Once upon a time, a family outing to the cinema was a ritual. Parents, children, a few packets of popcorn and a bottle of cola. The hero and heroine would eventually get together, the children would hum the songs on the way out, and dinner would follow.
Next salary time, the family would do it all over again.
It didn’t matter if the film was great or not. What mattered was the outing — the ritual, the excitement and, above all, family fun time.
Then came the malls and multiplexes. The ritual simply moved indoors: a stroll through the mall, a movie, popcorn, cola and dinner, all under one roof.
But somewhere along the way, this became a luxury.
And this issue was raked up, yet again, by Thiruvananthapuram Mayor V V Rajesh, when he commented about popcorn prices on Tuesday.
“Popcorn worth just `25 costs over `250 in cinemas,” he quipped.
“Food items are being sold at extortionate prices in theatres. A family of four, including young children, will have to pay `1,000 for popcorn. This is not a healthy trend. Although fixing prices is not within the jurisdiction of the corporation, as a political activist, it is necessary to take a stand on such issues.”
His lament finds resonance among common people across Kerala.
“You watch a film, have a bucket of popcorn, and a cola...” smiles Rakhi Jayashankar.
“Now, it is too expensive to even think about it. Watching films at a multiplex with a family of five can cost around `3,000 to `4,000 now,” she says.
Tickets alone, she adds, cost a lot. “And then the popcorn and cola. You cannot say no to the children,” says the mother of three. “A cinema outing to a mall is clearly ultra-luxury.”
More than ticket prices, it is the rate of popcorn and colas that pinches her pocket, she says.
Rakhi, who is part of the Moms of Kochi platform, is also the admin of the group’s movie buffs group. “Just last week, many parents in the group were talking about how watching movies in the theatre has become unaffordable. I mean, salted popcorn is now over `300 at PVR,” she says.
At PVR in Lulu Mall, a regular-size salted popcorn, which is 90g, costs `340, as per its website.
And the cola price can be over `200. The same drink outside the theatre costs around `30.
“Look at the difference,” laughs Anandu V R.
“The prices have gone up, but not the quality,” he notes. “They are the regular ones we get outside. Multiplexes are now charging like they are five-star hotels, not a movie screening space.”
Anandu adds that his cine-buff parents refuse film outings because of the cost. “They now prefer watching films on TV. This was unthinkable until some years ago,” he adds.
Both Rakhi and Anandu say multiplex outings are reserved for extraordinary films or special occasions like the Onam vacation.
Responding to TNIE’s query on the issue, a multiplex official maintains that there are valid reasons for the pricing. “Along with luxury charges, multiplexes also have to maintain the space with high standards,” he says, requesting anonymity.
“We employ a huge number of staff, including janitors and F&B executives. All of this combined, multiplexes serve not just food, but an experience too.”
Well, that sounds like a reminder on the price one has to pay for the ambience.
There arises a counterargument too. Why are families, especially those who have got a taste of the mall vibes, generally reluctant to visit single-screen theatres, where charges are not as exorbitant as multiplexes?
“Parking, weather, safety aspect when you have children who run around everywhere, and parents who are old, multiplexes inside malls are easier to manage. However, this cannot be just a debate about single-screen vs multiplex,” says Rakhi.
“How can you justify `300 for popcorn, which otherwise costs less than `50 outside? Cappuccino at `380? How is this logical? Here is the key question: Are multiplexes only for the rich? Are the high prices intentional barriers to keep the common people away?”
Autorickshaw driver Manoj Kumar echoes the sentiment. “I took my family once for a film outing in a mall. My sons were keen. For them, it was like a wonderland,” he says.
“But not anymore. I now lie to my family that I feel dizzy inside malls to avoid such outings.”
These complaints are not limited to a few parents. Last year, the Supreme Court had heavily commented on these pricing practices of multiplex theatres.
A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta was hearing petitions filed against the Karnataka government’s move to cap theatre ticket prices when they commented on the cost of food and beverages.
“You charge `100 for a water bottle, `700 for coffee... Cinema as it is declining — make it more reasonable for people to come and enjoy it; otherwise, cinema halls will be empty,” Justice Nath cautioned.
Back in 2018, the Kerala State Human Rights Commission had issued a notice to the departments concerned and the associations of theatre owners about curbing overpricing. However, nothing has come out of it so far.
The same year, the Bombay High Court also came down heavily against overpricing inside multiplexes.
“The price of food and water bottles sold inside movie theatres is, indeed, exorbitant. We have ourselves experienced it. You should sell it at the regular price,” the court said.
Chris John Jayrose, a film buff, points out that “the issue is talked about among the general public so commonly, it is a wonder that the government is not doing anything about it”.
Mayor Rajesh, too, said “the matter will be raised with the government” and sought the Legal Metrology Department’s intervention.
Will Chief Minister V D Satheesan, a film buff who was arts club secretary at Sacred Heart College in the early 1980s, take note?