Jumbo team to end row over theatre lease in Tollywood

HYDERABAD: A jumbo 45-member committee has been constituted to resolve the theatre lease system in the state on Thursday with the two-hour-long meeting of the Andhra Pradesh Film Chamber of Commerce (APFCC), failing to find a solution to the problem faced by Telugu film industry. Fifteen members each from exhibitors (theatre owners), distributors and producers will be part of the committee.The newly-constituted committee is likely to meet on January 8, 2012 to find a solution to the issue, sources said.
It may be mentioned here that some producers have been opposing the system of leasing out theatres to a few individuals. However, what has become annoying is that, a handful of big producers are holding these lease rights in the state. If small-time producers want to release their movies, they have to invariably depend on these big producers who are lease holders of theatres.
However, theatre owners are comfortable with this agreement as they are assured of proper rents and returns. “A theatre is the property of the owner. If the owner is comfortable giving it on rent, it’s nothing but pure business,” said M Vijayendar Reddy, president of Telangana Film Chamber of Commerce.
In fact, during the A P Film Chamber of Commerce meet, theatre owners objected to the use of the word ‘lease’ by a section of producers. Their argument was that in simple terms, they were letting out their theatres just like how producers were selling territory rights of their films to distributors.
“If producers are confident of the product that they make, why don’t they try to release their films directly? The very fact that they depend on distributors means somewhere they lack confidence in their product and would like to make a neat profit without taking chances. If this is what they do, why can’t theatre owners give out their theatres on rent,” an exhibitor questioned.
Though both the producers and exhibitors are sticking to their arguments, they are also trying to work out a system by which everyone in the trade will be reasonably happy.
But for that producers of big-budget films also need extend their cooperation. For example, if a big film gets released, producers invariably want to take theatres on rent which guarantees only a minimum amount to theatre owners. If it is a small film, producers would like to go in for a percentage system wherein the producers stand to get a definite portion of the collections. In this system, the theatre owner may be at a disadvantage as the revenue may not be able to even meet the expenditure the theatre incurs for the day for screening a movie.
The specially constituted 45-member committee which will meet next month will consider all such arguments and try to come up with a solution to the vexed problem currently faced by the Telugu film industry.