No hope before six more months: P Rammohan Rao, former TFDC Chairman

P Rammohan Rao, Former Chairman of Telangana Film Development Corporation, has expressed hope that cinema halls will be abuzz with footfalls one day.  “It may take six months or one year.  But there will be a day when normalcy will return,” he said.  

“The film industry has been going through a rough patch like other industries.  Just that the industry might take longer than others to limp back to normalcy.  My view is that things won’t be back to normal before January next year.  I don’t see people flocking to theatres until the fear of Coronavirus subsides completely.  Shopping malls, function halls, restaurants, too, are going to take a longer recovery cycle,” he said on Friday.

What about the fate of big-budget movies?  “Those which have the capacity to attract footfalls in normal times will wait for a theatrical release.  They will likely postpone their release dates,” he added.

When are film shoots going to recommence?  “We won’t be able to make an assessment as of now.  My guess is that shoots can start off six months from now.  Those which can be done with limited crews can commence their works earlier, I believe,” he said.

“Film shoots involve at least 50 members on set.  I don’t think even OTT platforms and TV industry will have it easy anytime soon.  The entertainment industry is greatly affected this year,” he opined.

“Producers of big movies are not willing to release movies directly on OTT platforms.  Their budgets are big, their stakes are huge.  No producer would be ready to incur losses by selling off his movie to OTT platforms just because he can’t wait for six months,” he said.

“As someone who runs theatres, I can say that theatre owners must be given some concessions by the government.  Instead of collecting charges from them as commercial establishments, cinema halls should be treated as an industry,” he added.