The cinema theatre industry in Andhra Pradesh seems to be disappointed with the way the State government is handling the issues pertaining to it.
“The State government is at loggerheads with the entire film industry. However, it is the exhibitors, being at the fag end of the supply chain, who are set to lose in the slugfest,” said N.V. Prasad, former president of Andhra Pradesh Film Chamber of Commerce.
Many big names from the film industry met Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy after the State government took some decisions to regulate the ticket prices and implement the licensing policy. Another controversy surfaced pertaining to the screening of benefit shows and differential ticket prices of Pawan Kalyan-starrer ‘Bheemla Nayak’ that hit the theatres on Friday.
COVID-19 impact
“We have represented several time to the State government. We even personally explained the problems to Minister of I&PR and Cinematography Perni Venkataramaiah (Nani). The industry is slowly limping back to normalcy from the impact of COVID-19 pandemic and the slew of attacks from the State is certainly bad news for us,” Mr. Prasad told T he Hindu.
He said that the cinema theatres were the first to close and last to open during the pandemic period, with no ‘takeaway exemptions’.
Referring to the raids by government officials on theatres ‘in the garb of ensuring adherence to rules’, Mr. Prasad expressed pain at the industry being projected as ‘thieves and violators of rules’.
“Even those in power and their relatives are into the cinema exhibition business. It is improper to paint us in black. Pawan Kalyan has nothing to lose due to these raids, but the exhibitors will have to look for alternate business avenues,” he rued.
Mr. Prasad appealed to the State government to understand that around forty employees’ families are dependent on every cinema theatre. “The livelihood of these families directly bear the brunt when the industry is threatened,” he said.
