By Narendra Puppala December 26, 2012 : , The Andhra Pradesh government’s order (GO-35) has caused cinemas to drop as small as nine pins.V-epiq management, Asia’s 2nd largest cinema theatre and India’s biggest, shut down shutters on Saturday.
Management has indicated that it will be impossible to cover operational expenses if the show is run under the GO-35 state law.
This sprawling, state-of the-art movie theatre covers 7.5 acres in Nellore’s suburb of Sullurpeta.According to the government order the theater is classified under the ‘C’ category and tickets can be purchased at Rs 30 and Rs 20 respectively.
The theatre was built by UV Creations.It has a screen that measures 105 feet wide and 54 feet high.
There is also a 3D surround sound system and seats 670 people.There are two additional screens and 170 seats.
The tickets for the two highest seating classes of the GO were available at Rs 100 or Rs 200 before the implementation.
As many as 125 cinemas were closed by Saturday.
Most of them are located within village limits.
Since the creation of the Andhra Pradesh state government under Chief Minister Y.S.Jagan Mohanreddy introduced the GO.
Up to 15% of 985 state-owned movie theatres have stopped showing movies.
The authorities are now focusing their attention on theaters for any violations.
Many theatre managements were fined and others forced to stop operations due to non-renewal or non-fulfillment statutory obligations.
This crisis began in April, when the state government introduced the GO-35.
The release of Pawan Kalyan’s movie “Vakeel Saab” coincided with the GO, raising suspicions about the motive behind this move.
According to the order, tickets prices are capped at Rs 40 and Rs 60 respectively, while Rs 100 is allowed in municipal limits.
In municipal limits, the highest prices are capped at Rs 70 and Rs 50 respectively.For gram panchayats, the highest price is Rs 20, while Rs 10 is the lowest.
A single judge bench from the AP High Court issued an interim order suspending controversial GO on December 14.The state government however appealed against suspension.Following an interim order by a single-judge bench of the AP High Court on December 14, theatre owners were allowed to submit ticket price revision requests to their respective districts joint collectors, who will decide the ticket prices.
This is why a state-level commission will be established.
According to industry insiders, it’s difficult for the price revisions to be achieved.
The state government claims that it initiated regulation at the request of Telugu film industries.
The issue is now political fodder.Opposition parties such as Jana Sena and Telugu Desam have attacked the YSRCP government of Andhra Pradesh.
A few movie stars expressed dismay at the ‘unreasonable cap’ on film ticket prices, but it’s exhibitors, distributors and theatre owners that are suffering.AP’s movie theatre owners are based in Andhra Pradesh.This is not the case for actors or Tollywood big-shots who work out of Hyderabad, Telangana.
They feel they’re just collateral damage to a political battle that is taking place behind closed doors.
Two ‘filmi parties’ are being fought by the ruling YSRCP, the TDP which was founded by N.T.Rama Rao is his son, and actor Balakrishna, who are both MLAs for the TDP and back Chandrababu Naidu.Pawan Kalyan, founder of Jana Sena Party is one the most prominent stars in Telugu cinema.
According to industry insiders, the GO-35 plan is the YSRCP’s party chief’s strategy to rip the carpet from the feet of the opposition parties.
The Telugu film industry is one of India’s largest, but it seems like the screen is blank right now.Ironically, Telangana was the only neighboring state to announce a rise in movie tickets prices on Saturday.It’s a true story of two states and one movie industry.
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