Movie theatres are set to reopen, but are filmmakers ready to release their films?

On Thursday, the government of West Bengal allowed reopening of cinema halls with not more than 50% occupancy and compliance with COVID-appropriate behaviour and protocols. The halls were closed on May 1 after the second wave hit. A few Tollywood directors, whose films are ready for release, spoke to us about their plans and hopes. Read on...

I am a positive person by nature, and am extremely hopeful that the audience will come back to theatres.There’s a general feeling that OTT platforms are predominant now and as a result, films will take a back seat. I don’t agree with this at all. People order food online, but does that mean they won’t eat out? Never! The experience is more important than the food. Similarly, no matter how much content OTT platforms offer, people will go to theatres to watch films, as the big-screen experience is what they are missing. It’s true that as directors, we must give good content so that the audience can overcome their fear and visit theatres. Even producers will take the risk of releasing films amidst all this uncertainty for the love for cinema. Lokkhi Cheley is ready for release while the other two films, Ardhangini and Manohar Pandey, are in post-production. I am sure all films which are ready for release will see the light of the day now and the audience will go back to theatres to watch them.

That the theatres are opening after three months is very positive news. At least a movement has started where the halls are reopening. But will the audience get back their confidence to return to theaters? It should be kept in mind that the hall owners take utmost care to maintain all the COVID protocols inside the halls. Regular sanitisation is done. So I can’t figure out why the audience is still afraid of going to a theatre. People go to malls and restaurants, so why not to a theatre? I think people should be made aware of the fact that movie theatres are safe through social media or any other medium. Bela Shuru is ready for release, but we are still figuring out when to release it. We can’t just release for the sake of it as the audience have to watch the film in theatres. But I feel once we can provide them with good content and the theatre owners can assure them that the halls are well sanitised and safe, people will return, as watching a film on the big canvas has its own charm.

I have two pending films— Dharmajuddha and Habji Gabji — and I plan to release at least one, preferably Dharmajuddha, soon. It was completed in September 2019 and was supposed to be released in March 2020. It has been a while. I wanted to release it on August 15 but given my schedule, I won’t get any time for the pre-release efforts. We are sure to release it soon. Unless at least one of these two films is out of the way, I can’t think of a new film.

While the halls are reopening, the fear of the pandemic is still there. I think people will still be a little skeptical about closed, air-conditioned theatres, especially since the third wave alert is on. Since there is a fear that the children might get affected this time, parents may not take the risk. Let the third wave go and let a majority of the population get vaccinated, theatres will be back with a bang. Also, last year, one of my films, Rawkto Rawhoshyo, got released. The production house has several other films pending. I don’t think we'll release Bhootpari anytime soon. Let other films get released now.