This Friday, the entire country celebrated National Cinema Day by going to multiplexes and getting tickets for just ₹75. In fact, as per the Multiplex Association of India (MAI), over 6.5 million people went out to watch movies.
However, the offer by MAI and the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) was excluded in some cities, including Chandigarh, thus preventing movie-goers in these cities from accessing the special pricing.
The City Beautiful was the only North Indian city to be excluded from the offer, upsetting the locals. There’s no official statement on why these restrictions were imposed, but local multiplex owners say the decision was most likely taken after internal discussions among multiplex operators.
A PVR representative, not wishing to be named, said, “We received orders that the special pricing should not be included here. The decision was most likely taken because the ticket pricing is already quite low in Chandigarh.”
The exclusion of any city from a national celebration is unfair. Even if the pricing is low in our cities, the day’s special pricing was decided at ₹75 and we should have also had the opportunity to enjoy the offer, says Gurveer Singh, a movie buff.
Another regular movie-goer Mannat Kapoor says, “Many of us were looking forward to celebrating the spirit of cinema along with the rest of the country. We still did celebrate, but couldn’t let go of the disappointment we felt over no special pricing for us.”
{{/usCountry}}Another regular movie-goer Mannat Kapoor says, “Many of us were looking forward to celebrating the spirit of cinema along with the rest of the country. We still did celebrate, but couldn’t let go of the disappointment we felt over no special pricing for us.”
{{/usCountry}}“One can easily buy a movie ticket for just ₹125 for the morning shows and ₹135 for evening shows. So, there wasn’t really a need to reduce charges here,” says Atul Sharma, a staffer at Piccadily Square Cinemas.