With just hours left for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to present the State Budget, the crisis-ridden Kannada film industry is on the edge of seat hoping that he would regulate the entry fee at multiplexes and make it mandatory for multiplexes to have two shows of Kannada films in each screen every day.
The 14-member expert committee appointed by the government to draft a policy for promotion of Kannada cinema has recommended, among other things, uniform entry fee at multiplexes and two compulsory screenings of Kannada films in a day.
The Kannada film industry has launched an online petition to urge the government to cap the multiplex entry fee at Rs.120 on the lines of neighbouring Tamil Nadu. The petition was signed by stars such as Shivarajkumar, Sudeep, Jaggesh, Haripriya, and Ragini and hundreds of artistes and technicians from the Kannada film industry.
The Kannada film industry has been urging the government to follow the Maharashtra model and make it mandatory to have two shows of Kannada films in each screen every day in multiplexes, said Umesh Banakar vice-president of the Karnataka Film Chamber Of Commerce (KFCC).
The expert committee also recommended collecting Rs. 5 as cess on ticket price on the lines of neighbouring Kerala to extend assistance to the ailing members of the film industry. Besides that, the industry has also urged the government to grant Rs. 50 lakh as subsidy for those who come forward to build Janata Chitra Mandira as announced by the government and earmark Rs. 10 crore for the development of the film city in Mysuru, said S.V. Rajendra Singh Babu, chairperson of the expert committee.
The Janata Chitra Mandira concept, evolved on the lines of Amma Theatre in Tamil Nadu to provide cinema-viewing at an affordable cost, was announced by Mr. Siddaramaiah in his budget two years ago. “The proposal has not moved much forward since then,” said Mr. Banakar.
Earmarking space for construction of Janata Chitra Mandira should be made mandatory for city developing authorities and amendments to the Karnataka Cinemas (Regulation) Act, 1964 should be implemented in letter and spirit, he said.
Kannada Film Industry: Challenges and the Way Forward, a survey-based report prepared by T.A. Pai Management Institute recently, recommended that the government do something about ticket prices in multiplexes. — S.V. Rajendra Singh Babu, president, Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy
Key demands
Cap the multiplex entry fee at Rs. 120
Make it mandatory for multiplexes to have two shows of Kannada films in each screen every day
Funds for Janata Chitra Mandira on the lines of Tamil Nadu
Collecting Rs. 5 as cess on ticket price to help film industry people
