(Image source from: indianexpress.com)

After the shocking news of Karnataka opening educational institutions offline despite the pandemic, now Kerala is opening cinemas on the state from 13th January onwards.

Theaters have been shut all over the country since the beginning of the pandemic. Because of this, malls have had trouble paying for rent or electricity bills during the pandemic. However, the fixed electricity charge is also being reduced by 50% for all the malls in the state to compensate for the charges that they haven't received during the pandemic.

The cinema owners only decided to open theaters if they were provided waivers by the government. The government has decided to make the entertainment tax which was previously 10% and the GST the same tax price, reducing the cost of property tax for the theatre owners.

The state Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced the validity of licenses for theaters and cinema to be opened till March 31st, 2021. Cinema halls are given installments to pay their taxes to to local bodies from March onwards.

The Kerala Film Chamber of Cinema was the corporation that declared the opening of theaters across the state.

The Malayalam film industry is highly pleased with the announcement and will follow strict protocols set by the health officials to produce movies and follow social distancing protocols simultaneously.

The first released movie will be a Tamil movie starring actor Vijay. The movie is called ‘Masters’.

By Meena Atmakuri