HYDERABAD: Film theatres in
Telangana will be closed from Wednesday. The decision was taken by film distributors and exhibitors who held a virtual meeting following the state government imposing night curfew.
“Theatres will be closed till the end of the month. This decision on the part of the film industry is voluntary, owing to the increase in Covid-19 cases,” P Vijendar Reddy, secretary, Telangana State Film Chamber of Commerce, told TOI.
However, screening of the recently-released Pawan Kalyan-starrer ‘Vakeel Saab’ will continue. This is because of the agreements that have already been signed between distributors and exhibitors to run the film.
The film industry will take stock of the situation and decide on whether to open theatres depending on government decisions.
Film shootings will also take place only in ‘emergency situations’ as the
Telugu Film Producers Council
has described. TFPC honorary secretaries T Prasanna Kumar and Mohan Vadlapatla said even if the shootings take place, they will follow Covid-19 protocols, and there will not be more than 50 persons on the sets.
Because of the rising cases, two big-budget films, which were scheduled to release have been postponed. Another six big-budget films are said to be in the pipeline.
According to industry sources, if producers choose to release their films even in this situation reducing the number of shows and following protocols, theatres may consider it.
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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