Cinema theatres have every right to exploit the audiences depending on their eagerness to watch movies, as cinema industry is market-driven running on demand-supply principle, according to maverick film maker Ram Gopal Varma.
Varma came up with instant reaction to Andhra Pradesh cinematography minister Perni Venkatramaiah alias Nani’s counter to his earlier questions on the cinema ticket prices fixing.
He said it was not the question of selling a Rs 100 cinema ticket for Rs 1,000. It depends on the faith of the seller and necessity of the purchaser.
“If somebody sells a glass of water for Rs 5 lakh in a desert when a person is very thirsty and doesn’t get water anywhere, you can’t find fault with the seller,” he pointed out.
He said if somebody calls it an exploitation of the situation, the market is essentially meant for the same.
“A car maker manufactures different types of luxury cars because he wants to exploit the desire of a consumer to possess a luxury car, If the government stops them saying it is an exploitation, we would have been travelling only on foot by now,” Varma argued.
The ace director further said a painter sells his painting for Rs 5 crore if there are buyers, though the raw material for the painting doesn’t cost even Rs 500.
“If you value only the raw material, what is the value for its idea and the brand?” he asked.
Varma argued that it was for the consumer or buyer to decide what price he should afford for a product or service depending on its quality.
All that the government requires is the transparency in the transaction between the seller and buyer, since it has to get its tax.
Referring to the allegation that selling cinema tickets at higher rate is nothing but black marketing, Varma said black marketing is a crime which is committed without the knowledge of the government.
“When a theatre owner is openly selling the same at higher price, how can it be called black marketing?” he argued.
He pointed out that in big cities like Mumbai and Delhi, cinema ticket prices vary from Rs 75 to Rs 2,200 depending on the theatre, type of movie and the day – weekdays or weekends.
“Because it is controlled by oldest economic theory of demand and supply,” he said.
Varma said the government’s intervention in the market comes when there is a huge gap between demand and supply.
But there is no such situation in the film industry or the audiences.
“You can use the word looting, only when somebody snatches forcibly using criminal force. When a buyer and seller have a mutually-agreed price, it is called transaction. If it is done legally, the government automatically gets its share in the form of tax,” Varma said.
He said there is no definition anywhere in the Constitution or Cinematography Act that theatres are meant for extending entertainment in people’s angle.
“You are giving such a definition for your own convenience. Actually, they are commercial establishments and not for doing any service to the people,” he said.
Varma sought to know how the government fixed the ticket prices for V-Epiq theatre in Sullurpet on the basis of its location, instead of the services it is extending.
He said various hotels and restaurants would fix the prices of food items depending on the facilities they provide to the consumers.
“If you don’t differentiate between Pawan Kalyan’s film and Sampoornesh Babu’s film, do you agree that there is no differences between a minister and his driver?” he asked.
