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TFPC versus digital service providers: Theatres in Telugu states to shut down from March 2018
The announcement has caused panic in the industry as several Telugu biggies including Mahesh Babu’s Bharath Ane Nenu and Allu Arjun’s Naa Peru Surya are scheduled to release in April next year.
In a shocking move, the Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce has announced that theatres across Andhra and Telangana from March 2018 to protest against the exorbitant charges levied by digital service providers (DSP), which has already caused major tension for producers in the industry. This is not the first time the issue has been raised, but it looks the decision has been taken to not bow down any pressure from within the industry and go on with the strike if the rates are not brought down by DSP.
Talking to Deccan Chronicle, TFPC president P Kiran said: “We have been planning to escalate the matter since a long time, and we have eventually informed the DSPs about our decision.” Shedding more light on the matter, Muthyala Ramdoss, General Secretary, TFCC, explained, “Currently, the distributors are paying the charges for digital projection (about Rs 20,000 per week) of the film. Actually, these charges are to be borne either by the exhibitor or DSPs because the latter is installing the equipment in the premises of the former. So how are the distributors concerned? All the people — the producer council, the distributor council, exhibitor council and studio council — are important to us.”
The announcement has caused some panic in the industry as several Telugu biggies including Mahesh Babu’s Bharath Ane Nenu and Allu Arjun’s Naa Peru Surya are scheduled for release in April next year. If theatres shut down as per the current plan, these projects and many more will bear heavy losses. However, sources close to digital service providers such as UFO and Qube have confirmed that the concerned parties will sit down, discuss and arrive at an amicable solution soon.
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