Paperless tickets, sanitisation cabinets, empty seats—PVR Cinemas CEO Gautam Dutta talks about why cinemas must reopen and with what precautions, and what they can achieve against OTT rivals once back in the race
Gautam Dutta, CEO of PVR Cinemas
The Multiplex Association of India (MAI) on September 15 appealed to the government—via advertisements in newspapers and on social media—to allow theatres to reopen. The cinema exhibition industry is estimated to have lost close to Rs9,000 crore in the six months of lockdown. The advertisement says over 84 countries, including China, the UK and US, among others, have opened theatres while maintaining safety protocols and got an encouraging response. Gautam Dutta, CEO of PVR Cinemas—a member of MAI—talks to Forbes India about how badly India’s cinema owners have been affected. Edited excerpts: How bad is the situation for the cinema industry?