South India film industry ignored in Unlock 4 talks

● THE HOME affairs ministry is conducting a meeting on September 8 with representatives of cinemas and multiplexes.

● NO ONE from the southern states has been invited despite it being the biggest contributors to Indian cinema.

South India has again found no place in a meeting that the Centre has called with the film industry to discuss the reopening of cinema theatres as part of Coronavirus Unlock 4.

The Union ministry of home affairs is conducting a meeting on September 8 with representatives of cinemas and multiplexes. No one from the southern states has been invited despite it being the biggest contributors to Indian cinema.

Union home ministry undersecretary Ashish Kr Singh issued a notice on Friday that the Union home secretary will meet representatives of cinema, multiplex associations and hear their views through videoconferencing about reopening of cinema halls and multiplexes in Unlock 4.0.

Those invited were secretary, I&B ministry, PVR Cinemas chairman Ajay Bijli, East India Motion Pictures Association West Bengal chairman Ratan Saha, UP Cinema Exhibitors Federation member Ashotosh Agarwal, Cinema Owners and Exhibitors Association Gujarat secretary Vadan

Shah, Multiplex Association of Gujarat president Manubhai Patel and Central Circuit Cine Association Maharashtra representative Akshaye Rathi.

This has shocked Telugu film industry, aka Tollywood, which is the main contributor to Indian film industry with a 17 to 30 per cent of Indian box-office revenue besides being a major player in Bollywood.

A producer of Telugu film industry on the condition of anonymity said that Sahoo is one of the biggest blockbusters and it collected `357 crore of revenue. He said that the Tamil film industry produces blockbusters and mega hits in multiple languages. It was the same with Kannada and Kerala film industries.