Mamata Banerjee allows 100% occupancy in theatres in Bengal as Tamil Nadu revokes order

Aping the Tamil Nadu government, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday, allowed full occupancy of cinema halls with COVID safety protocols in place. This development comes two days after the Eastern India Motion Picture Association wrote to her seeking full occupancy in theatres, citing "huge financial crisis" faced by cinema hall owners. The MHA's COVID-19 restriction only allows 50% occupancy of theatres, owing to social distancing guidelines. Mamata Banerjee is known for her closeness with the Bengal film industry with Tollywood's biggest stars like Moon Moon Sen, Satabdi Roy, and Dev attending Trinamool events.

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Film body writes to Mamata

President of the association, Piya Sengupta wrote, "Cinema owners have operated as per rules with 50 per cent occupancy to combat the spread of the disease for the safety of health of cine-goers. However, the cinema hall owners however sustained a huge financial crisis by way of such compliance with the Government directives". Citing a recent Tamil Nadu government order, Sengupta urged her to allow full occupancy adding, "The cinema hall owners are suffering huge losses as no new banner Bengali/Hindi hints are releasing due to the occupancy restrictions". Similarly, the Telugu Film Producers Council has also made a formal representation to the Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, seeking that 100 per cent capacity be allowed in theatres.

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Tamil Nadu's theatre order

The Tamil Nadu government invited the ire of the Centre, announcing that it would allow 100% seating capacity at the cinemas and theatres, considering the decline of COVID-19 cases in the state. This development comes after actors Vijay & Silambarasan (Simbu) met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, requesting that their movies 'Master' & 'Eeswaran' scheduled to release for Pongal get 100% seating capacity at theatres. This move by the government has alarmed several health experts and the MHA which has written to the Tamil Nadu govt reminding the 50% seating capacity limit. With the Madras High Court asking the theatres in Tamil Nadu to operate at 50% capacity, the state government has now revoked the order.

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While AIADMK is an NDA ally, Mamata Banerjee, has been at odds with the Centre since 2014. She has recently stepped up her attack - moving the Supreme Court over the MHA's transfer of the three IPS officers over attack on BJP chief J P Nadda's convoy. She has also opposed the Centre over the Farm Laws, CAA, PM-KISAN, AYUSH schemes. Recently, she also accused the BJP of being outsiders - alleging them of insulting Rabindranath Tagore, Visva Bharati University, Netaji and Bengali culture in general. Both Tamil nadu and Bengal are set to go to polls in April-May.

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