Schools and Cinema Theatres open in Kerala: Drishyam 2 To Premiere On Amazon Prime Video

Thiruvananthapuram Jan 1: The students were brimming with excitement seeing friends and teachers after a gap of many months. But, strict instructions right from wearing masks, washing hands at frequent intervals to mandatory social distancing gave a formal colour to their first day in schools, when they reopened partially in Kerala on Friday.

As part of the government’s instructions, classes for 10 and 12 standards began in schools across the southern state with limited hours and restricted number of students.

Meanwhile, movie theatres in Kerala will reopen from January 5 but only with 50 per cent capacity, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced today. Theaters in the state are reopening nine months after the lockdown forced cinema halls to shut down.

Theatre operators must ensure that all COVID-19 protocols, including masks, social distancing and sanitisation are followed while functioning.

Cinema halls in several parts of the country started reopening from October, months in the shadow of the pandemic. Theatres and multiplexes had been shut down since March because of the coronavirus crisis.

Since March, students were attending online classes through the Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education’s (KITE)- Victers channel. They were greeted with digital thermometers at the entrance of schools to measure their body temperature, which is mandatory as per the guidelines issued by the authorities. They were admitted into the school campus only after collecting consent letters from the parents.

Schools in Kerala remained closed since the coronavirus-induced lockdown in March. A recent high-level meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, had decided to reopen educational institutions, including schools and colleges, in adherence with COVID-19 guidelines.

In its guidelines, the General Education Department directed that only 50 per cent of students be allowed at a time in schools and that classes be arranged as one student per bench in the first week. It is better to allow 25 per cent of the students at a time in schools, where their strength exceeds 300 in number in classes 10 and 12, according to the guidelines issued by the Director of Public Instructions (DPI).

In the detailed instructions given, the authorities have asked the school managements to ensure masks, sanitizer, digital thermometer and soaps in their institutions. Students should be asked to maintain a distance of two metres between each other and classes may be conducted in shifts of limited hours if necessary, it said. Articles in classes should be disinfected every two hours and children should be admitted in classes only with the consent of parents.

As per the present plan, the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) and Higher Secondary (Kerala HSC) second year board exams would be held from March 17 to 30 in strict compliance with COVID protocols. At the college level, graduate and post-graduate classes and classes at the Universities of Agriculture and Fisheries would also begin early January with a limited number of students. It was also decided to start classes from second year in medical colleges, official sources added. Meanwhile, an official statement said here that a total of 1.75 lakh new students have taken admission in classes 1 to 10 in state-run schools this academic year.

Mohanlal-Starrer Drishyam 2 To Premiere On Amazon Prime Video

The highly-anticipated Malayalam thriller Drishyam 2, starring superstar Mohanlal, will have its global premiere on Amazon Prime Video in 2021, the streamer announced on Friday. Mohanlal dropped the teaser of the film on January 1, 2021 in the midnight to give his fans a sneak peek. Written and directed by Jeetu Joseph, and produced by Antony Perumbavoor under the banner of Aashirvad Cinemas, “Drishyam 2” stars Meena, Siddique, Asha Sharath, Murali Gopy, Ansiba, Esther, and Saikumar in pivotal roles.

Mohanlal plays the role of Georgekutty in the movie. The sequel will details how his family is coping with the fall-out from the fateful night depicted in the original movie.With the entire family harbouring a secret that could make or break them, the gripping teaser sets the premise of what lies in store.

Mohanlal in a tweet said : “Georgekutty and his family are coming soon on @PrimeVideoIN #Drishyam2OnPrime #HappyNewYear2021″ and also released the film”s teaser.

At least 66 films, including “Kunjali Marikar” of Mohanlal have been held up due to Covid-19 as theatres have not opened so far.

The film has been shot in Kochi and Thodupuzha.

Director Jeethu Joseph said the film”s producer Antony Perumbavoor had spoken to him onthe OTT release and it is expected that the film will receive a wider audience.

Post production work is expected to be completed in a month”s time.

Amazon will decide about the film”s release date, he said, adding ” we will hand over the film”s content by the end of January”.

“Drishyam 2” is the sequel of the hit crime thriller “Drishyam” released in2013 and was made in several languages.

Theatre owner and Producer Liberty Basheer came out against the decision, saying it would hit theatre owners hard.

Release of many films have been held up due to Covid-19, he said.

“Since the last 10 months, theatres have been closed and we were hoping that Drishyam 2 will draw back audiences to the theatres once they open,” he said.

The decision to release the film on the OTT platform was shocking, he said.