GUWAHATI: The film industry in Assam is staring at huge losses ever since curtains came down on cinema halls nearly 15 months ago in the wake of the rapid spread of Covid-19 forcing hall owners to shut down their business temporarily.
Everyone associated with the film industry, stars to newcomers, are struggling in the absence of no income for months.
The situation is so grim that it has forced some artists to change their professions.
Some have even left the industry.
“The pandemic has taken a serious toll on cinema as a whole.
All conventional platforms of exhibition are closed, from cinema halls to film festivals, for almost two years now and uncertainty is looming large over the industry.
When your survival is questioned, creativity suffers the most.
So the situation for cinema in Assam, like elsewhere, is grim,” National Award director Deep Choudhary told TOI.
Choudhary, who is known for his film ‘Alifa’, also said that the government should help not only filmmakers, but all kinds of artists in this critical time.
“A thinking government always nurtures its artists because a well-nurtured artist community determines the health of a society,” he added.
Echoing the same, director Reema Borah said post Covid, regional cinema will face more hurdles.
“Independent cinema will need more support,” Borah, an FTII graduate, wrote on Facebook.
Cinema hall owners in Assam are also struggling for their survival as there is no hope of recovering financially from the pandemic anytime soon.
The virus has put 25,000 jobs at risk.
“There is no income at all but we are paying the maintenance cost and fixed electricity charges.
Before the pandemic, there were about 80 halls in the state, which are shut now.
We are also getting reports that 10-12 halls will never open again.
The film industry is in a grim state,” president of the All Assam Cinema Hall Owners’ Association, Chinmoy Sharma, said.
Cinema halls are losing nearly Rs 4 to 8 lakh a month.
“Every cinema hall has a number of employees and despite our losses we have paid their salaries.
If the government waives off the electricity charges during the lockdown period it will be a huge relief for the halls.
We will submit a memorandum to the Assam chief minister soon,” Sharma, proprietor of Anuradha Cineplex, said.