Over 900 cinemas in Mumbai and the surrounding Indian state of Maharashtra have threatened to close indefinitely on March 19 in protest against the government's entertainment tax policy.

The call for action was sounded by the Cinematograph Exibitors' Association of India (CEAI) president Nester D'Souza and Theatre Owners' Association (TOA) president R V Vidhani.

The Association claims that the Maharashtra government has reneged on its promise to reduce entertainment tax from 55% to 45%.

Meanwhile the Indian Cricket team is currently touring Pakistan and no new Hindi films have been lined up for release in India for the duration of the tour.

All major releases including Shah Rukh Khan starrer, Main Hoon Na have been scheduled for release in late April after the cricket matches are over. Given the popularity of Cricket many cinemas across India have installed Video Projectors to beam Cricket matches.