Coronavirus | Film industry comes to a standstill

Shoots suspended; stakeholders doubtful of audience returning to theatres soon

Theatres and malls have been shut as part of the State’s measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19

The closure of theatres and malls in the State as part of measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 has affected the film industry, which is now hoping that its most lucrative summer months, April and May, are not wasted.

While the Film Employees’ Federation of South India, an umbrella union of all 24 film crafts, has decided to suspend film shoots, members of the film industry are taking ‘social distancing’ seriously and refusing to hold meetings too, preferring to start working when the situation is back to normal.

With film shoots and other work coming to a standstill, several stakeholders are raising doubts as to whether the audience, who are now being asked to avoid large gatherings and public places, will be returning to theatres any time soon.

Will normalcy return?

Tiruppur Subramaniam, noted film distributor, financier and exhibitor, said he was confident that normalcy would return soon.

“I don’t think people are going to stay away from attending weddings, gyms swimming pools and watching films in theatres forever. Once the State government removes its restrictions, I am sure it will be business as usual for us in the movie business,” Mr. Subramaniam said.

There are also concerns over whether big-budget movies, slated for release this summer, will be ready on time, if and when the State government removes the restrictions.

Before Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami announced the closure of malls and movie theatres, three Tamil films — actor Harish Kalyan’s Dhaarala Prabhu , Vikram Prabhu’s Asura Guru and Sibiraj’s Walter — were running in theatres.

‘A fair run’

Raju Mahalingam, whose Kites Studios distributed Dhaarala Prabhu , a remake of the Bollywood superhit film Vicky Donor , in Coimbatore area, said that he was planning to reach out to the distributors’ union and the producers’ council, to give the film a fair run at the box office, once the theatres reopen.

“ Dhaarala Prabhu got good reviews and it was doing well for two days. Friday’s collections doubled on Saturday and it dropped from Sunday evening…I expect the film to be given at least two weeks’ run, starting from April 1, until the release of a big movie,” added Mr. Mahalingam.

The film’s lead, Harish Kalyan, also released a statement on social media, thanking people for positive reviews and requesting the same support when the theatres reopen.