The ticket pricing issue came up last year when the AP government out of nowhere released a G.O. This order gave the government the control of deciding the ticket prices in the state. This G.O was released at the time of Vakeel Saab release last year.
The ticket prices in various B, C, and D Centers were as low as Rs 5/-, Rs 10/- and Rs 20/-. This decision sent shockwaves across the industry and they requested a revised G.O. Multiple rounds of meetings were held on this matter and a delegation of Tollywood biggies made several trips to meet YS Jagan and then I& PR minister Perni Nani.
Finally, the government relented and released the G.O with revised ticket prices and certain relaxation. The entire industry is happy with this move and in recent times all the biggies have applied for special ticket hikes for a week. However, continuous releases of biggies have affected the theatrical run and the audience is showing little interest in watching all the films.
At the same time, Dil Raju has started a promotional agenda by stating that he will not be going for special hikes and will abide by G.O prices. Now few sections of people that mainly includes RGV have started supporting Jagan’s original decision to slas the ticket prices. This has now attracted strong reactions from industry insiders who are asking on what basis RGV finds ticket prices of RS 5 – Rs 20 reasonable. Let alone collections, theatres can’t even operate and won’t be able to recover the expenses from the government.
What the AP government did during Vakeel Saab time was purely intentional and industry has suffered a lot. With such statements, RGV is bringing further misery to Tollywood.
