Foreign theatre owners relieved
Movie theatres in cities such as New York, Vancouver, London and Dubai took a big beating as the flow of films from Bollywood came to a standstill and many have had to temporarily close down.
By Leena Mulchandani, ET Bureau |
MUMBAI: Munish Kalia, manager of Safari Cinema in London's Middlesex, is a happy man as the stand-off between Bollywood producers and multiplex owners came to an end early on Friday morning. The reason is not hard to understand: he is no longer required to down the shutters of his movie theatre from Monday, which he had planned to do earlier in the absence of new releases of Hindi movie.
Movie theatres in cities such as New York, Vancouver, London and Dubai took a big beating as the flow of films from Bollywood came to a standstill and many have had to temporarily close down. Now, with some big-ticket releases like Yashraj Films' New York, Eros' Kambakkht Ishq and UTV's Kaminey scheduled for release in the next two months, things could get better.
A phone call to the Eagle theatre in New York, makes the picture clear. "Due to the Bollywood strike Eagle Theatre is closed," a recorded voice said. The Raja Cinema in Vancouver also shutdown on May 12. "We'll be temporarily closed, but hope to reopen with a new movie in June," the theatre���s website says.
These theatres depend largely on Bollywood content for their programming and are screening older films. "We're screening Dostana currently, but barely 2-3 people come as compared to almost 1,000 people coming in on weekends," Mr Kalia said. Murli Shanker, manager of Donya Cinema in Dubai, was also hoping for the stand-off to end soon. "We're miles away from India and not even involved in the issue, but we���re still affected," he said.
Movie theatres in cities such as New York, Vancouver, London and Dubai took a big beating as the flow of films from Bollywood came to a standstill and many have had to temporarily close down. Now, with some big-ticket releases like Yashraj Films' New York, Eros' Kambakkht Ishq and UTV's Kaminey scheduled for release in the next two months, things could get better.
A phone call to the Eagle theatre in New York, makes the picture clear. "Due to the Bollywood strike Eagle Theatre is closed," a recorded voice said. The Raja Cinema in Vancouver also shutdown on May 12. "We'll be temporarily closed, but hope to reopen with a new movie in June," the theatre���s website says.
These theatres depend largely on Bollywood content for their programming and are screening older films. "We're screening Dostana currently, but barely 2-3 people come as compared to almost 1,000 people coming in on weekends," Mr Kalia said. Murli Shanker, manager of Donya Cinema in Dubai, was also hoping for the stand-off to end soon. "We're miles away from India and not even involved in the issue, but we���re still affected," he said.
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