Telugu actor Chiranjeevi Konidela at a recent award show questioned the Andhra Pradesh government over the slashing of movie ticket prices.
Speaking at the show, the actor urged the state government not to underestimate the film industry and said, “I appeal to leaders to not neglect the issues plaguing the film industry. Please do not underestimate us; we contribute a lot to society.”
He added, “We make movies with crores of budgets not because we have too much money but to raise the standards of the film industry. It is unfair for you to fix prices of tickets and put a cap on us for earning revenue.”
Chiranjeevi also informed that he had attempted to meet with government officials but his efforts went in vain. “I am forced to open up here because my attempts to meet them and elaborately discuss these issues have not come to fruition. Government policies must be made to help cinema and respect artists, not otherwise,” he said.
In April, movie ticket prices in Andhra Pradesh were capped by the state government at Rs 250 based on an order from the High Court. Following this, the state government also decided in September to introduce an online ticketing system to further enforce the prices fixed by the government. This system is yet to be implemented.
On November 14, DVV Entertainment, the producers of the upcoming pan-Indian film RRR, also expressed their concerns over the “slashing of ticket prices” in the state.
Recommended
With the release of RRR nearing, rumours started emerging that the makers of the film were planning to go to court “to get permission to release the film with higher ticket prices”. However, DVV Entertainment refuted these reports and clarified that they have no plans to take the legal route to deal with the issue.
Stating that price slash will affect their film badly, DVV Entertainment wrote on social media that they are planning to approach the state’s chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to talk about the issue.