The State government would soon announce its decision on the proposal to hike cinema ticket fares, said Animal Husbandry and Cinematography Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav.
He said the industry, which was among the largest employers, suffered immensely since the onset of COVID-19 pandemic. It was, however, on recovery mode since the coronavirus-related restrictions were eased.
The Minister was speaking after a delegation from the film industry comprising producers and directors, including Dil Raju and S.S. Rajamouli, called on him on Friday. They explained the problems faced by the industry on account of steep escalation in production costs and spiralling rise in operation and maintenance charges that had plunged the industry into losses.
Coupled with this was the impact of COVID-19 which had badly hit the film industry, they said, urging the government to take a decision on a hike in ticket prices at the earliest. Mr. Srinivas Yadav said the industry which faced a crisis like situation in the past two years was in recovery mode. Several big-budget films were on the anvil even as the effects of the pandemic were receding following initiatives taken by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao-led government.
He responded positively to the request of the film industry representatives asserting that the government would conduct a study on the existing prices of film tickets in other States and take a decision that would not affect producers and exhibitors. He assured that the issue would be taken to the notice of the Chief Minister for a decision on ticket price hike.
