VIJAYAWADA: All the cinema theatres across the state downed their shutters on Friday after the Film Producers’ Council decided to stop the screening of movies indefinitely, seeking reduction of the Virtual Print Fee (VPF).
Much to the disappointment of the movie gores, the theatre owners made it clear that would continue the strike till the Digital Service Providers (DSPs) reduces the VPF for regional language films. “Demanding separate fee for projectors and theatres is ridiculous. The shutdown will continue till our genuine demands are conceded,” noted producer and distributor D Suresh Babu told the media in Hyderabad.
The charges of VPF have to be paid by the distributors or producers before the screening of the film. As the charges were fixed 12 years ago, they have to be made free, but it has seen multiple hikes in the past few years, observed K Vamsi Kishore, president of Vizag Distributors Association.
According to Kishore, VPF charges were `6,000, some 12 years ago, which has been increased to ` 29,000 for screening a movie now. The digital service providers earlier have committed that they will collect charges for the first five years, but reneged on their promise, Kishore said.
Till 2009, movie theatres used to buy prints for Rs 75,000 to Rs 80,000. Then, digital service providers entered the scene with e-Cinema at a cost of Rs 6,000 to Rs 10,000 for screening a movie. The old reel system was gone and there were four digital operators. Now their number has come down to two, resulting in the monopoly.
“North India did not participate in the strike since they are projecting the content free of cost. This is not a big issue for digital operators when it is done in the North, why can’t they do it in South India?” asked Kishore.
In Vizag, theatre goers expecting the latest film, Anushka Sharma- starrer Pari were in for a disappointment. Some 150 theatres in the Visakhapatnam district remained closed. Similarly, all 126 single- screen theatres in Krishna district including a half a dozen multiplexes in Vijayawada downed the shutters, disappointing the movie goers on Holi.
Fans of Ram Charan Tej wished that the conflict got resolved before March 30 when their favourite hero’s movie Rangasthalam was due to hit the screens.
In Kurnool district, 96 theatres were shut down. District Cinema Theaters Association president Gopal Krishna Reddy said DSP charges were unviable and small-town theatres could not sustain with such a steep hike in charges. Similarly, 56 theatres in Kadapa district were closed.
“We had to stop the screenings as we are incurring losses for the exorbitant VPF,” said district exhibitors’ association president VS Ameer Babu. Theatres in Chittoor, Anantapur, Kurnool, Prakasam, East and West Godavari districts also remained closed.