Atrium Cinemas disallowed to screen T20

Cantonment board says cinemas management did not acquire required permission

KARACHI:

Owing to alleged ‘restriction’ imposed by the Karachi Cantonment Board (KCB), the management of the Atrium Cinemas has stopped screening T20 Men’s World Cup live matches.

Located in Saddar, the Atrium Cinemas have three different halls, including Hall A, Hall B and Hall D where the management screened first T20 live match between Pakistan and India on October 24. Knowing the screening in all three halls without permission, the officials of the KCB directed the cinemas’ management to avoid screening without prior permission.

Next day as per a written letter to KCB available with The Express Tribune, the Mandviwalla Entertainment (Pvt.) Limited sent a letter to the KCB seeking the permission for remaining matches, including for October 26, 29, November 02, and 07.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Nadeem Mandviwalla, the owner of the Atrium Cinemas, said that his team got verbal permission and screened two more matches after submitting the permission letter.

“They (KCB) sent us a tax letter of over Rs70,000 for screening live matches,” Mandviwalla said.

The recovery tax receipt which was sent to the management of Atrium Cinemas, the copy available with The Express Tribune, showed that the KCB has asked the management to pay dues in the name of ‘Entertainment Fee’.

After receiving the tax receipt, the Atrium Cinemas stopped screening live matches. “This was an attempt to provide entertainment to the citizens and attract people to the cinemas,” Mandviwalla said.

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One of the officials of the KCB said that anyone screening in the limits of the board has to pay tax. “They did not get permission before screening matches,” the official alleged.

He also alleged that the Atrium Mall was not paying due taxes for last couple of months despite notices. “We work according to the law,” he justified, saying the board has not used any force to stop screening movies or matches. “We just sent them a receipt of tax that’s according to the law,” he added.

“We are not defaulters,” Mandviwalla claimed. “The cinemas were closed since March 2020 due to the pandemic,” he added.

Mandviwalla said that his cinemas in Islamabad were also screening live T20 matches without any hindrances by any authority. “This was not the first time we screened live cricket matches,” he briefed.

In a letter written to the KCB, Atrium Cinemas management said that not a single time it was barred to screen live matches in 2019 and 2011. “The recovery notice is uncalled for and without any basis,” it said. “We are canceling the showing which is already scheduled for today and also any other in the future,” the letter written to the KCB on November 2 said.

“We are cinemas, not hoardings,” said Mandviwalla. He said that he did not intend to screen any match because of such attitude of the KCB.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 4^th, 2021.