Telangana News: Single screens seek government permission to convert into ‘commercial area’

Hyderabad. Hyderabad: With the number of viewers in theatres going down, over 300 exhibitors are urging Chief Minister Revanth Reddy to allow them to partially convert their theatres into ‘commercial zones’. “We are suffering huge losses due to low footfall in theatres and we are requesting the state government to bail us out,” said an exhibitor. He claims that hundreds of single screen theatres in the state of Telangana are going through a tough phase. “We are not even getting 10 viewers per show in each theatre and we are forced to cancel two shows a day these days and this is making our lives difficult and painful,” he said.

Instead of relying only on film content, hundreds of exhibitors have resolved to make changes in their theatres and make them commercially viable. “We hope CM Revanth Reddy will consider our long-pending request and allow changes to enable us to run the theatres instead of shutting down due to lack of viewers,” he said. Vijayendra Reddy, president of Telangana Controllers and Exhibitors Association, confirmed this and said, “It is true that we have requested the government and are waiting for a positive response.” He further added, “We are planning to reduce our 1200 seating capacity to 400 and build a small shopping complex around it. We can also rent out a food court or a clothing showroom or a mobile shop in the remaining space to run our theatres.” He believes that the state government will realise that the theatre business is going down due to rising overhead costs and lack of audience. He said, “We were dependent on the audience for our survival, but now we have to make alternative plans. If our theatres are allowed to be converted into commercial zones, we can survive a little and hundreds of exhibitors are ready to make changes to stay in business.” He claims that each theatre owner will have to spend Rs 2 to 3 crore for these changes, but they are ready for it. “It is a costly affair, but we are fighting for survival and many exhibitors may join the effort to bring about change. We are also hoping that the government will reduce our electricity charges, which are very high at present,” says Reddy.