems faced by single theatres and multiplexes as they had been shut for several months.
TFPC honorary secretaries T Prasanna Kumar Reddy and Mohan Vadlapatla, in the letters written to AP and Telangana governments, on Tuesday said 100% occupancy would help theatres and multiplexes meet necessary expenditure for their maintenance. The Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce, the umbrella body of the film industry, has also asked for permission for ‘full theatre occupancy’ in view of the Sankranti season as ‘film watching’ is a part of the celebrations.
Film chamber president Narayandas Kishandas Narang said in a letter to CM K Chandrasekhar Rao that screening of films had completely stopped in March 2020 due to the pandemic. He said theatres had opened after the state government allowed 50% occupancy.
“Our revenues come only at the point of release of a film. With theatre capacities presently at 50%, it is unviable for any film to run successfully. Many theatres have since not operated as they will have to incur expenditure and producers are apprehensive to release their movies due to the uncertainty,” he said.
Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.Sushil Rao is Editor-Special Reports, at The Times of India, Hyde...
Read MoreSushil Rao is Editor-Special Reports, at The Times of India, Hyderabad. He began his journalism career at the age of 20 in 1988. He is a gold medalist in journalism from the Department of Communication and Journalism, Arts College, Osmania University, Hyderabad from where he did his post-graduation from. He has been with The Times of India’s Hyderabad edition since its launch in 2000. He has also done an introductory course in film studies from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, and also from the Central University of Kerala equipping himself with the knowledge of filmmaking for film criticism. He has authored four books. In his career spanning 34 years, he has worked for five newspapers and has also done television reporting. He was also a web journalist during internet’s infancy in the mid 1990s in India. He covers defence, politics, diaspora, innovation, administration, the film industry, Hyderabad city and Telangana state, and human interest stories. He is also a podcaster, blogger, does video reporting and makes documentaries.
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