It’s showtime in Telangana

Hyderabad: It’s happy news for all the movie buffs: Theatres in Telangana state would be back in action very soon. After the closure of cinema theatres for nine months after Covid-19 spread in the country, select theatres will open on a pilot basis on Friday. The theatres will operate with 50 per cent occupancy, according to Covid-19 protocols.

The first new movie to hit the silver screen is Tenet — an English movie and its dubbed version in Telugu — and a few other movies would be re-released.

While Covid-induced shutdown has affected the film industry hard financially, it has taken a toll on moviegoers, who suffered the most because of their emotional connection with cinema.

On November 23, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao had announced reopening of cinema theatres in the state, if they follow laid-down norms.

As part of Covid-19 safety protocol, moviegoers must wear masks and maintain physical distance in all public areas in theatres. On its part, the theatre management has to reduce the capacity to 50 per cent.

“From Friday onwards, 20 screens will be opened in four different properties. In all our properties, we will follow all safety norms and assure our audience that this will be their safest experience of cinema,” said Sunil Narang, the managing director of Asian Cinemas.

Single-screen theatres at RTC Crossroads are also set to reopen with safety measures. “Based on people’s response, movies of big heroes would be released in the theatres. We are positive that the audience would like to have a big-screen experience, which they have been missing for the last nine months,” said Balgovind Raj Tadla, the owner of Devi theatre.