The Hindu Business Line : Plea for selective ticket price hike divides Telugu film industry

THE Telugu film industry is sharply divided over the move by big producers seeking permission to increase prices of cinema tickets for the first two weeks of release of big budget films. The idea is to cash in on the image of the stars in the first few weeks - they can make profits even if a film fails.

The film chambers has represented to the State Government last week in this regard. Interestingly, the appeal comes at a time when some big budget movies, including the Chiranjeevi-starrer Jai Chiranjeeva, are slated for release for the upcoming Pongal season.

This is no music to small producers. They worry that raising of cinema ticket prices would spell doom for them, with small `budgets' of cinemagoers would go to the big films.

"People will hardly have any money left for watching small films," Mr Natti Kumar, a small producer, told Business Line.

Angered over the AP Film Chambers taking sides with the big producers, Mr Kumar, along with his fellow producers, has launched an indefinite hunger strike here on Monday. The bold move by small producers has created a flutter in the film industry, forcing the top brass of the chambers to start talks at the dharna site outside the Chambers' headquarters at Jubilee Hills. "How can they (the Chambers) just represent the big producers, who are a minority, and put our interests at stake? They claim that they are out to protect our interests. Increase in ticket prices would encourage black-marketing further. Also, it will directly encourage piracy," he argues.

"Moreover, releases of leading actors with hundreds of prints would leave no theatres for us to screen our films," he says.

Rubbing salt on the wounds, the Chambers has reportedly ignored certain suggestions made by the small producers (and subsequently ratified by the Executive Committee) while it represented the ticket issue with the Government.

Releasing a list of eight demands, the small producers ask the chambers to withdraw the plea for permission to increase in ticket prices. They also want it to see to it that tax on dubbing movies is raised to 50 per cent from 20 per cent.

The other demands include direct remittance of a subsidy of Rs 5 lakh to the lab. This will help small producers to get their films released.

Responding to their demands, Mr K.C. Sekhar Babu, President of the Producers' Council, and Mr C. Kalyan, Honorary Secretary of the Chambers, assured the agitating producers that the chambers would protect their interests. The agitated small producers relented and ended their one-day strike.

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