The decision comes days before the premiere of the Tamil film ‘Master’, starring Vijay.
Cinemas in Kerala may open from January 5, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said during a press meeting. However, only 50% seat occupancy will be allowed and all COVID-19 restrictions issued by the health department must be followed.
“For almost a year now, movie theaters have been completely closed in the state. This has caused a great crisis for the thousands of people who work in the film industry. Considering this, the decision has been made to open movie theaters with certain restrictions. Strict measures will be taken against those theaters that do not comply with these restrictions. Since theaters have been closed for so long, they must be disinfected before opening on January 5, “said CM Pinarayi.
The decision comes days before the film’s release in Tamil. Teacher, starring Vijay. Kerala is known to have a large fan base of the Tamil star.
Hours earlier, it was announced that Mohanlal’s film Drishyam 2, the sequel to the 2013 film Drishyam, directed by Jeethu Joseph, will launch online on the OTT Amazon Prime platform. Drishyam It was a massive hit and thus the sequel is one of the star’s most anticipated films. However, Liberty Basheer, president of the Kerala Film Exhibitors Association, was not happy with the decision and spoke to various media outlets about his disappointment.
In an interview with The Cue, he said that the sincerity Vijay showed to theater owners and the film industry was not shown by Mohanlal, who is also the president of the Malayalam Film Artists Association (AMMA). It is a great betrayal shown to the owners of cinemas and the film industry, he said. Liberty Basheer also said that Antony Perumbavoor, the film’s producer and president of the Film Exhibitors United Organization of Kerala (FEUOK), should never have committed this ‘injustice’. Since there was a huge audience for the first part of the film, there would have been several people in theaters for the sequel and it would have helped the industry that has been going through a great loss, Basheer said.
Cinemas in Kerala have been closed since March 10, days before the national shutdown was announced to contain the spread of COVID-19. The state government allowed movie shooting to resume in June, following certain restrictions.
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