Tulu theatre and cine artistes Devdas Kapikad, Vijay Kumar Kodialbail, Kishore D Shetty and producers Prakash Pandeshwar and Mohan Koppala urged the government to allow screening of films, staging of plays in halls with full capacity.
The district is returning to normalcy as the Covid-19 cases declined drastically in the past few weeks. Schools and colleges have reopened. The artists sought to draw the government's attention to those dependent on movies and theatre for their living and their financial distress as theatres remain shut.
Kapikad said, "There are hundreds of families depending on theatre for a living. With theatre being dormant for 18 months, the artists are in distress. There are more than 30 theatres groups in the district with more than 5,000 artists. The government which failed to help the artists should allow us to stage plays, screen films to full capacity and help the families," he added.
"Many cinema halls have already shut down in the district. The restrictions on the cinema halls should be removed," Vijaykumar Kodialbail said. Pandeshwar said, "10 to 15 films are slated for release. With 50 per cent capacity, people are not ready to return to theatres. When traders are allowed to function with 100 per cent capacity in the market, why is there discrimination on the screening of movies and staging plays? The producers who invested heavily in films are unable to repay the loans availed at higher interest," he added.
"Tulu cinema and play have contributed to the growth of Tulu language and culture. All the theatre groups should be allowed to stage plays during the upcoming Dasara, Deepavali festivals," Kishore Shetty said.
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