The ban on Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes have affected the entire nation in various ways. While the common man of the country is trying to adjust and contribute hoping to eradicate black money from the Indian economy, according to reports, several industries are suffering from poor business and loss of man hours.
Among them is cinema. Even though many are accustomed to cashless transactions and use of debit/credit cards, people, in general, have reduced taking trips to cinema halls. As said by actor Arjun Rampal, Rock On 2 was “released at an unfortunate time” since people do not have enough cash to watch the movie in theatres. Along with Rock On 2, released an animated film titled Chaar Sahibzaade: Rise of Banda Singh Bahadur which has also suffered a major setback at the box office according to sources. “The business has dropped by 35-40 per cent. As people are losing their incomes, online booking of tickets are also decreasing by the day,” said a multiplex manager at a shopping mall in East Delhi.
“People are not being able to watch movies due to the demonetisation move. With the release of Rock On 2 and Chaar Sahibzaade, it has been noticed that very few people made it a point to go to the theatres,” said Manish Muradiya who manages public relations for several celebrities.
“Promotions have been affected due to the cash crunch. Tum Bin II barely saw any promotional events and several ones for Force 2 got cancelled in Delhi since most of the promotional activities are based on cash. The effects may last for the next three to four months. Even the release dates of some movies may be postponed, since the major source of revenue generation are the theatres. Now, if the public chooses to avoid cinema halls for a while it will definitely affect revenue,” he added. Besides cash crush, the slowdown in the market has badly hit the entertainment industry. As movie-goers are not coming to cinema halls, street vendors and assistant level staff have also been rendered jobless for the past one week.
While the film industry is saddened by the unfortunate timing of the releases and is trying to push back several release dates, some movie buffs seem unperturbed by the Prime Minister’s call on demonetisation. Leima Chaudhuri, a freelance writer by profession and a passionate movie lover says: “It is almost a necessity for me to watch movies, I watch them on the very weekend after their release. So even after note ban, I buy online tickets to watch movies.”