Monopoly in theatre booking: Tammareddy

HYDERABAD: There is monopoly in the booking of theatres for screening films, AP Film Chamber of Commerce president Tammareddy Bharadwaja has admitted.

Participating in a Meet-the-Press here on Saturday, he said that theatres ran on demand-and-supply and in the present scenario, with the advent of multi-screen theatres, single-screen theatres were closing down one by one.

This phenomenon also saw a decline in the audience going to the theatre, hinting that any measures to control the exhibitors and theatres would prove counter-productive, he said.

Bharadwaja dismissed talk of any threat to theatres from TV and DTH, saying that the experience of viewing a movie in a theatre was different and incomparable to viewing it in other media.

On his promises made during election to the film chamber, he said it was not the right time to discuss it.

'Every one has his own style of functioning. I only say that the process is on and if the question is posed at the end of my tenure, it can be answered,' he said.

Asked about groupism in the film industry and the critisim that was aligned with four bigwigs of the industry, he evaded a direct reply saying that he was only trying to go forward taking everyone along with him.

He also refuted the allegation that funds were being diverted from the film chamber or producers council.

On service tax, he said they were already paying more tax than others in the form of additional entertainment tax and the industry was not in a position to take more burden in the form of service tax.

On small producers' woes, he said a meeting would be conducted shortly to discuss their problems.

When asked about cooperation of Chiranjeevi, he said the actor-turned- politician was an integral part of the film industry.

'He may have become a minister now but he is part of the industry like many other film personalities who joined politics. It is their duty to help the industry.''

Denying that mafia had entered filmmaking in a big way, he said drug abuse was blown out of proportion.

'One should not blame the entire industry for the acts of one or two. Because the persons involved in such acts are in the limelight, they are attracting media attention and the entire industry is blamed.

It should not be so. In fact, the number of cases that are found in the industry is hardly one or two percent while that in other walks of life is much more.''

When his comment was sought on the impact of cinema on people, he said it is very much a fact that cinema influenced people in many ways, the mindset of the viewers and those in the film industry should change.

On the film industry shifting to Visakhapatnam in case of state's bifurcation, he dismissed the talk as a mere speculation and said that film industry should not be linked with regionalism as people of all the regions watched and enjoyed movies in equal measure.