We are slowly getting back to our old normal but with masks, of course. One of the biggest indicators of this is the reopening of the theatres. The theatres in Kerala opened on the 5th of January and now in an unprecedented move, the Tamil Nadu government has opened the theatres to 100% occupancy. Here’s the story behind how that came to be, especially ahead of the slew of Pongal releases.

திரையரங்குகளில் 100 சதவீத பார்வையாளர்களுக்கு தமிழக அரசு அனுமதி. pic.twitter.com/oW90omzeQc

— AIADMK (@AIADMKOfficial) January 4, 2021

A few weeks ago, Thalapathy Vijay met with the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami requesting him to relax theatre norms by permitting cinema halls to function with full audience capacity. The TN government had allowed the theatres to function with 50% occupancy first, after the lockdown for COVID 19 was relaxed. Now that the theatres are permitted to function with a 100 %  audience capacity, the government is expected to issue statements around the clarity about the special shows for hyped films.

Apart from Vijay and Vijay Sethupathi’s Master, Simbu’s Eeswaran will also release in the theatres on the 13th of January. Make sure you read about cinema safety right here.