Mumbai, Jan 13 (IANS): Actor-producer Jackky Bhagnani asserts that the medium of cinema is here to stay. Taking a cue from history, he opines that it takes at least 2 to 4 years for things to get back to normal after a pandemic strikes.

Of course, a pandemic expedites and triggers evolution but it doesn't necessarily mean that theatres will shut down completely.

Sharing his thoughts on the subject of cinemas in the era of pandemic, he says, "History proves that once a pandemic hits, it takes 2-4 years for things to normalise, to see the socio-economic upturn. Until such time, we have to learn to co-exist with Covid-19, which I think all industries are trying to do."

He continues, "As far as theatres are concerned, theatres were, are and always will be an integral part of the society's ecosystem. I definitely don't see it going away anywhere, just that the consumption patterns will evolve. I foresee a clear divide on the kind of content people will want to watch on the big screens vs what they will like to consume on their devices at home. Both mediums will happily co-exist and thrive."

He adds, "Being a massive film buff myself and having seen pretty much all aspects of filmmaking, I can say for sure that nothing can replace the immersive cinema experience and the joy & thrill that it brings along with it. So yes, movies get made - while some will be designed especially for home screens and some for the bigger ones."

In his opinion, OTT and theatres will coexist in the near future, "Today, we are in an era of entertainment where both these mediums attract audiences. The kind of cinema will get differentiated."

"So, while the audiences will look forward to certain films on the home screens, they will definitely wait to watch others only on the big screens. I am confident that both mediums will run parallely and successfully", he concluded.