Kolkata, Feb 27 (PTI) Two iconic single-screens in the city have resumed regular screenings after suspending shows for a day, citing a shortage of Bengali films to comply with the state government’s rule mandating prime-time screening of Bengali movies.
Priya Cinema owner Arijit Dutta told PTI that shows were suspended on Thursday as the hall authorities could not even recover operating costs for days, making it difficult to run the establishment, including paying salaries to employees.
“We resumed shows from Friday, but are keeping our fingers crossed and will take a call after assessing the response today and over the weekend,” he said.
Priya has been associated with Satyajit Ray films such as ‘Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne’ and had produced films under its production arm, Piyali Films, in the past.
Meanwhile, authorities of Binodini Theatre, earlier known as Star Theatre, were compelled to halt weekday shows for two days as adequate Bengali releases were not available to fill prime-time slots.
“At Binodini Theatre, our shows remained suspended since Tuesday and resumed on Thursday. We are willing to run shows but are expecting good Bengali content and the backing of patrons,” a spokesperson of Binodini said.
Striking a different note, the owner of another prominent single-screen Navin Chokhani said, “We are closing down the theatre purely for renovation purposes from today. We will open on March 18.” Under existing state regulations, cinema halls are required to screen at least one Bengali film during prime time every day.
However, with a limited number of new Bengali releases, a section of theatre owners said they were finding it difficult to sustain operations.
Industry insiders expressed concern that more single-screen theatres could face similar disruptions if the scarcity of Bengali films persists.
Some old single-screens such as Minar-Bijli-Chhabighar have been running older films to keep operations afloat.
The number of single-screens in Bengal has dwindled from 700 to 130 across the state due to poor footfall and the emergence of multiplexes and OTT platforms, posing fresh challenges.
PTI SUS MNB
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