The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has released another set of guidelines under Unlock 5.0, and this time for the entertainment industry as the ministry allowed the reopening of cinemas from 15 October 2020. It has allowed movie theatres to operate with 50 percent seating capacity in the areas that fall outside the containment zone. And not only this, entertainment parks and similar places will also be allowed to reopen from 15 October.

As per the guidelines, it will be mandatory to follow the necessary safety precautions like wearing of face masks, maintaining social distancing, provision for thermal scanning, and use of hand sanitizer.

Realizing the cinema is a state subject, it would be interesting to learn whether all states permit the reopening of cinemas. As of now, West Bengal is the only state to allow the reopening of theatres Whereas states like Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra said that the cinemas will remain closed till 31 October 2020.

The Multiplex Association Of India reacted to the new guidelines issued by the government and released an official statement welcoming the MHA's decision of reopening cinemas. "Millions of movie lovers, employees of the cinema exhibition sector, along with the entire film industry were eagerly awaiting this announcement. We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting for their support and guidance. We are committed to ensure a safe, secure and hygienic cinema-going experience for the movie lovers of our country, as always, we would continue to assign top-most priority to the health and well-being of our guests and employees.", the statement said.

The closure of cinema halls has incurred losses to the multiplexes up to 9,000 crores in the six months of lockdown since March. And talking about content-driven big films, films like Laxmmi Bomb, Big Bull, and Bhuj have already acquired by the digital platforms Netflix, Disney Plus Hotstar, and Amazon Prime Video. Let's see if footfalls will be dented on the reopening of cinemas or will everybody be back to the normal.