Andhra Pradesh Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan objects to film bodies' ‘disrespectful attitude'

The Hindu

24-05-2025

The Government of Andhra Pradesh is preparing a comprehensive film development policy that is aimed at developing the skills of people involved in the 24 crafts, from production to distribution, and adopting advanced technologies.
'While doing that, the government has decided to henceforth engage with representatives of the film associations only and not at the individual level,' Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan said in a press release on Saturday.
'The film associations have not met Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu even after a year of the NDA coming to power, which reflects their lack of respect and gratitude for what the government is doing for them.'K. Pawan KalyanAndhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister
The film associations had not met Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu even after a year of the NDA coming to power, which reflected their lack of respect and gratitude for what the government was doing for them.
The government planned to grant industry status to films and was taking other steps required for the good of all those dependent on the film industry, but the film bodies, like the film chamber, producers council, and the Movie Artists' Association, seemed to have forgotten how the previous government had treated senior actors and technicians with disdain and subjected them to hardship, Mr. Pawan Kalyan observed.
In contrast, the NDA Government fully supported the release of an Akkineni Nagarjuna film. The government promised before the elections that it would extend all possible support to the film industry, he said.
The Deputy Chief Minister questioned why producers continued to submit individual petitions for increasing ticket prices during their releases instead of coming together for structured negotiations. He emphasised that persons such as Dil Raju, Allu Aravind, D. Suresh Babu, Y. Supriya, Chinnababu, C. Ashwini Dutt and Naveen Yerneni should make collective efforts for the betterment of the film industry's growth.
The statement mentioned that Mr. Kalyan had initiated discussions with the departments concerned for the development of the film industry, wherein the officials noted that many theaters were being run by leaseholders instead of the original owners.
Further, Mr. Pawan Kalyan instructed the State Taxes Department to investigate whether taxes were being properly collected from those leaseholders, and whether increased ticket prices were leading to higher tax revenues.
It was also stated that there would be a review of discrepancies between reported ticket sales and actual tax collections. Food inspectors and officials of the Legal Metrology Department were conducting regular inspections in the wake of complaints of overpricing of food and beverages in theaters, and the absence of safe drinking water facility.
Besides, the statement said the Cinematography Department had been instructed to report the number of multiplex theaters and the practice of dividing single-screen theaters into two or three screens and operated as multiplexes.
The government was investigating whether there was a difference in ticket rates between these and regular single-screen theaters. In this regard, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Nellore, Guntur, Kakinada, Tirupati and Rajamahendravaram would be closely monitored, Mr. Pawan Kalyan added.