A delegation of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) has met Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy with an appeal to take steps to implement the government’s earlier decision on capping ticket rates at multiplexes at ₹200, which has been stuck in court for almost two years.
The Chief Minister, a producer and distributor himself, has promised to find a legal remedy, said S.A. Chinne Gowda, president, KFCC.
Kannada cine-goers were a happy lot when, in 2017, the Siddaramaiah government announced in the budget that ticket rates in multiplexes would be capped at ₹200 on all days. It issued a government order (GO) in this regard on May 2, 2017.
But the happiness was short-lived, with the order being challenged in the High Court of Karnataka. The court said that a cap shall not be applicable on Saturdays, Sundays and State holidays across Karnataka for now. The petition is still pending in court.
The government has not made any attempt to pursue the case and ticket rates remain high in Bengaluru on holidays and weekends.
Following the Tamil Nadu model, where ₹120 is the maximum price for a movie ticket, Mr. Siddaramaiah had capped ticket rates at ₹200 (apart from Golden Class in multiplexes) and made it mandatory to screen Kannada and regional language films on one screen in each multiplex between 1.30 p.m. and 7.30 p.m.
The FICCI-Multiplex Association of India filed a petition in the High Court questioning the GO, terming it retrograde and irrational. The petitioner also questioned the validity of the government issuing an order when the Karnataka Cinema (Regulations) Act and Rules does not give power to the State to fix ticket prices in cinema theatres.
Costly intermission
Watching films in multiplexes is still beyond the reach of the middle class, as besides ticket rates, most cine-goers cannot afford to buy drinking water and snacks there. Though the government made a move to allow cine-goers to carry food and water into multiplexes in July 2018, it was not carried through.
Minister for Food and Civil Supplies B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan promised to carry this forward after the Maharashtra government decided to allow food and water inside multiplexes, following a directive from the Bombay HC. The issue subsequently cropped up in the Legislative Council and actor-turned-politician Tara argued that ticket prices in multiplexes were exorbitant when compared to those in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala.
Tanmayi Purohit, an avid film-goer who recently fought with a multiplex management to take drinking water inside, says that in many places, popcorn is costlier than the actual movie ticket. A bottle of water, with MRP of ₹20, is being sold for ₹100 in many multiplexes.
More screens
According to the FICCI-KPMG Media and Entertainment Industry Report (2017), India has around 2,500 multiplex screens. Multiplexes have been adding screens at the rate of 8% to 9% annually over the past few years.
