Mumbai, Dec 01: The guns many have fallen silent after a 60-hour-long battle on Saturday, but the flick of the real life action has left scars on the country`s entertainment industry that will take long to go.
Bollywood, which prides itself for producing the world`s highest number of movies in a year, will find it hard now to draw people back to theatres in the aftermath of the attack that killed nearly 200 lives.
According to media and entertainment industry experts, the country`s film screening business incurred a loss of not less than Rs 50 crore during the period Mumbai was under siege.
"After the first night of attack, all the theatres in the city (Mumbai) were closed for two days. The incident has left an impact on other places also, with viewership falling by about 40 per cent," Pyramid Saimira Group Chairman P S Saminathan told reporters.
The size of the theatre business in the country is worth about Rs 25 crore per day, he said, adding, "The industry suffered a loss of about Rs 50 crore in the last three days in the entire country."
Saminathan said it could take at least four-five months to restore confidence of the audience, as there is hardly any security mechanism in cinema halls.
As on September, Pyramid Saimira had 745 screens across the country, with four of them located in Mumbai itself.
Expressing similar views, Shemaroo Entertainment Director Hiren Gada said: "There is a fear in people`s mind...restoring confidence is the need of the hour. With adequate security and time, common man will again come out in public spaces."
He said the film production business also got affected as shootings were suspended during those three days.
"Producers had to pay for technicians and actors during the three agonising days. In the coming days also, the production expenses will increase as security on sets and for important casts has to be tightened," Gada said.
According to a film producer, the attack on the Bollywood city affected the television and movie business, which is estimated to have suffered a loss of Rs 10 crore in the last three days.
The city alone has 75 multiplexes and about 30 single screen theatres.
Another leading entertainment house PVR CineMedia Chief Executive Officer Gautam Dutta said the company`s all the three multiplexes, having 20 screens, were closed for two days, while business in other cities also suffered.
He, however, declined to give any estimate, saying it was too early to make any assessment.
"Security has to be beefed up... but life has to go on and people are generally positive. They will eventually come out together," Dutta hoped.
"While there will be nervousness amongst Mumbaikars, we will put in our best to bring life back to normalcy at the earliest," INX Media Chairperson Indrani Mukherjea said.
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, December 1, 2008, 13:18
