Theatres unlikely to open soon in Kerala as Covid cases climb

Thiruvananthapuram: Even though the Centre has cleared the opening of movie halls with rigorous Covid-19 controls from Thursday, Kerala is unlikely to follow suit, as a meeting of various film-based organisations here on Tuesday felt it was not the right time.

A meeting, under the aegis of the Kerala State Film Development Corporation, discussed the issue, but with the daily number of Covid positive cases peaking, and crossing 10,000 on two occasions, the general consensus was that it may not be feasible to open them from Thursday.

Already with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan expressing fears that the months of October and November might see Covid cases peaking, various film-based organisations also held the same apprehensions and that even if cinemas open from Thursday, there will be hardly any people who will turn up.

Meanwhile, popular comedian and character artiste Suraj Venjaramoodu, who won the Kerala Government's best actor award announced on Tuesday, wished that like all in the industry, he is eagerly wanting for the old normal to return, as that is the only way the film industry will be happy.

"All wish that normalcy returns at the earliest and the crowds return to the theatres. The wait for it has been too long and it has taken a heavy toll," he said.

The number of active Covid cases is the state is all set to touch one lakh mark and on Saturday, Kerala, which boasted of fighting Covid the best in the country, saw the highest daily number of cases, at 11,755.