Kangana Ranaut requests Maharashtra chief minister to save 'dying film industry'

Actress Kangana Ranaut, whose upcoming film Thalaivii is due to be released on 10 September, has posted a note on social media where she expressed hope that cinema halls and theatres would be reopened in the state of Maharashtra. Taking to Instagram, she requested the chief minister of the state, Uddhav Thackeray, to ''save the dying film industry''. 

The actress wrote in her Instagram story, ''Cases in Maharashtra have declined requesting Maharashtra government to open up cinemas in Maharashtra and save the dying film industry and theatres business (sic)."

The actress had earlier requested the owners of theatres to allow the release of Thalaivii, which is a biopic of the late Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa, in cinema halls in South India. PVR acquiesced, putting out a statement announcing the release of the Tamil and Telugu versions of the film, which will run for four weeks before going digital. However, the multiplex giant declined to screen the Hindi version of the biopic, citing the Thalaivii team's demand that the film should run for only two weeks.

Meanwhile, the Multiplex Association of India also put out an open letter to Thackeray, asking that theatres be reopened. Maharashtra is among the very few states where cinema halls have remained shut, despite the recent implementation of the 'unlock' procedure to ensure the reopening of restaurants, malls and parks.

The organization wrote, "Films are the soft power of Maharashtra and cinemas continue to be the main form of entertainment for millions of Indians. The cinema exhibition sector, comprising of around 1,000 cinemas, directly and indirectly employs lakhs of people."

The letter further read, "Due to the state-wide lockdowns the cinema exhibition industry has run into an extremely adverse and hostile situation."

The association further added that while the cinema exhibition was among the first sectors to be shut down during the lockdown, it continues to remain in the same state even as restaurants and gyms have resumed operations.

The association highlighted some of the standard operating procedures steps that will be put in place in order to assuage the state government with regard to overcrowding. 

These include ensuring that only paying patrons visit theatres, staggering movie show timings, controlling and regulating the entry of visitors and making ample waiting areas available.