CHENNAI: Ever since the State government announced theatres can reopen from November 10 and function with 50 per cent occupancy, Tamil Nadu film Producers and Digital Service Providers (Qube Cinema) have been at loggerheads over release terms. Earlier, the Tamil Film Active Producers’ Association had announced that producers would not be releasing new films unless the Virtual Print Fee (VPF) collected by Qube Cinema were to be reduced.
Qube Cinema has condemned TFAPA’s decision and accused it of exploiting this unprecedented period of struggle to gain concessions from theatres and digital service providers. In a statement, the digital service providers said that even after offering an enormous reduction in VPF, TFAPA was refusing to resolve the issue. “Qube Cinema had initially and proactively announced a 50% reduction in VPF, which was later amended to 60% after pressure from TFAPA, who now insist on a complete elimination of fees,” the statement read. On the other hand, filmmaker Dhananjayan, a top member of TFAPA, states that the proposed Qube Cinemas reduction in price is only temporary and would not solve the matter.
“The same issue happened in 2018 and producers went on a strike for 48 days. Back then, they offered a reduction in the VPF price but it again went up after two months. Learning from it, we are now demanding a permanent solution and not the one till March, 2021.
”However, Senthil, co-founder of Qube Cinema, says making the 60 per cent offer permanent would lead to an enormous loss. Both sides hope to resolve the issue before Deepavali.