7:42 PM PST 01/31/2021
by
Patrick Brzeski
COVID-19 infections and death rates have steadily declined in the country. Several Bollywood tent poles that have been waiting for the pandemic, such as Salman Khan’s action crime tent pole ‘Radhe’, are expected to hit cinemas in the coming weeks and months.
India began allowing 100 percent occupancy in cinemas on Monday, lifting the 50 percent seat limit that had been in effect since October 2020.
“The seating in the auditoriums of the cinemas / theaters / multiplexes should have up to 100 percent seating capacity,” India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said Saturday.
Several COVID-19 prevention measures remain mandatory for both cinema staff and clients, including staggered show times and bookings, mandatory social distance, and the use of face masks and hand sanitizers. The government has also imposed detailed guidelines for air ventilation in cinemas, setting target temperature and humidity levels and discouraging recirculation. Several regions of the country designated as COVID-19 containment zones will continue to push for movie theaters to remain closed.
The relaxation of cinema restrictions follows a wide improvement in COVID-19 infection rates within India’s borders. As of Monday, the weekly Covid-19 death toll in India was down 88 percent from a peak in September 2020, and the weekly death toll was below 1,000 for the first time since the first week of May last year.
Amid improving public health and market conditions, several big-budget Indian films that have been waiting for the pandemic to hit theaters are preparing to hit theaters. Tamil language tent pole Karnan, starring Dhanush (aka Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raja), quickly responded to the good news of the cinema occupancy by announcing that it will hit theaters in April. Bollywood superstar Salman Khan’s action crime tent pole Radhe also expected to hit theaters in the coming months.