Hyderabad: The Joint Action Committee that was formed to discuss about Digital Service Providers (DSP) has decided to close down all theatres from March 2.
The main issue between the producers and the DSPs is the VPF (Virtual Print Fee) for which the Digital Service Providers are collecting huge amounts from theatres each week while also earning revenue through advertisements.
“We asked them to reduce the number of commercials to three and to telecast the film trailer free of cost. In addition we asked them to reduce at least 25 per cent of the VPF,” Damodara Prasad said.
“Initially, they agreed with the first two demands. But for the VPF, they are reducing five per cent in every meeting which has left us shocked,” he said. He added that in the last couple of days, they met all the distributors, exhibitors, producers and studio owners before taking this decision.
“Everyone said that they want to show the unity of the Telugu film industry and stand by the decision of closing the theatres. We are prepared for a longer time period as there are rumours that it is for only one or two days. It’s not, we want to go on till the DSPs agree to our demands,” Mr. Prasad said.
The two major DSPs are UFO and QUBE. When all the theatres went digital, these two companies provided the equipment but also charged high amounts from theatre owners and producers, not just towards service charges but for also providing the digital copy and encrypting the print.
“There is no VPF charge for English movies. When the digital format was introduced, Hollywood filmmakers agreed to only five years of the VPF charge towards maintenance of the equipment. Even for Hindi films, they are charging very less. Only regional cinema has not been spared,” Mr Prasad said.
When asked why the closure has been planned in March, given that there are less films releasing in view of exams, he explained, “Yes, not many films are releasing this month. But it’s still a huge loss to producers, exhibitors and industry. Since we want to reduce the loss, we decided to close in March.”
Damodara Prasad added that their plan is to close down all the theatres. “We are planning not to run other language films like Hindi and English in the South. We are holding talks with the Hindi film industry people and will not have any film shows in both the states,” he said.
D Suresh Babu, the JAC chairman said that other South Indian Film Industries are also cooperating in this issue. “Apart from our two states, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka Film Chambers are also showing their solidarity and they too will close the theatres in their respective states,” Suresh Babu said. He added that the talks would continue.
“We are going to continue the negotiations and whenever we reach a solution, we will immediately stop the strike,” Suresh Babu said.
