Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and actor Pawan Kalyan took a dig at the previous YSRCP government’s conduct towards the film industry, and said that the present TDP-BJP-Jana Sena coalition government doesn’t want to politicise the issue of ticket rate hikes.
“Unlike the previous government, we do not expect stars such as Chiranjeevi, Prabhas and Mahesh Babu to come to us seeking help over ticket pricing. Our coalition government respects and supports the film industry. Ticket rate hikes bring additional revenue to the government too,” Pawan Kalyan said, speaking at a pre-release event of his nephew Ram Charan’s film, Game Changer, in Rajahmundry.
In 2022, Telugu movie stars Chiranjeevi, Mahesh Babu, Prabhas and a few other representatives from Tollywood met former CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to discuss cinema ticket prices and other issues related to the Telugu film industry. The meeting came in the wake of a Bill passed by the Jagan government – the AP Cinemas (Regulation) (Amendment) Bill 2021 – which sought to set up an online movie ticketing system administered by the government, to regulate movie ticket pricing.
“We are not low-level people who think that heroes should come and salute us, unlike the previous government,” Pawan Kalyan said.
Stating that the YSRCP government had earlier reduced ticket prices for his films, he said, “ We do not want the film industry to be politicised … Movie tickets generate revenue for the state government as well. Every rupee hiked will attract 18% GST.”
He also called on the film industry to provide employment to the youth by setting up stunt schools and teaching them music, screenplay and other crafts. He asked the industry to set up studios in Andhra Pradesh and identify locations for film production, assuring support from the government.
“All of you who came to this function should go home safely. Happiness should not turn into a tragedy. I will be hurt if fans suffer even a minor injury,” he said.