Kochi: The Kerala Film Exhibitors Federation (KFEF) on Saturday called off their strike shutting 250 A-class theatres demanding more revenue share as Dileep's announcement of a new body of exhibitors, producers and distributors found them divided.
The actor-turned-producer and theatre owner the other day had taken initiatives to form a new association with the support of a section of exhibitors and other industry bodies ending the domination of KFEF headed by Liberty Basheer over film releases.
Producers and distributors feel they will get more screens now. Meanwhile KFEF claimed that they ended the strike at the instance of the chief minister. “We are calling off the strike as the government has announced a date for discussion. If we continue the strike despite a statement from the Chief Minister, it would be as good as insulting him,” said Liberty Basheer on Saturday. Dileep along with director Siddique revealed that they had not named the organisation yet, but it would stand for the betterment of Malayalam film industry.
"I own a theatre, so I know the issues they face. We want to put and end to the practice of film strikes. Films belong to the audience. One cannot just shut down the cinemas and say there is no show tomorrow," Dileep said.
"The government, theatre owners, producers and directors all suffered a huge loss during the strike. Several persons are behind the production of a movie. Artists, directors and writers are putting an enormous amount of time and effort into it."
They said theatre owners might get one film after the other, but that's not the case with others. Brushing aside allegations that he "bifurcated" the association, Dileep clarified that he was closely watching the developments.
"We realised that the discussions are not yielding any results, so we decided to interfere," he said. "We have the support of several theatres. Carnival group owns 19 screens, and many owners have come forward with support."
He has the support of big theatres like Carnival, Central Pictures, Aashirwad Cinemas and Shenoys.
