role of cinema in Indian society

The Epidemic Diseases Act,1897 (Act), which was appealed by Several States in India to combat with the current situation provides more power to the State to take any action which it seems to fit-in to control the pandemic. The Government of Maharashtra on 20th March issued that everything except essential services such as pharmacies, grocery stores and transportation providers etc, was to shut down. The shutdown included all the cinema halls, swimming pools, restaurants etc,.

Due to the outbreak, many big films release postponed. Films like Sooryavanshi which was supposed to be released on 24th March 2020, has now been postponed. The list also include films such as Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar, (007 Bond) No Time to Die etc.

The impact can be simply understood as:

  1. 12.5% is the normal cost of capital in a Hindi film.
  2. If a film gets delayed by a month or two, due to any reason, the production house faces a cumulative loss of ₹ 45-55 crores.
  3. The production cost of the movies to be released in the month of March and April was near around 290+ crores alone.
Indian cinema

Films like Angerzi Medium, released one week before the lockdown, is expected to earn ₹ 10.21 Cr only. The film got good opening and received fine reviews both from the critics as well as the audience. The movie’s earlier part named as Hindi Medium was a commercial hit and simply showcased the impact of Indian cinema on society. But the current film’s earnings were affected severely due of the outbreak of the pandemic.

Some affect could also be felt on films that were already running in theaters at the time of the outbreak. The viewership of films such as Baaghi 3 declined in the end, that is, at the time the outbreak.

Keeping in view the role of cinema in Indian society, the Government of Maharashtra also issued an advisory notice to all employers to not fire any of the casual workers or reduce their wages/ salaries.