VIJAYAWADA: Besides assuring to give nod for film shooting in Andhra Pradesh from July 15, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has responded positively to several issues brought to his notice by the representatives of Tollywood. A delegation of Tollywood comprising senior actors Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna, director SS Rajamouli, producers D Suresh Babu, Dil Raju and others called on the Chief Minister at the latter’s camp office at Tadepalli near here on Tuesday and sought the government’s helping hand to the Telugu film industry to tide over the coronavirus crisis.
The CM assured to waive the minimum power demand charges of theatres for the lockdown period as they remained shut. Jagan also responded positively to their suggestion to introduce flexi fare ticketing system, which has been implemented in Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai. The system would come in handy for the producers of big budget movies to increase ticket fare.
The state government said it would allow re-opening of cinemas only after the Centre issues relevant guidelines, post-COVID-19 lockdown. Speaking to mediapersons after the meeting, Chiranjeevi said representatives of the film industry could not meet the Chief Minister last year because of time constraints. “We met him today and thanked him on behalf of the whole Telugu industry for releasing an order (providing single window permission for shooting) in the interest of the industry,” the actor said.
He said Jagan responded positively to the issues raised by them during the meeting and assured to extend all cooperation to the Telugu film industry. Chiranjeevi said the Chief Minister also promised to organise a function for presenting Nandi awards for 2019-20.
300 acres of land for Tollywood in Vizag
Chiranjeevi said Jagan assured to allot 300 acres of land in Visakhapatnam to Tollywood, a decision made by former chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy. The land will be useful for construction of studios and setting up outdoor units, he said. Information and Public Relations Minister Perni Venkataramaiah (Nani) said the Chief Minister told the delegation to set up studios and other production facilities in Visakhapatnam.
The government also agreed to provide land for housing plots for the celebrities who wish to settle in Vizag, the minister added. “They wanted subsidy for small films and the Chief Minister agreed to do it soon. Regarding re-opening of theatres, a decision will be taken based on the Centre’s orders,” Nani said.