Demystifier: An ED Original where we take a complex topic but the content is written in such a way that it is knowledgeable and easy to comprehend at the same time.
Movie lovers can seldom ignore the monumental impact of Girish Kasaravalli’s films on Indian cinema.
Unfortunately, Kannada cinema is witnessing its slow demise but two days ago, the State Budget declared itself as a saviour. It announced that the upper cap for movie tickets will now be set at 200 rupees, which might save this disappearance of Kannada movies.
Happy cinema lovers, stay a step ahead. Know the reasons behind this decision as ED demystifies it for you.
Why was it implemented?
Exactly what everyone had been thinking and nobody really knows.
To simplify, Kannada movie industry hasn’t been performing well for numerous years. Even though the tickets for Kannada movies are sold at a lower cost, we must not forget that multiplexes operate on profits.
Clearly, a half-filled Hindi/English show was much profitable than a full house of any movie in the regional language because tickets for the former were priced between 500-1000 rupees, which could easily cover the difference.
Even after reduced ticket prices, regional producers were unable to meet the fierce competition. This is when the government decided to step in.
How it works
The state is allowed to regulate or control the pricing of movie tickets, as the Supreme Court ruled it in July 2009.
Uniform capping of movie tickets will enable a fair competition to in the sector, according to the state government decision.
Added to that, regional language films of Tulu, Konkani, Beary, Kodava and Banjaa have to be screened at prime time (between 1.30pm and 7.30 pm) when the footfall is the most.
Earlier, movies screened were either in the late night or early morning hours which would affet the viewership.
Just that?
Interestingly, no.
There are additional terms and conditions to the decision.
This decision will only be implemented at multiplexes, and not single-screen theatres. There are 650 single-screen theatres and 90 multiplexes in Karnataka. In Bangaluru alone you find 100 theatres and 20 multiplexes.
This means that the Kannada film industry still has to go a mile extra as the concentration of producers will now shift to single screen complexes. And given that their presence is 7 times that of multiplexes, the hope that this decision provides is still bleak.
Multiplex owners are unhappy, of course.
The reason which often crops up is that such low ticket pricing will not help them recover the expenses on constructing the entire multiplex and making it operational. Low pricing is detrimental to the working of the multiplex itself since it requires far more additional costs than a single screen theater. The compulsion with the prime time slot will further decrease their revenue.
However, this move is dubbed to generate an estimated revenue of 1,000 crore rupees, which will then be channeled to provide resources to the Kannada film industry.
We only have hope.
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