Prithviraj Sukumaran against theatre strike
The cinema predicament in Kerala has not yet resolved blocking new Malayalam movies from hitting the screens for over a month now. The two parties, producers association and theatre owners association, have not yet reached a consensus even after many rounds of discussions. At a time when the industry is facing such a dire situation, it was very surprising to see no comments about the issue from any big league actors. Ironically, young star Prithviraj who was criticized in the past for being outspoken and blatantly open about his opinions, is the first to come out with a statement about the theatre strike.
The actor has updated a post in his official Facebook page. He first congratulated the team of Pulimurugan for scripting history by becoming the first Malayalam movie to reach the 100 crore mark.
Prithviraj has questioned the need for a cinema strike now that has stalled the release of so many movies. Like anyone else who is working in the film industry, theatre owners also had a golden period druing the 2015-16 season. The actor also a producer has written that he can very well understand how difficult it is to reap profit for producers. So it is impossible to accept the demand for 50-50 profit share.
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He also accepted that there is a difference in the profit shared for multiplexes, but a movie is being screened in 15-25 shows a day in an average multiplex. The actor also asked, how many single screen thetares in Kerala provide the same facilities like the ones available in a multiplex. If there exists such theatres, why is there no theatre panel/board where theatres will be rated and profits will be shared accordingly?
Prithviraj made it clear that he stands by the producers in this issue not because he is a producer, but as someone who feels proud with the growth of Malayalam cinema and as someone who wants to elevate the industry to further heights as part of our culture in front of the world.
There is still no word from the authorities about when the strike will end, to put a full stop to this drought season.
