Tamil Nadu government allows theatres to run at full capacity

The Tamil Nadu government on Monday allowed theatres in the state to function at full capacity. The decision was taken after major actors such as Vijay and Simbu requested that the occupancy of cinema halls be increased from 50% to 100% ahead of the release of their films Master and Eeswaran on Pongal.

It’s worth mentioning that actor Vijay met the Tamil Nadu chief minister last week in this regard. The actor also sought relaxation in the current restrictions.

A government order, which was issued on Monday, read, “The seating capacity of cinemas/theatres/multiplexes shall be permitted to increase to 100% by following the Standard Operating Procedure issued already. Further, in order to create awareness among the spectators, the precautionary measures for COVID-19 shall also be screened during the showtime (sic).”

Meanwhile, Vijay’s Master is set to be released on January 13 in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Kannada. The film sees Vijay play a college professor with a violent past. It also stars Vijay Sethupathi as the antagonist.

Master, which also stars Malavika Mohanan, Shanthanu Bhagyaraj and Andrea Jeremiah, has been produced by Xavier Britto. It marks the maiden collaboration of Vijay and director Lokesh Kanagaraj.

Simbu’s Eeswaran will hit screens on January 14. Tipped to be a rural family drama, the film has been directed by Suseenthiran and it also stars Nidhhi Agerwal.