National Anthem in theatres: Sandalwood foresees adverse effects of mandatorily playing the song

The Supreme Court recently made it mandatory to play the national anthem at cinema halls across the nation. The decision has been met with mixed response. While some feel that it was a good decision as it ignites patriotism in people, a section of people feel otherwise. International Business Times India spoke to a few people from the Kannada film industry and here is what they feel:

Noted filmmaker KM Chaitanya: Cinema hall is not the best place to play the national anthem. People come to theatres for all sorts of entertainment. Anthem sets the mood of the viewers and it has to be played wisely. A movie like Basic Instinct, which begins with an erotic scene, will cause discomfort to the viewers for known reasons. How will people receive a song like 'Appa loosea amma loose' moments after hearing the national anthem?

In my view, it will be an insult to the national anthem if we play when viewers are not in a right mood. And it defeats the purpose of solemnness about the national anthem.

I feel the national anthem should be reserved for select events, award ceremony etc. May be it can be imposed in work places as there is dignity and respect in offices and people might be in a position to accept it.

Leading producer K Manju: We have highest respect for the national anthem, but cinema hall is not the right place for it. People from different ages, class and tastes come to the hall and we cannot ask them all to show them respect by standing up every time. I feel it is good if it is played in events and functions.

Audience will not enter theatres in one go and there will be good number of people's flow till the first 30 minutes of a show. I don't think people will listen to the song and stop where they are the moment they hear the anthem while entering the hall. Let me tell you, in rural areas there are also people who come to cinema halls in an inebriated state. Can we expect them to show respect?

Naveen Kumar from Urvashi Theatre: We started playing the national anthem the very next day after the Supreme Court passed its order. We are happy to play it as it ignites patriotism in people. But I also admit there is a flip side to it and both good and bad impacts should be considered as playing national anthem before every movie starts might have adverse impact on the viewers in the longer run.

Shashank: Initially, I thought it was a good move. It is because in the day-to-day life, people have very less time to think about nationalism and playing national anthem will be a process of alerting their patriotic consciousness.

But soon I realised that it is not going to serve any purpose. I feel people might feel disinterested to hear the national anthem every time they enter a cinema hall. Gradually, it might become a joke the way people mock ads warning about smoking before a film is played in cinema hall.