Cinemas in the state are still shut despite the government’s nod to resume screening with 100% capacity as owners are waiting for the release of new movies.
Chinmoy Sarma, president of All Assam Cinema Hall Owners’ Association and also the owner of Anuradha Cineplex that turned 50, said, “The state government had given the nod to resume screening with 50% occupancy on October 1 last year. Now, the government has given a nod for 100% occupancy. But the halls are still shut as there are no new movies to screen. However, a few multiplexes are screening old movies.” He said the cinemas screened a few Assamese films released in the last few months but drew little crowd. A few Assamese films, including Ekalavya, Life in a Puppet and Goru were released in the past few months, which were screened in the cinemas.
The Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) had disconnected power connection to many cinemas due to non-payment of the fixed electricity charges and even imposed a penalty.