The state high court has reacted strongly to the Telangana government’s permission to increase ticket prices during the release of the film ‘Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu’ starring megastar Chiranjeevi. In the past, the authorities have raised objections to the increase in ticket prices during the release of films like ‘Akhanda 2’ and ‘Raja Saab’. The court has taken serious note of the fact that the authorities are committing the same mistake again despite the High Court’s clear warnings not to issue such memos in the future. With this, a bench of Justice N.V. Shravan Kumar has voluntarily initiated contempt of court proceedings against Home Department Principal Secretary C.V. Anand and the concerned officials for giving permission for additional prices for this film in violation of the court’s orders.
The court also criticized the government’s dual stance. On the one hand, the ministers openly said that they would not increase ticket prices, but on the other hand, it strongly objected to the secret issuance of special memos in the middle of the night during the court holidays. The court opined that the ticket prices of the movie are being made inaccessible to the common man and cinema is being turned into a luxury item. The petition filed against the government’s permission to increase the ticket prices by Rs. 50 in single screens and Rs. 100 in multiplexes for the movie ‘Mana Shankaravara Prasad Garu’, which was released on January 12, led to this sensational verdict.
On the other hand, the High Court has imposed strict rules to avoid such confusion in the future. It has made it clear that if any decision is to be made to increase the ticket prices of any film, then the decision should be taken at least 90 days before the film’s release. It has also directed the officials to end the culture of issuing memos in a hurry a day before the release of the film or at midnight.
