Jana Sena Party chief and actor Pawan Kalyan slammed the 'indifferent attitude' of the ruling YSRCP in Andhra Pradesh as he accused it of trying to stop the release of his movies. As Pawan Kalyan staged a sit-in at Mangalagiri to protest the privatisation of Vizag Steel Plant, he blamed the Andhra Pradesh government, saying it had gone back on the promise made to the people. The actor-turned-politician also accused the government of trying to shut his financial sources down by stopping his movies from being released.
"These people are trying their best to stop my movies from being released. They think they can shut down all the sources of my income by doing so. If necessary, I can release my movies for free," Pawan said. The Andhra Pradesh government had earlier passed orders to slash ticket prices for movies. The move had come ahead of the release of Pawan Kalyan's most recent film, Vakeel Saab, in April 2021. At the time, early benefit shows were cancelled by the state government, leading to outrage among moviegoers who even vandalised theatres in a few places in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
On November 24, the Andhra Pradesh Assembly passed the AP Cinemas (Regulation) (Amendment) Bill 2021, paving the way for an online movie ticketing system in the state, to be administered by the state government. The YSRCP government has said the move is intended to regulate ticket pricing and stop the “exploitation” of middle-class moviegoers by some exhibitors. The government has also cited reasons like irregular ticket pricing, unauthorised shows, and even large gaps between the taxes and film collections to justify the amendment.
Actor Chiranjeevi, who is also Pawan Kalyan’s elder brother, had written to Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy asking him to reconsider the move after the Bill was passed. “Introducing the online ticketing Bill is something to be happy about, but at the same time, for the survival of theatres and for the many families who depend upon cinema alone for their survival, in their interest, these reduced online ticketing rates should be time to time fixed appropriately much like the rest of the country, for the benefit and welfare of the film industry,” Chiranjeevi had said.
Pawan Kalyan’s upcoming film Bheemla Nayak, a remake of the Malayalam blockbuster Ayyappanum Koshiyum which also stars Rana Daggubati, is set to release on January 12. Many big budget Telugu films are also releasing in the coming days, including RRR, Pushpa and Radhe Shyam.
At the protest, Pawan Kalyan spoke about his electoral loss in Gajuwaka and said, "I am here to fight for the people. That is why I am here to support this protest against the privatisation of Vizag Steel Plant, though I lost in Gajuwaka."
Pawan Kalyan also said, "Now that YSRCP has backtracked on their stand, they want me to fight with the BJP government to oppose privatisation of Vizag Steel Plant. But, the ruling party almost forgot that they had promised to do the same during the local body elections. People must remember all these deeds before they cast their votes in the coming elections."