Cancellation of Cinema Lovers' Day pricing on April 19 sparks controversy ahead of elections; Industry REACTS - Exclusive | - Times of India

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Producers of films like '

Do Aur Do Pyaar

,' '

Love Sex Aur Dhoka

2,' and the animation film 'Appu' may not benefit from

Cinema Lovers' Day

pricing, as cinemas have scrapped the idea of selling tickets at Rs 99.

A source from PVR-Inox stated, "Cinema lovers' day has been canceled as we want people to go and vote, as tomorrow is the first phase of voting." This decision has not been well-received by the film industry and audiences.

Producer

Tanuj Garg

, whose film 'Do Aur Do Pyaar' releases on Friday, expressed disappointment, saying, "We were looking forward to the 99 scheme. A movie is only two hours long, so it doesn't keep the audience away from doing other things, but I guess we have to follow rules."

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Senior distributor

Raj Bansal

expressed concern that the last-minute cancellation of the cinema lovers' day scheme would significantly impact the business of all three films. He stated, "It is really sad that the previously announced cinema lovers' day @99/- has been canceled at the last minute. The reason given is elections. Not done."

Some in the trade argue that only a minuscule percentage of people are cinegoers and it won't impact the voting process. Exhibitor Akshaye Rathi remarked, "Let's just say that there's so much uncertainty around the recoveries and revenues in consumption right now, and not just on theatricals, even on streaming. Movies are not being bought where streaming platforms are actually tight in their purses."

He continued, "Now, in a scenario like that, producers who made films and invest a lot of money, effort, time, sweat, and blood will do whatever it takes for them to give that movie life, whether it's at the

box office

or otherwise. And for that, if people are trying these schemes like Buy One Get One or reducing ticket rates drastically so that at least people can sample the movie and a good word of mouth can go out. So, it really should be permitted. And as long as nothing illegal is being done, as long as no systems are being rigged, if it helps a movie, it's perfectly fine."

He added, "And I really hope that producers who are as it is in a messy state of affairs because of this uncertainty around consumption, cinemas which are in a messy state of affairs because of the erratic footfall, need to be given that long rope to be able to do whatever it takes to sustain revenues and sustain the ecosystem. And I really hope that the authorities can allow them to do that."