- Saturday, April 20, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
MULTIPLEX chain PVR Cinemas on Friday (30) resumed operations of its theatres in states and Union Territories of India that have allowed theatres to open, with all of its staff fully vaccinated.
As the country saw a steady fall in the number of Covid-19 cases, states like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Telangana have permitted the resumption of operations in cinema halls. In national capital Delhi, theatres were allowed to reopen on Monday (26) at half capacity.
To encourage and thank people who took the vaccine shots, PVR has also come up with a ‘JAB Offer’ for the customers. Under its scheme, one vaccinated guest can get another ticket free on select content as well as one F&B Combo free with the purchase of another in the first week of opening.
According to the multiplex chain, it will follow standard operating procedures mandated by the ministry of information and broadcasting as part of normal safety and hygiene norms.
PVR was set to screen some of the major Hollywood titles that will release in India over the coming weeks. They include The Suicide Squad (August 5), Mortal Kombat (July 30), The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Devil Do It (August 13), NBCUniversal’s titles Promising Young Woman (August 6), Old (August 13), Fast & Furious 9 (August 19), The Croods: A New Age and Nobody (August 27).
Ajay Bijli, the chairman and managing director at PVR Ltd said the company focused on vaccinating its entire staff after the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic struck.
“We are excited to re-open and the slate for this year looks promising. The strategy is to showcase maximum content across screens to meet the pent-up demand. So, with big-ticket Bollywood and regional films awaiting announcement by producers and internationally released Hollywood content as cinemas open up post the second wave, we expect the movie going habits to return among patrons,” he said in a statement.
“The focus now will be to encourage vaccination alongside introducing our new offerings as we begin to win back the confidence of our audience back to big screen entertainment,” he added.
Besides vaccinating its staff members, PVR has also stressed on maintaining stringent hygiene protocols, social distancing and food-safety measures, besides ensuring minimal human contact across every touchpoint.
The company has also asked its staff to vaccinate themselves and their dependents by reimbursing the cost of vaccination following the national drive to ensure they are 100 per cent inoculated before the cinemas reopen.
Gautam Dutta, the chief executive of PVR Ltd, said the company is excited to welcome customers back to theatres and offer them the “real cinema experience”.
“It is a very heart-warming development for us and ensuring the safety and security of our customers and employees is our foremost responsibility. All the ground level staff, employees across our cinemas is 100 per cent Vaccinated. PVR has always endeavoured to offer unique experiences and we certainly look forward to welcoming our patrons with fresh content, innovative and attractive offers on both tickets and F&B to enjoy movies exclusively with one’s friends and family,” he said.
