Coronavirus pandemic: Will the film industry suffer mammoth losses? Experts have divided opinions — Exclusive report

There's little doubt about the fact that 2020 has been a year which has been in the news mostly because of the carnage caused by Coronavirus. The pandemic has affected the lives of people across the globe. 7950 people have died because of it. In India, the virus has so far claimed 3 lives. In a bid to control its spread, various governments are coming up with different advisories. Many cinema halls are shut across India to encourage social distancing. While this is a necessary measure, it has affected the Indian film industry. The shoots of many films are cancelled, and the release calendar has also gone for a toss.

Vote for social media king here:

Talking about the impact, trade analyst Vishek Chauhan says, "I have never seen anything like this in my life. There is complete shutdown. There is a loss to cinemas and also the government in terms of GST revenue. The loss per month would be at least Rs. 1000 crore a month in India. This is just the theatrical loss. Now, because of the cinema shutdown, all releases will be staggered. The release of films will be pushed by month or so. So they will be paying interest on them. Even if there is a 1% interest cost per month, the losses will be huge."

He added, "Even the shoots are cancelled. To get the dates back of actors and to resume shooting will also be a challenge. To the cinema owners, the loss is not just from the ticket sales. They also have advertising revenue loss. Then, most cinemas in small towns have ancillary units like the food stall, the paan wala, the chai wala and more. Even they will be at a loss. Cinema in India is at the heart of a eco system So if you put together everything, the losses are huge."

On the other hand, film exhibitor Akshaye Rathi seemed hopeful and gave a new perspective. He stated, "I feel they are not losses, but differed profits. One good about the entertainment industry is that when things are bad, all the sectors be it production, distribution and exhibition, come together and have each other's backs. There will be a lot of optimisation whenever things get back to normal."

So it seems that we will have to wait and watch how things unfold from here. In the meanwhile, stay tuned to BL for more scoops and updates.

 

from Bollywood News and Gossip | Bollywood Movie Reviews, Songs and Videos | Bollywood Actress and Actors Updates | Bollywoodlife.com https://www.bollywoodlife.com/news-gossip/coronavirus-pandemic-will-the-film-industry-suffer-mammoth-losses-experts-have-divided-opinions-exclusive-report-1589089/
via Gr8 Pic