In the light of Pandemic COVID’19, a series of lockdown imposed over the last few months restricted the functionality of local cinemas, which became a setback for the proceedings of local movies and the artists associated with them. In the latest development, the Federal Government has announced the reopening of cinema halls across the country from 10th August, bringing joy to the cinema enthusiasts and the fraternity.
SOPs to be followed
Federal Minister Asad Umar reaffirmed that despite the reopening of cinemas, people would be expected to follow the SOPs, prescribed by the government. The SOPs are currently being finalized and will be disclosed in two days. There is still no update on whether there would be any working hours restrictions for the cinema halls.
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The decision was taken during a meeting of the National Coordination Committee (NCC) on Covid-19 chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan. After the Bollywood ban, the closing down of cinemas due to the pandemic caused a major loss to the distributors and cinema owners across the country. The latest development indeed means good news for the industry as apart from major local releases, Hollywood movies will also be screened in the country.
Good news for the local releases
Unlike other movie industries, Pakistan does not have any profitable means of releasing movies digitally. Our local content relies on our local cinemas and a few of the major releases of this year had to be postponed indefinitely due to the pandemic. But with the cinemas opening up it looks like our filmmakers will not have to worry about their films not getting a proper release.
The excitement for movies like The Legend of Maula Jatt, London Nahin Jaunga, Quaid e Azam Zindabad, and Tich Button was already high but after months of lockdown, the audience will definitely be even more excited to watch these movies on the big screen. It remains to be seen how the cinema culture in a post-COVID lock-down world will fare but for now, reopening of the cinemas is a piece of happy news that the cinema lovers are celebrating.
