After a long time, there has been news of relief for the film industry. For the first time after ten months, theaters opened on Monday in the country with 100 percent capacity. It is noteworthy that the central government has given permission to open theaters with 100 percent capacity from Monday. Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar on Sunday released a new set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to ensure the smooth functioning of the cinema hall.

The government’s decision made theater owners, distributors and producers happy, saying it was a very important step to bring their industry back on track. Since March 2020, cinemas across the country were closed, due to which many big budget films were not released. Due to the closure of the cinema hall, big films like Akshay Kumar starrer Suryavanshi, Ranveer Singh’s 83 and Aamir Khan’s Lal Singh Chadha could not be released, the makers of all these films had to push the release date.

However, the reduction in cases of corona virus infection and the commencement of vaccination is now likely to change the situation and 2021 could be the year of ‘cinema entertainment’ as a whole. Film industry insiders said that more than 50 films are set for release in theaters this year. The industry will try to recover from the loss quickly.

Kamal Gyanchandani, CEO of PVR Pictures told PTI-language, this is a very positive step taken by the government, and it is a big opportunity. This film will speed up the process of recovering from the business crisis. Gyanchandani said that while the producers of most of the films were in a state of uncertainty about opening theaters with full potential, they would now be encouraged to release their big and medium budget films after the government’s decision.

He said that on the first day, several states of the country including Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat have allowed theaters to operate with 100 percent capacity after the decision of the Center. Since the new protocol for its operation was released only one day ago, it can take 10-15 days for these things to happen in all states. Inox Leisure Limited chief program officer Rajendra Singh Jwala also hoped that this was a sign of returning to normalcy.

The relaxation in seating capacity, he said, would help producers plan the release date of their films. Jwala said that many big films are going to be released in 2021. Emme Entertainment co-founder and producer Monisha Advani said that the government’s decision to open a cinema hall signifies a return to normalcy of things. Advani told PTI-language, “We are very eager to welcome the audience and the cinema world is all set to entertain India again.”