The Telangana government has warned of stern action against theatre owners in the state, who were collecting 'higher amounts than the notified ticket rates', for the release of new movies.
This comes after reports that some tickets of Baahubali: The Conclusion were being sold for as high as Rs 5,000.
“Booking of tickets online is not as much as it usually it is and all movie theatres are booked till April 4. Most of the purchases are happening on the ground and the price is as high as Rs 5000,” one movie-goer told TNIE.
Meanwhile, a press release by the Commercial Taxes department states that any hike in ticket price would be a direct violation of the Telangana Entertainment Tax Act.
"It is hereby informed that all theatre owners collect the notified rates of ticket and pay Entertainment Tax on sale of all those tickets sold," the release added.
It also said that members of the public could lodge a complaint on any violations on a toll-free number 1800 4253 787.
Meanwhile, Baahubali 2 is gearing up for a massive worldwide release on April 28.
Directed by SS Rajamouli, the two-part series has been shot over five years and has broken several records. The first film was recently re-released and the second film has taken a mammoth opening across the country.
Made on a budget of over Rs 200 crore, Baahubali stars Prabhas, Anushka Shetty, Tammannah, Rana Daggubati, Sathyaraj, Nasser, and Ramya Krishnan among others. MM Keeravani has composed music for the film.
According to reports, the film will be released in around 9,000 screens worldwide.
It will be released in 6,500 screens in India alone and another 1,100 screens in the US. The film will release in 1,400 screens in other parts of the world.
With inputs from Digital Native.