Ram Gopal Varma hits out at AP government over ticket price caps

Director Ram Gopal Varma has slammed the Andhra Pradesh government on the movie ticket price issue.

While no big director has spoken up regarding the issue, Ram Gopal Varma called out the AP government for imposing curbs on cinema ticket prices. During a recent media interaction, Varma stated that the YSRCP government has been exploiting their power, especially regarding movie ticket prices.

AP Cinematography Minister Perni Nani also participated in the discussion.

The interviewer stated that the Tollywood filmmakers and heroes are exploiting their craze by hiking the prices of their movies.

To this, Varma replied, "If there is any exploitation, that is YCRCP's way of grabbing votes from the AP voters. YS Jagan held rallies and ran campaigns to win 150 seats in the elections."

Varma continued, "If the election campaigns are not considered as exploitation, then why is this considered? Rajamouli has earned a following, and hence people will stand in queues to watch his movies."

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As the interview went on, Varma gave logical reasoning in the favour of the moviemakers who get to decide the price of their movie tickets."

"You go to a 5-star hotel, and pay double the amount for food, ambience, and other facilities. That is your choice. As the hotel maintains a certain brand value, he has all the rights to charge as much as he feels will balance his business. How can you ask him to provide coffee or food for the same rate as much as the roadside hotel. It is the same with cinema?" RGV conveyed.

"The same thing applies to the textile industry. The blazer you have worn will have a brand value. You can't go to the seller and say the material costs only this much. There is a value for the brand, which the buyer can select with choice," Varma said.

"After using it for 3-4 days, if you return the blazer, will the seller accept it? Then why are the cinema people expected to pay back the ticket amount if the audience doesn't like the films," the Rangeela director said.

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