Chiranjeevi, Mahesh Babu, Prabhas, others meet CM Jagan on cinema ticket prices issue

Vijayawada: Amid the ongoing issue of Andhra Pradesh government’s fixed rates for movie tickets, top Tollywood actors like Chiranjeevi, Mahesh Babu, Prabhas, and noted directors namely S S Rajamouli, Koratala Siva, and others landed on Thursday morning at Vijayawada airport to meet Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.

A decision on the contentious issue is likely to be taken during the meeting.

Chiranjeevi and the other actors also addressed the press after their meeting with the chief minister.

"We have discussed various things. Telugu cinema has attained not only national but also international glory, thanks to some high-budget movies. Telugu cinema is being talked about greatly,”" Chiranjeevi told reporters.

"The Chief Minister assured us that a favourable decision will be taken after discussing it with the committee (appointed to look into the ticket pricing). Hopefully by the third week, a government order in this regard will be issued," he added.

"The Chief Minister wished film shootings to happen in Visakhapatnam. We too wish the film industry develops equally in the two Telugu states," the Megastar said.

Meanwhile, Mahesh Babu noted that confusion was ruling the Telugu film industry for six to seven months now. "“After the meeting with the CM, we hope to hear good news in a week to 10 days,”" he said.

Top hero Prabhas, director S S Rajamouli, director Koratala Siva, actor-director R Narayana Murthy, actor Ali and others were part of the delegation. They thanked the Chief Minister for appreciating the concerns of the film industry and seeking to resolve them.

Earlier on January 12, Chiranjeevi had met the AP chief minister on the invitation by the latter.

The actor, who held a one-and-a-half hour-long meeting with CM Jagan at his official residence at Tadepalli in Amaravati, told reporters that the chief minister responded positively to the issues raised by him on behalf of the film industry, exhibitors and theatre owners.

“This meeting is a great sign of good things to come; I shall now discuss with the respective heads of various sectors (producers, distributors, and exhibitors) and come up with a compressive draft to again meet the Chief Minister," said Chiranjeevi, who added that Jagan has assured that a decision that pleases all the stakeholders will be taken soon.

The Tollywood film industry is miffed with the chief minister's decision on matters related to movie-ticket pricing, with actors like Nani and Nikhil Siddartha voicing out their disagreement openly.

Ahead of his film “Shyam Singha Roy”, Nani maintained that the government’s decision is illogical. “When a Kirana shop owner outside a theatre makes more money than the theatre owner, it is an insult to cine goers,” he commented.

Meanwhile, Nikhil Siddhartha took to Twitter to express his opinion. “Theatres are like a temple to me. They always give joy and happiness to people. It is heartbreaking to see theatres closing down. Glad and thankful to see the Telangana government supporting the film industry; hoping AP government too helps theatres reach their past glory in a similar way”, the Karthikeya actor tweeted.

Nani’s comments sparked a controversy in the state’s political and film circles, with minister Botcha Satyanarayana countering the actor's remarks. The minister said they are trying to bring down ticket rates in the interests of the public.

Another minister P. Anil Kumar Yadav wondered why actors are not lowering their remunerations.

In a sarcasm-laid criticism that was aimed at belittling the actor, Anil Kumar Yadav said “I don't know who Nani is. There is only one Nani who is famous in Andhra and that is Kodali Nani. We are not bothered about comments made by any other Nani.”

Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh High Court had directed the state government to constitute a committee headed by the principal secretary, home to fix rates of admission to cinema theaters.

The court observed that the interests of cine-goers with regard to rates of admission into cinema theaters were of top priority.

The court asked both the state government and the stakeholders to arrive at a decision on rates of admission and advised them not to create a situation wherein the court would have to fix the rates of admission.

In some critical observations, the court said that it was at the time of release of a new film that the issue of fixing rates of admission was coming before the court. The court was being involved in the conflict of interest between the government and the film exhibitors, it noted.

The court said procedural lapses were occurring during the fixing of rates of admission into cinema theaters and asked the state government as to why it failed to comply with its earlier order in the constitution of a committee headed by principal secretary, home, to fix rates.