Kolkata: Several single-screen cinema halls across the city have been served urgent notices by the police commissioner under the West Bengal Cinemas (Regulation of Public Exhibitions) Rules, 1956. The directives mandate that halls submit valid fire safety and electrical installation inspection certificates within seven days, failing which they face immediate closure. Two prominent single screens — Minar and Society — have shut down after being served the notice.Footfalls have dwindled significantly, and upgrading these spaces costs lakhs of rupees, leaving many to wonder how to move forward when the current business model cannot support such heavy investments. With one theatre has already been shuttered and others hanging in the balance, prominent industry stakeholders stepped in, holding a high-level meeting with the fire and emergency services minister on Thursday to resolve the crisis.Exhibitor Ratan Saha said: “I am in Tripura now and am aware of the issue. My own cinema, Ajanta, too has been served a notice. Though it is still open, a closure notice may or may not be sent any day.” Saha also told TOI that similar notices have been served to Prachi and Basusree. “Society has already been shut down. Keeping me in the loop, exhibitors approached the fire minister on Thursday. He has assured that the matter will be resolved.”Based on the notice, cinemas and multiplexes are directed not to run without a valid fire safety certificate from the fire department and an up-to-date electrical installation inspection certificate from the electricity directorate. Additionally, they have been instructed to submit copies of both certificates within seven days from the receipt of the memo, failing which strict action will be taken.Chiranjit Saha of Eastern India Motion Pictures Association told TOI that the notice has left many worried. “Nobody wants to take a risk. Some are keeping their cinema shut because doing otherwise will mean an offence. Society Cinema has been shut down,” he said.While some halls have pre-emptively halted operations, others with compliance records in place have responded quickly. Owner of Minar has kept his cinema shut now. “Safety of patrons is crucial and I welcome the govt’s move. I have kept Minar shut. I am grateful for Mithun Chakraborty for playing a proactive role in sorting out this massive crisis in the industry. He personally took the initiative to ensure that a meeting was called where all stakeholders could voice their concerns,” said Suranjan Paul, owner of Minar cinema.A trade source closely associated with Society Cinema who refused to be named said, “The govt norms have to be followed. So, the hall, which opened in 1948, was shut on Sept 2. It is a 1,000 seater and the last movie screened before the closure was ‘Toxic’. We have to work on getting the certificates before reopening.”Some have submitted their documents and kept their cinemas open. Debjiban Basu of Basusree, too, has furnished his cinema’s documents. “I have both the documents in place. On Thursday, I submitted them to Lalbazar.”Priya cinema too has been served a notice. On Aug 5, 2018, a fire broke out at a shop below Priya Cinema and the owners had made sure they had all the compliance certificate in place. “Back then, we overhauled everything. We have submitted all the certificates,” said Arijit Dutta of Priya.Vidisha Basu of Prachi said, “I received the notice on Sept 2 from the local police station. I have the fire licence and have already submitted it to the police station.”
