Entertainment comes closer

Welcome move

With the state government proposing to put a cap on movie tickets at Rs 200, the common man is heaving a sigh of relief.
   
Movie buffs, especially students, who spend anywhere between Rs 250 and Rs 450 for a movie these days, are a happy lot.

Debismita Bhattacharyya, a student of Christ University, says that she often goes for a movie with her friends and easily spends about Rs 750 which includes the ticket and the snacks at the counter.

“Being a student, I get a fixed amount as pocket money which I have to spend carefully. However, the high prices of movie tickets, especially during the first few days of the film’s release and on the weekends, makes it difficult for people like me to watch a movie at the theatre,” she says.

There are times, she points out, when she wants to watch the first show but because of the high ticket pricing at multiplexes, she can’t afford to do it.

After spending a heavy price on tickets, she says she does not want to pay more for snacks. So, many a time, she downloads the movies and watches them. 

Vivek Nair, an entrepreneur is a movie buff and goes to the theatres twice a month to catch a movie.

He says, “Before coming to Bengaluru, I was in Chennai, the cap of Rs 120 per ticket is very affordable and the fact that people in the first two rows gets their tickets at Rs 10 is an attraction. The cap of Rs 200 is not that low, but there are many who come for the movie experience and doesn’t bother about how expensive the tickets are,” says Vivek. He says that he can’t see any logic behind the argument that bringing the prices down will help the industry grow.

He opines that it is not necessary that if the prices are low, the quality will improve too.

“There must be other steps taken by the government to support the Kannada film industry. However, this being the first step, I am sure the government has made these changes thinking of a long term-effect,” says Vivek.

 “With the work schedule becoming so hectic these days, there is hardly any time to go for a movie on a weekday. I love going for movies and visit the theatres at least thrice a month, but with the tickets so expensive, I had to reduce it and opt for only weekdays. I was happy to hear the proposal,” says Noby Babu, a professional.

He says with this price cap, there will now be a uniformity in ticket pricing all through   the week.