The strike called by the distributors and the Tamil Nadu Film Producers Council from March 16 onwards have put the upcoming films which are ready for release and some, which are in production stages, in a really difficult situation. First, the dispute between the producers and Digital Service Providers from March 1 stopped the release of new Tamil films, now the strike called from March 16 will stop all film shooting, production and events.
The theatre owners association decided to shut down theatres across the state to protest against the entertainment tax that is levied by the state government in addition to the Goods and Services Tax. The demands of the TFPC include zero VPF, reduction in ticket prices and online ticketing fee, regularization and computerised ticketing system.
Tamilnadu Film Producers Council (TFPC) has called for an urgent meet tomorrow meet March 12th to discuss about VPF charges and other pressing issues.Behind scenes work going on for sorting out issue. pic.twitter.com/0JunHOmApm
— Sreedhar Pillai (@sri50) March 11, 2018
The Tamil Nadu Theatre Association has been facing huge financial losses due to the strike. “As there are no new films releasing from March 2, there is less footfall,” said Sridhar, secretary of the association told Silverscreen. Moreover, the films that released during Pongal did not make money.
He said movies like Thaanna Serndha Koottam, Vikram’s Sketch, and Gulaebaghavali, may have impressed the audience but failed to impress the box-office. The lack of new content and stories are also reasons why movie-goers have stopped coming to the theatres.
Sridhar also mentioned that the single-screen and the multiplex owners are bracing for a loss. “There is not much difference in the loss that the multiplex and the matinee owners have incurred. Now, we have jointly taken the decision to shut down the theatres from March 16,” he added.
A close personnel of the association told Silverscreen, “Today’s meeting will be conducted between the TFPC and the DSPs. Maybe, we will get a decision after the meeting.”
Now the recent development is that the main DSP in South India, Qube Cinemas has released a revised tariff card for the producers and distributors ahead of their meeting.
#Qube’s revised tariff card to TN producers and distributors as #TFPC is all set to strike work from March 16. As of now Producers and Exhibitors are not on the same page. pic.twitter.com/TWtLnsx6hE
— Sreedhar Pillai (@sri50) March 12, 2018
In an earlier report distributor, Tiruppur Subramaniam told Silverscreen that their association have sought an appointment with Chief Minister E Palanisami. “We have raised our concerns with the government and depending on how the talks go, we will take a call on the strike. Our aim is to reduce the prices of tickets and it’s a collective decision taken by various associations across the state,” he said.
