Single-screen theatres in the city have been known to sell tickets at rates higher than those prescribed by the State government. So, all eyes are now on ticket sales of actor Rajinikanth’s Kaala , which is releasing on Thursday, as tickets for the first few shows of all his previous films were sold at exorbitant prices.
While the demand for tickets has not been as high as the actor’s previous film, Kabali , for which tickets were sold at a whopping ₹1,000 apiece by some theatres, Rajinikanth fans aver that several theatres on Chennai’s outskirts have nevertheless sold tickets for early morning shows at prices as high as ₹500.
“We bought early morning show tickets for ₹400 and ₹300. The normal shows that start from noon have usual rates,” said a fan. On Wednesday, there were rumours that the distributor of the film, Lyca Productions, was directing theatres in the city to sell tickets at prices higher than those fixed recently by the State government.
In addition, there were also media reports that popular theatres such as Udhayam Cinemas and Kamala Cinemas had decided not to screen Kaala because the distributor demanded that they sell tickets at ‘higher prices’ than what is legally permissible.
Clarifying, Ganesh Chidambaram, owner of Kamala Cinemas, said, “In our theatre, the ticket is priced at ₹99 plus taxes. The distributors wanted us to sell the tickets at ₹150 plus taxes, which is legally permissible. However, I cater to people who are not really rich; my ticket prices can only be ₹99 plus taxes. The terms didn’t work out between us, that’s all.”
Lyca Productions strongly denied rumours that it was forcing theatres to sell tickets at higher prices. “We have not asked theatres to sell tickets at illegal rates. We will never do that,” said an official from the firm.
Wunderbar Films, which has produced Kaala , added, “Kamala and Udhayam theatres have not expressed their consent to the terms agreed to by other cinemas. The news going around saying huge demands were put forth is absolutely false and baseless.”
Meanwhile, leaked portions of the film were doing the rounds on the social media late in the evening.
