With the Nagpur Municipal Corporation finally allowing theatres to open in city, theatre owners of the city said that people’s safety in theatres is our prior concern.
While speaking to The Live Nagpur Panchasheel theatre’s Manager Raja Laharia said, “people coming in our theatres need not need to worry or panic as their safety is our responsibility”.
He said that we have been waiting for this order from the State Government to reopen theatres for months now. It has almost been eight months since the theatres got closed. But we have no complaints and nothing against anyone because we know and do realise that it was needed and done because of the situation and the prevailing circumstances.
But with the COVID fear still there and the cases decreasing in the city we knew that sooner or later this order of the State Government to reopen theatres had to come. So, we will be opening the theatre in a matter of 2-3 days, management will plan accordingly and obviously with a few restrictions and norms.
Panchasheel theatre which has a seating capacity of 1085 people for the time being it has been reduced to 400. That means the theatre will be open with a 50 percent seating capacity. People without masks will not be allowed in the theatre premises. The night show which is mainly from 9:30-12:30 pm has been called off till the situation returns to normalcy. Chessboard type of seating arrangement will be followed for the safety of the people. Every person coming to the theatre there temperature will be checked and they will be sanitized. One major change that the theatre has done that it has strictly prohibited the consumption of food in the halls, people can have their snacks but can’t go inside the hall with the food and that too packed food.
Laharia admitted that for the time being there are no big releases and they will be re-releasing a few of the films whose business suffered due to the COVID and maybe post Diwali there will be few big releases line up we will show those films in our theatre.
He also said for the theatres to get their normal business back it’s going to take a few months.
As of now, many other prominent theaters have not issued any update on when will they be resuming their services in the city.
