HYDERABAD: Justice B Vijaysen Reddy of the Telangana High Court on Thursday questioned the necessity of benefit shows and odd-hour screenings for popular movies, especially given their extended runs.
The judge noted safety concerns, suggesting that children under 16 should not be allowed for late-night or early-morning shows.
The judge was hearing a lunch motion petition filed by Gorla Bharat Raj, a resident of Kanchanbagh, Hyderabad, challenging an order of the state government allowing shows of the Telugu movie Game Changer to start at 4 am.
The petitioner contended that the order violates Rule 12(2) of the Telangana Cinemas (Regulation) Rules, 1970, and the licensing conditions under Form-B and requested the court to prohibit similar permissions for any movie screenings during late-night or early-morning hours in the future. The petition also challenged a memo issued on January 8, 2025, allowing increased ticket prices for Game Changer.
The petitioner highlighted a similar memo issued for the movie Pushpa-2, which allowed late-night and early-morning “benefit shows”, and said that these permissions resulted in the tragic death of a woman and critical injuries to her child.
During the hearing, Justice Reddy observed that the issue might be better suited for a PIL rather than an individual petition. However, upon insistence from the petitioner’s counsel, Vijay Gopal, the court agreed to hear the matter and adjourned the plea to Friday.