Fate of the State’s single-screen cinema halls appears to be uncertain as many of the theatres are finding it difficult to resume operations after huge losses caused by the Covid-19 lockdown.
The closure of cinema halls for the last four months has severely hit the business leading to a heavy financial burden on their owners. Many owners are finding it increasingly difficult to pay electricity bills, let alone payment of salary to their employees.
Recently, managements of Jayashree Talkies, one of the oldest, in Cuttack, KMBM in Baripada and Janata Cinema Hall in Puri stopped screening of movies. As per sources, more 30 such cinema halls are going to shut their operations soon.
Notably, the 1999 Super Cyclone had broken the backbone of the cinema industry. While there were around 300 cinema halls in the State before the Super Cyclone, the number has by now come down to 90.
Single-screen cinema halls in the State mostly screen Odia films. While emergence of multiplexes have hampered businesses of the single-screen cinema halls, lack of quality Odia movies is considered as another major reason of shutting down of several theatres.
According to Odisha Cinema Hall Owners’ Association president Bijendra Mohanty, film lovers in Odisha mostly go to single-screen theatres to watch regional movies. The cinema halls have been contributing to the business of Ollywood industry in a big way. But the halls are losing its audiences these days due to lack of quality and original Odia movies.