The Hindu : Film producers call off stir

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jul 18, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka-Bangalore

Film producers call off stir

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE July 17. The Karnataka Film Producers' Association, which had called for an indefinite film "bandh" demanding reduction of rentals of some of the cinemas in Bangalore, withdrew its agitation on Tuesday evening.

The President of the association, Basanth Kumar Patil, told The Hindu that the agitation, which had the support of all sections of the film industry, was called off following an assurance from the Minister for Health, Family Welfare, and Information, Kagodu Thimmappa, that the association's demands would be conceded in two days.

Mr. Patil said Mr. Thimmappa would meet the Kannada matinee idol, Rajkumar, on Wednesday to discuss the problems of the Kannada film industry. The minister had promised representatives of the film industry, who met him on Tuesday, that he would examine their demands, including reduction in the service tax on cinemas, and take a decision in a couple of days, Mr. Patil added.

Representatives of the association and the film industry, and officials of the Sales Tax and Information departments participated in the meeting, which was held in Mr. Thimmappa's chambers in the Vidhana Soudha.

The three-hour talks between film producers, directors, and the owners of a few cinemas in the City was held at the Karnataka Chamber of Film Commerce in the morning. The owners of the five cinemas in the heart of the City, which were charging exorbitant rents for Kannada films, reportedly agreed to bring down their rates by 10 per cent.

The owners of the cinemas — Sagar, Nartaki, Santhosh, Triveni, and Aparna — who were not inclined to reduce the rates beyond seven per cent, agreed to bring them down by 10 per cent. Later, at the meeting held at the Vidhana Soudha, Mr. Thimmappa reportedly urged the cinema owners to reduce the rentals by 10 per cent.

`Rasta roko', dharna

Earlier in the day, the association led an hour-long "rasta roko" and a two-hour dharna on K.G. Road. Many big names of the Kannada filmdom participated in the dharna, and police had a tough time controlling the fans. They had to resort to mild caning a couple of times.

Actors Vishnuvardhan, Ananth Nag, Shivarajkumar, Raghavendra Rajkumar, Ramesh, Upendra, and Ravichandran, actress Prema, producers Parvathamma Rajkumar, "Deera'' Rockline Venkatesh, and directors S. Narayan and Rajendra Singh Babu took part in the agitation. Film industry workers, holding banners and placards, also participated.

They alleged that a few cinemas charged high rentals adversely affecting the interests of Kannada films.

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