Cinema strike finally called off

Finally the cinema strike that has been plaguing the industry for almost a month now has finally been called off by the Exhibitors Federation. Theatre strike was started by the exhibitors federation over the profit share issue with the producers association.

Liberty Basheer, president of the exhibitors federation has said that the strike was called off after the Chief Minister’s intervention. The government had taken a strict stand on the issue.

A meeting initiated by actor Dileep is scheduled to be held today in Kochi. Producers association members, distributors and theatre owners will take part in the meeting. It is expected that a new federation will be formed after the discussions today.

Even though, Liberty Basheer maintained that the decision was taken not because of the new federation, industry insiders believe that he feared losing his position and hence the decision was taken to call off the strike.

The theatre owners association Exhibitors Federation led by president Liberty Basheer had earlier demanded a 50-50 profit share from the theatrical collections of new releases. The producers and distributors opposed the demand fearing losses. Though several rounds of talks were held between the two parties, they failed to reach a consensus. Finally, the government’s stand and actor Dileep’s timely intervention in the issue worked.

Now that the strike has been called off, we can expect the release dates of movies soon. Dulquer Salmaan’s Jomonte Suvisheshangal directed by Sathyan Anthikkad, Mohanlal’s family entertainer Munthirivallikalal Thalirkkumbol, Prithviraj Sukumaran’s horror thriller Ezra and Jayasurya’s Fukri are the four major movies that were postponed due to the strike.