Central Plaza owner Sharad Doshi: The pandemic was the decider

Central Plaza. Pics/Instagram

There's little to debate when establishing that the theatre-business is among the hardest hit due to the pandemic. News of single-screen cinema houses being unprepared to deal with the calamity surfaced soon after restrictions were imposed, but the closure of Central Plaza, which downed shutters after 84 years, hit closer to home.

Sharad Doshi, owner of the plaza, says, "We knew that the virus was spreading and this was not going to be a short-term affair. We called our staff and decided to close down indefinitely. We don't know the viability of the business, so, we decided to let the staff go after compensating them [for their services]."

Doshi says the pandemic was the final nail in the coffin. They had been contemplating shutting down certain centres anyway. "We would have continued to run some of our cinemas, but the pandemic was the decider. We had issues regarding taxation, and single-screen survival."

Doshi points out that the concern shown for multiplexes was not extended to single screens. "Distributors and producers didn't care about single screens. When part of the industry doesn't care, it becomes difficult to move on. Why would you want to be part of the system if you feel unwanted?"

So dissuaded is Doshi with the lack of support from the government that despite renovating the property, he will not venture into the film business. "Across the world, multiplexes are also suffering. In a country where the average income is less than Rs 30,000, what's the point of charging Rs 800 for a popcorn? How long can this model sustain? OTT is the future we have to embrace."

84 - Number of years Central Plaza was in service