SHILLONG: The unrest in the city has affected movie halls since May 31 and the proprietors hope that with the improved situation, there will be some change in occupancy.
Kishan Goenka, the proprietor of Bijou Cinema Hall in Police Bazar, said the unrest coupled with the prolonged curfew has affected occupancy 100 percent.
“Though we changed the show timing, every show was affected and considering the Shillong situation, the distributors from Guwahati did not provide new films,” Goenka said.
Hence, Bijou Cinema Hall had to continue with Baaghi 2, which was released last month.
Goenka said the average collection per day was a meager Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000, thereby incurring losses.
He hoped with Race 3 starting from Friday and the improved law and order, business will pick up.
Arvind Goenka, the proprietor of Anjalee that was directly affected by the law and order disturbance, said business was down in the three multiplexes compared to the past.
During the long curfew hours, the timing of the shows was changed and there were no shows beyond 6 pm.
He said sometimes, there were only a few persons in the halls. He is also banking on the Salman Khan starrer Race 3 starting from Friday and the change of curfew timing for a better business.
The employees of Dreamland Cinema had also the same views about the poor business during the curfew days and said with Friday’s release of Race 3, the situation will change and moreover, the curfew timing has been relaxed.
Payal Cinema Hall on Thana Road was closed for renovation from April 1. Ten years ago, when violent activities of HNLC were on the rise, cinema hall owners had rescheduled shows only during the day. There were no night shows since law and order was not favourable.
As peace was restored following the decline in the activities of HNLC since 2007-08, night life returned and the multiplexes constructed later attracted the crowd to the cinema even at night.
