Theatre lobby trying to find an escape route?

No doubt, lockdown has taken its toll on film industry. But leading exhibitors are taking advantage of the scenario and reportedly trying to find an exit route. The strong theatre lobby in two Telugu states is planning to give up more than 100-odd theatres citing mounting salary, power bills and other costs. "Undeniably, mounting losses has made theatre business a risky business proposition. May be, few lessees could give back theatres to owners to save themselves from further losses," admits exhibitor Vijayender Reddy, treasurer, Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce.

It is well known that bigwigs like Suresh Babu, Dil Raju, Allu Arvind and Sunil Narang hold more than 1,000 theatres in the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and have been ruling the roost. But due to lockdown, they are paying salaries varying from Rs 10,000 to Rs 1 lakh for each theatre, depending on areas, besides power bills between Rs 2,000 to 30,000 per month with almost zero income. "Due to lockdown, a lessee need not pay any rent to the theatre owner. But if the Central government urges exhibitors to open theatres in green zones after May 18, then lessees have to cough up Rs 3 lakh per month to each owner, irrespective of turnout in theatres and it will add to our woes," adds Reddy.

Nonetheless, small filmmakers will heave a sigh of relief since content-driven and small movies can now get theatres. "It was long overdue for the welfare of good cinema. If lessees exit, it would augur well for the industry. A good number of filmmakers who ride on content and intelligent cinema will get more theatres without pressure from lessees and thematic movies will have a field day," says a young director, who feels that lockdown has come as a boon for new-age films. "Lessees preferred star-studded movies over novel films. Now, refreshing talent and films with substance can go an extra mile," he adds. However, Vijayender Reddy feels that plans of exhibitors to remove seats could be a welcome measure. "We don't expect the audience to throng theatres from day one but gap between two seats will give confidence to movie buffs to step into theatres. Our count may come down from 800 to 400 seats in each theatre, but slowly exhibitors will be back on recovery path," concludes Reddy.