Cine reps hope to reopen halls, cash in on festive season

Kolkata: The concern of theatre owners, who have always looked forward to doing business during Durga Puja, was highlighted at the meeting of cine representatives with the Union home secretary on Tuesday. Two members of the cine industry from Kolkata were invited to join this meeting via video conference.

Firdausul Hasan, the president of the Film Federation of India who attended the meeting, highlighted the concerns of the Bengal market. “Durga Puja is one of the most important times for theatre owners in the Bengal market. If the government gives permission to reopen theatres before the Pujas, halls that were thinking of shutting down will get a chance to make money. We are expecting a positive outcome from this meeting,” Hasan said.

Distributor Satadeep Saha, who attended the meeting on behalf of father Ratan Saha, said: “We only have 30% of the festive dates left in this year to do business. We hope the government will reopen the theatres and help the film industry to capitalize on the remaining festive season. As many as 40 big and small Bengali films are in various stages of production.”