The Times of India reports that a 14-member committee headed by SV Rajendra Singh Babu submitted a report on Tuesday to the Karnataka government suggesting a cap on multiplex ticket prices at Rs 120.
It also recommended a compulsory screening of two shows of Kannada films during prime time.
The committee has also recommended collecting a Rs. 5 cess on non-Kannada films.
Ticket prices are capped at Rs. 120 in neighbouring Tamil Nadu where the theater-owners have been fighting to raise the prices for years now. Prime-time airing of state languages is now done in Maharashtra, and the Rs. 5 cess idea could have been borrowed from Kerala.
To encourage regional cinema, a subsidy of Rs. 15-25lakh for “quality films” has also been suggested.
Other recommendations include awards for films in Kodava, Tulu and Konkani, 50 acres of land for a film city in Mysuru and a raise in the cash prize of state awards. Apart from that, the committee wants the government to create an archive to preserve Kannada cinema.
The panel has also urged the government to simplify licensing rules for multiplexes, with “a subsidy of Rs. 50 lakh be given to those who come forward to build Janata theatres and Rs. 25 lakh to those who make efforts to restore old cinema halls,” the report said.
“The committee has asked the government to effectively implement the Anti-Goonda Act to curb piracy by setting up dedicated anti-piracy cells. It has recommended that all theatres in Karnataka be brought under a single online ticketing system.”