The central took a massive decision recently and allowed 100% occupancy in theaters and multiplexes starting from February 1 as per guidelines released on Saturday by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The decision came as a boon for the degrading business of theater and multiplexes, as there were many films that postponed their release date due to the COVID pandemic lockdown. Even after the government lifted the lockdown, it allowed the theaters to resume their operation with 50 percent capacity, however, this was still hampering the business of not only theaters but also the movies.
So how come the government noded to the proposal to resume the movie theaters with 100 percent capacity?
Going by the reports of Bollywood Hungama, Bollywood actor turned politician Sunny Deol has played a big role in convincing the government to resume the theaters with 100 percent occupancy. Sunny is an elected Member of Parliament from the Gurdaspur district constituency from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The report quoted a source who said, "It was Sunny Deol who led the delegation from the film industry and met Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs of India, Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Amit Khare, Secretary, I & B Ministry and Anurag Thakur, Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs, a few days back. He requested them to consider the request for allowing theatres to function at greater than 50% occupancy, and preferably at 100% itself."
Also Read: Theatres to open with 100% occupancy from Feb 1: Union Government
"The Ministers were kind enough to patiently listen to the argument and assured Sunny sir that they would take this into consideration and pass on a resolution soon. At the end of the day, the whole movie business helps everyone in the supply chain. It is only going to help the economy further as the money generated by sales of movie tickets keep the business going for one and all," the source added.