"Not Working Out": Theatres Struggle Week After Karnataka Allows 100% Occupancy

Cinema halls in Karnataka are struggling to pull in viewers a week after the state government allowed 100 per cent occupancy in theatres and pubs.

On October 1, the Karnataka government had allowed theatres and pubs in districts having less than 1 per cent positivity rate of Covid cases to run at full capacity.

Dattatreya, who manages Triveni theatre in Bengaluru's Majestic area, said that people are still wary of coming to a cinema hall due to the ongoing Covid pandemic.

"Now it has opened up more, a few people are coming to the theatre. But people are still frightened because of Covid. They are coming slowly - it may be about 50% full now. It will take 6 months or a year to come back to normal," Dattatreya told NDTV.

Speaking about how the pandemic has hit the industry hard, Dattatreya said that several theatres are struggling to pay wages to their employees.

"It is not working out. It is a problem for employees as there is no salary. In many places, employees have been fired because they are not able to pay the salaries," Dattatreya said.

Uday Garudachar of Garuda Mall, which houses a multiplex, was more optimistic. He said they recorded 85% occupancy on Wednesday and that people were ready to come back to the cinema.

Rajesh, who came to see the Kannada film 'Kage Motte' said, "It is safe, the theatre is following precautions - but only 25%, 30% of audience are coming. 100% is not there yet."

Single screen theatres and multiplexes were already facing a big challenge from streaming services - and the pandemic has been another blow to distributors.

Karnataka was hit hard by the second wave of Covid-19. But with a decline in new cases and a positivity rate of less than 1%, the state government has been opening up different sectors in a bid to revive the economy.