Mumbai: Ahead of the upcoming Union Budget, representatives of India’s top multiplex chains along with BJP MP Sunny Deol met the Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday and received an assurance that the government will certainly consider relief measures proposed by the industry.
Film critic and trade analyst Taran Adarsh confirmed on Twitter that Sitharaman assured the delegation that the government will certainly consider relief measures proposed by them. The delegation included Sanjeev Kumar Bijli and Kamal Gianchandani, who are the Joint Managing Director and CEO of PVR Pictures respectively, along with actor and BJP MP Sunny Deol.
The upcoming Union Budget is likely to be very crucial for the film and entertainment industry, which has been devastated due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The delegation had also met the Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Prakash Javadekar earlier this week.
While many A-lister films like ‘Laxmii’, ‘Coolie No 1’, ‘Gulabo Sitabo’, among others took the OTT platform route for its release, some of the major films are still hoping for a release on the big screens. Exhibitors and distributors, too, are pinning their hopes on these major films that were up for release last year but had to wait due to the COVID-19 pandemic.