It Won’t Happen For The Next Four Months; Saji Cherian Says That Theatres Won't Open Until December.

Film and Culture Minister Saji Cherian has said that cinema theaters will not open until December. Saji Cherian said that the increase in daily Covid cases is a great concern. he added that opening theatres for the next four months will create a crisis.

He also said to have extreme caution toward the situation surrounding Covid deaths. “The opening of theaters can only be handled with the utmost importance. It is unknown now what will be the consequences of Onam celebrations itself. With this in mind, we can consider opening the theater in December; he said. Earlier theatre owners’ associations had demanded that theatres open before Onam. FEUOK, the theatre owners’ organization, said that a movie released on OTT will not be shown in theatres again. He was speaking at a press conference in Kochi after meeting the theatre owners’ executive committee. Preparations for opening the theatres were discussed at the meeting. The FEUOK meeting came as the government was considering reopening theatres accommodating 50 percent capacity. Earlier, the theatres had to close due to the second wave of Covid 19. There were controversies on the release of Malayalam films on OTT platforms. Theatre owners opposed OTT releases initially. Later they came to terms with it as there was no other option than to release films on OTT platforms.