By Joginder Tuteja
The country is coming back to normalcy and Maharashtra, which was one of the worst affected states till about a few weeks back, is also getting back to business as usual mode. However, the entertainment industry is continuing to suffer, what with the state government still now allowing theatres to open up. Even though almost all other establishments are now back to functioning and even schools are set to open soon, cinemas are still closed.
That’s something which has baffled Bollywood industry because there is a huge ripple effect being felt at the box office and the associates business. The kind of response that Bell Bottom, Chehre and Thalaivii, the films that braved the current situation, has shown that Maharashtra stays on to be a element to make the Bollywood business work. Bell Bottom took a risk and then Chehre followed suit too. However looking at the response, Thalaivii decided to arrive early on OTT to make the most of the moolah. Result? Multiplexes didn’t release the Hindi version and the outcome was there to be seen. Before other folks start to follow suit where they altogether begin to skip theatrical business (Shiddat, Sardar Udham, Rashmi Rocket, Chhorii have already announced their plans), theatres need to open up, and now.
Eventually it’s all about a viewer’s call on whether they want to frequent cinemas or not. As it is, to begin with there would be 50% occupancy rule. Then it would take time for some sort of normalcy to return. Hence, one can expect near-optimum business only in around a month. If the industry has to make some big gains around Diwali then theatres need to open now. For the sake of lakhs who are directly or indirectly connected to Bollywood and have their livelihood dependent on theatre business, hopefully the decision would be taken in, at maximum, a week.
For quite some time, biggies like Akshay Kumar’s Sooryavanshi and Ranveer Singh’s ‘83 have been waiting to see the light of the day. These are the tentpole films which could easily have bowed to the temptation of OTT premiere last year but then they waited. Then of course there is an out and out mass film Satyameva Jayate 2 with John Abraham which has in it to revive the single screen business. Ditto for Ajay Devgn’s Maidaan and Ranbir Kapoor’s Shamshera which are biggies waiting to be unleashed. These are all ready films waiting for a green signal to arrive and strike hard. Madhavan’s Rocketery is not just a pan-India film but has pan-international appeal to it which can cut across borders to strike a chord with audiences worldwide.
In addition, believe it or not, there are at least 50 other films which are ready with their censor cut and are just waiting for theatrical arrival. One big release across the country and emerging as a good hit will open the doors for so many others as well. All that is required is Maharashtra to allow them this space and then let the merits of the films coupled with audience interest in venturing out of their homes to do the rest.
That’s indeed the need of the hour.
UPDATE: The Maharashtra governement has decided to open theatres in the state from October 22, 2021, "while observing all COVID safety protocols", Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said in a tweet at 3.07 pm.