Mask & Movies: How cinema viewing changed in post Covid era

New Delhi, Oct 16 After around seven months of complete closure due to the restrictions imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, movie theatres in the national capital reopened for the public on Friday.

The movie viewing experience has, however, changed completely, right from booking tickets till the end of the film. IANS visited one of the theatres to find out how things have changed.

Even before entering the main cinema building, the ticket counter, which is often referred to as the ‘Box Office’, has become completely digital in order to make the ticket buying experience completely contact-less.

Next, when one enters the building, wearing of masks is complusary and sanitisers have been deployed at short distances to keep both the staff and the viewers safe.

The food counters too have become digitalised and the food, including movie buffs’ favourite popcorn, is served in a sealed container to maintain highest quality of hygiene standards.

However, despite all the safety measures in place, the theatres, whose seating capacity has already been reduced to half keeping in view the social distancing norms, saw only a handful of people who could be counted on fingertips.

Neha Chaturvedi, Unit Head, PVR Plaza, told IANS, “We are extremely happy and excited to come back and be there for our guests just like before. However, the whole cinema viewing experience has now changed completely.”

“We were eagerly waiting for this decision for the last seven months,” she added.

Raman, 24, who came out after watching the first show of the day, said, “A lot has changed in terms of the cinema viewing experice, from ticketing to movie watching. Though the crowd was really less, the safety arrangements are great and would reduce whatever fear people have in their minds.”

Shivam, 28, who watched the second show of the day, told IANS that a lot seemed to have changed because in the post Covid-19 era, everything has to be done in a protected way and also keeping in mind the social distancing norms.