Cine bigwigs silent on ticket rates, theater checks: Anagani
Like construction workers, cine workers being victimised
AMARAVATI: TDP Repalle MLA Anagani Satya Prasad on Friday slammed the Jaganmohan Reddy Government for deciding to ‘destroy’ the cine industry by reducing ticket rates and harassing theater owners with inspections.
Satya Prasad asked why the film industry bigwigs were remaining silent when the YSRCP regime was giving a big blow to the cine field. Jagan Reddy’s policies had already destroyed the education, agriculture, construction and industrial sectors in Andhra Pradesh. Now, the CM was hell bent on crushing the already ailing cine industry.
Addressing a press conference here, the TDP MLA said the closure of theaters in the name of official inspections had deprived the workers from gateman to projector operators of their livelihood. They were thrown on the roads without work opportunities. CM Jagan caused a sand shortage and real estate collapse that cost the lives of hundreds of construction workers. Similarly, the latest policy would pose a similar threat to the cine and theater workers.
Satya Prasad said that there were over 1,100 theaters in the State in which over 50,000 workers had direct work opportunities while another 50,000 workers had indirect employment. But, the Chief Minister was endangering the livelihoods of all these workers just for the sake of his insatiable greed and selfish political agenda.
The TDP MLA accused the YSRCP regime of smashing all growth and development opportunities with its policies of vengeance and destruction. By cancelling the free sand policy, the Government made many construction workers its victims. The reduction in cinema ticket rates would claim the lives of theater workers now.
Condemning the Government’s ‘priorities’, Satya Prasad asked why the officials had suddenly started widespread inspections at theaters which were not there in the past. The Government was sending the District Collectors in the name of theater inspections as if they had no other people’s issues to solve. The ruling YSRCP was acting as if there should be no cine theaters in AP just because the cine industry was not existing in the State.
The TDP MLA deplored that the cine industry stalwarts were not opening their mouths even when the Jagan Reddy regime was harassing the theaters in the name of inspections. Why wouldn’t these bigwigs show their heroism on the YSRCP rule in AP? They were not displaying any unity when the Government was causing harm to the industry as a whole.
Satya Prasad said the previous Government allotted land for studios in Visakhapatnam but the Jagan rule was not handing over those lands. The Amaravati Capital City project was targetted in the name of decentralisation. Other States reduced taxes for small cinemas during the Covid pandemic but the AP Government did not do so. The AP cine bigwigs remained silent on all such occasions.
The TDP MLA asked whether the Telugu heroes were afraid of Jagan Reddy. How could they rescue the film industry when they could not even question the Government’s policies? The heroes in other States were coming together to fight on issues like the Cauvery waters, Jallikattu and so on. Why wouldn’t Telugu heroes show similar zeal and unity?
Satya Prasad demanded the MAA association to explain why they were not holding talks with the Government on the latest problems of the cine industry. At least now, the Telugu film industry should put up a united front. CM Jagan should give up his vindictive attitude and focus on development of film industry in the State.
