The Villu backlash

The Tamil Nadu Theater Owner's Association met today morning at Teynampet. The meeting was chaired by President Annamalai and attended by all important office bearers like secretary Paneerselvam and treasurer Pazhaniappan. The meeting started with the official condolences of the demise of the former Indian president R. Venkatraman, the former Prime Minister V.P. Singh and the veteran actor Nagesh. The meeting also congratulated A.R. Rahman on his Golden Globe victory and Oscar nominations. A resolution was passed condemning the death of innocent Tamilians in Sri Lanka.
The main motion of the meeting was however with regard to usual business matters. The theater owners have said that they are not responsible for the rise in ticket rates. It is the rise in production costs of movies that has necessitated such a step. They said that more than the production costs, it is the demand of minimum guarantee payment by the distributors that is forcing them to raise prices.
Citing a recent example, they said that this Pongal, Villu had been bought on an MG basis and the relative poor performance of the film had incurred them heavy losses. Padikathavan's performance however was on the more satisfactory side.
The demand that they put forth was to scrap all MG payments and share the risk associated with film on an equal basis and share the profits on a percentage basis. The producers and distributors have to be ready for a joint dialogue.