Covid-19 second wave: Single screen theatres to shut down in Telangana

Following a sudden spike in Covid-19 cases across the state, the Telangana Cinema Theatre Owners Association has decided to voluntarily suspend operations from Wednesday.

With the release of Love Story, Tuck Jagadish, Virata Parvam and Ishq postponed, theatre owners are worried about the availability of content.

"Cinema halls are getting less footfalls due to steep rise in coronavirus cases. Except Vakeel Saab, which dropped on April 9, we don't see any film being released in the near future. Hence, we have decided to suspend the operations from April 21," says a member of the association on condition of anonymity.

To bring the second wave under control, the Telangana government today imposed night curfew from 9 pm to 5 am till May 1. As a result, second shows and late night shows across the state have been cancelled and the government has also directed the cinema theatres and multiplexes to put shutters down by 8 pm. "At a time when we were returning to normalcy, the occupancy came down drastically after Ugadi. Everyone is worried about their lives and we are no exception. The second wave is turning out to be more dangerous than what we saw last year," shares the source.

We hear, however, that the single screens belonging to producers Dil Raju and Suresh Babu Daggubati will continue to function until this weekend. "Their theatres will screen Vakeel Saab till April 25 and then follow suit," the source adds.