In lead role, Yogi Adityanath moves to revive cinema halls in Uttar Pradesh

NEW DELHI: Less than a month after 84-year-old Regal Cinema in Delhi’s Connaught Place joined thousands of single-screen theatres that have shut down across the country in recent years, the government in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh is looking to bring back the movie magic back to its towns.
Leading the effort is chief minister Yogi Adityanath who was left surprised at a review meeting earlier this week when told that 709 single-screen cinemas have closed in the state over the years, robbing many of the option of a cheap-priced movie.

Citing the example of states like Goa, Gujarat and Punjab where miniplexes have come up with air-conditioned refurbished halls but still cheaper tickets at around Rs 80, Adityanath has proposed that single screens be encouraged to convert to miniplexes and their owners be offered an attractive incentive scheme for them to be able to recover their costs fast. With film lovers largely migrating to plush multiplexes, single screen theatres have been struggling to make profits, forcing several of them to down curtains for good.

Multiplexes, however, have only sprung up in select big cities of UP and they charge much higher for tickets, making them inaccessible or unaffordable for a large section of the population in the state.

In many Uttar Pradesh towns, single-screen cinemas presently stand as abandoned buildings.

The government is deprived of considerable revenue in the form of entertainment tax due to closure of such cinemas, Yogi was told at the review meeting.

Multiplexes and miniplexes are the only way forward, the CM told the officials, and called for an “aggressive push by way of incentives” to singlescreen owners to reopen their cinemas by converting them to either multiplexes if they have land or miniplexes.

Shraddha Mishra, UP entertainment tax commissioner, said the state may sweeten an incentive scheme it formulated in December last year. “It involves a 50% return of entertainment tax to the single-screen owner for three years from the date he reopens his cinema hall. We are now reevaluating this scheme after the CM’s review and could make the offer even more attractive,” she told ET.

Mishra said the CM cited the example of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa and Punjab that have opened miniplexes, offering good facilities like comfortable seats, food counters and air-conditioning for Rs 80-100 tickets.

Miniplexes typically have two 110-seat halls with digital projection system, recliner seats and digital sound. Some leading private companies are promising a miniplex solution at an investment of just Rs 75 lakh if a space of about 5,000 square feet is available. They also promise the cost to be covered by way of profits in twothree years’ time if the occupancy is at least 40-50%.