Andhra Pradesh govt may soon start online sale of film tickets

A delegation of representatives from Telugu film fraternity including producers Dil Raju, C Kalyan and G Adi Seshagiri Rao called on Information and Public Relations minister Nani on Monday.
People watching a film in a single screen theatre in Vijayawada. (File Photo | Prasant Madugula, EPS)
People watching a film in a single screen theatre in Vijayawada. (File Photo | Prasant Madugula, EPS)

VIJAYAWADA:  The State government may soon start selling movie tickets online as the Telugu film industry has welcomed the proposal and extended support to the government’s plan. The government had proposed to create a web portal for booking of tickets on the lines of railway online ticketing system.
A delegation of representatives of the film fraternity including producers Dil Raju, C Kalyan and G Adi Seshagiri Rao called on Information and Public Relations Minister Perni Venkataramaiah (Nani) at the Secretariat on Monday to discuss the problems being faced by the industry during the pandemic. 

The meeting assumed significance as Chiranjeevi Konidela appealed to the the governments of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to help the Telugu film industry, in Hyderabad on Sunday evening. Disclosing the details to the media, Nani said the online booking of movie tickets was mooted in 2002. “The government has set up various committees and already launched an extensive study. As part of it, film chamber representatives, producers, distributors, exhibitors and other stakeholders participated in the meeting, and their opinions were taken into consideration,” he said. 

The minister further said the stakeholders who participated in the meeting expressed their  consensus on the sale of tickets online, and other issues pertaining to the film industry. All the issues will be taken to the notice of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and the government will soon take a positive decision on the issue.  Already, a section of cinemas in the State are selling tickets online on BookMyShow and other similar platforms. “The government will take necessary steps to implement an online ticket booking system for all theatres,” he informed. Film producer G Adi Seshagiri Rao said there were 1,800 theatres a few years ago, and their numbers have since gone down to 1,200. 

“Among them, half of the cinemas are yet to open as they are plagued by the high power tariffs. Besides, expenses towards payment of salaries and diesel charges have also gone up. As such, a proposal has been submitted to the government to revise the ticket prices.” “The minister responded positively to the film industry’s appeal and assured of extending all necessary support,” Seshagiri Rao added.

C Kalyan said the AP government stood by them in all matters. In response to a question, he said the government would give permission to apply for the benefit show of new releases. AP Film Development Corporation president Vijaya Chandra, I&PR commissioner T Vijaya Kumar Reddy and others were present. 

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