More than 300- theatre owners in the state of Telangana have prepared a wishlist for their welfare and being in the business. With earnings from theatres have gone down drastically and barring ‘Kalki’ no other big film did well in Telangana in the last few months. Hence, they are looking for some help from Chief Minister Revanth Reddy to wriggle out of their crises. It is learnt that an exhibitor happened to meet the Chief Minister at some function and urged him for appointment and he assured to meet them during Assembly Sessions. “They hope to meet him soon with a wishlist and would request him to resolve their long pending woes,” says a source and adds, “They would seek uniform ticket rates in Telangana state at Rs 100 or 150, rather than jacking up ticket rates for star-studded films which is affecting business of subsequent smaller movies,” he adds.
Picture courtesy : DC
They would also be requesting the CM to extend the theatre licence renewal period from 3 years to 5 years like in the past. “It was only 5 years before but things have changed in the last few years, we don’t know why,” he points out. He claims that they would also seek industrial tariff for power bills in 400-odd theatres since now they are coughing up big sums. “They would request the government to bring power under industrial tariff at Rs 3 or 4 per unit, instead of Rs 10 per unit, which is pinching their pockets," he adds.
Instead of just depending on film content, hundreds of exhibitors have resolved to make alterations to their theatres and make them commercially viable. They have requested Chief Minister Revanth Reddy to give them permission to make alterations to theatres and make them commercially viable. "We are hoping that CM Revanth Reddy would consider our long-pending request and allow changes to enable us to run theatres instead of shutting down due to lack of patrons,” he adds.
