Kannada Film Chamber Of Commerce Clears Air Around Closure Of Single Theatre Screens

The emergence of OTT platforms has impacted the business of theatre owners. People often wait for the OTT release which often follows the theatrical release of the film. IPL and Indian General Elections are the recent addition of the obstacles in the business of Kannada theatres. Recently, the Telangana theatres decided to shut down single-screen theatres across Telangana for ten days to cover the daily operational expenses of the theatres. Similarly, the theatres in Karnataka are also facing obstacles in covering daily expenses due to the election and IPL. It was speculated that the Karnataka Film Chamber Of Commerce will likely close the single-screen theatres. A meeting was recently held to discuss the same.

After a meeting on Thursday, MN Suresh, the President of the Karnataka Film Chamber Of Commerce said that they have not taken any decision regarding the closure of single-screen theatres. “Kannada movies are in trouble due to the news in the media. Closure does not solve the problem. In today’s meeting, there was a discussion about how to solve the problems of the film industry.” said MN Suresh. He also said that the issues will be brought to the attention of the government. The President of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce said that he would appeal to the government to reduce the ticket rates.

He also presented the problem of movie piracy. He said that it has become a big problem nowadays. The film often gets leaked on Telegram. MN Suresh said that he would pose this query to the Central Government. There are a total of 650 single-screen theatres in Karnataka. In this, 200 theatres have already closed their doors. Due to this, MN Suresh claims that he will ask for a subsidy from the Central Government to save the cinemas. “We are asking the government to intervene to save the film industry,” said MN Suresh.

During the post-production of the film, the Kannada film industry is facing technical problems. The Karnataka Film Chamber Of Commerce has discussed how to solve this problem. They believe that the model of the Kerala CInema Industry should be implemented in Karnataka. In Kerala, the government has its own OTT.