Kakinada: Half of the cinema halls in Andhra Pradesh have turned into shopping malls, commercial complexes or residential apartments as movie goers have shifted to other platforms to watch cinemas.
“Now, there are only about 1,200 theatres in entire Andhra Pradesh. Even they are running under financial constraints,” underlined AP Telugu Film Chambers of Commerce state vice President P. Srinivas.
He reminisced about days when movies used to run in cinema theatres for 100 days, 360 days or even more. But now, the occupancy rate has fallen down drastically in movie halls. “Most of the theatres are depending on the lower and lower middle classes, apart from the student community for survival. Other classes are not coming to the theatres. However, the position of Inox and multiplex theatres is better than single theatres,” observed Srinivas.
He pointed out that the state government allowing a hike in ticket rates of big budget movies does not benefit the theatres. “The increased money goes to producers,” he maintained.
The film chambers vice president went on to emphasise that any movie, which is a big hit, is not being played in movie theatres for more than three or four weeks, as the audience are preferring OTT platforms, mobile or other ways of watching cinemas.
The matter of theatres turning into commercial complexes, residential apartments or shopping malls came into limelight once again when the demolition of the Ramakrishna Theatre, the first 70 mm cinema hall in Rajamahendravaram, went viral on the social media. It had opened amid fanfare in 1981 and ran up to 2009. It shut thereafter. Now, a shopping complex is being constructed on its premises.
Not just Ramakrishna, but other famous cinema halls like Sri Venkateswara, Nagadevi, Minerva (Annapurna), Vijaya, Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswathi and others in Rajamahendravaram; Crown, Sri Venkateswara, Palace, Swapna, Kalpana and others in Kakinada; Vinod, Kalyana Chakravarthi and others in Vijayawada have shut down. Half of the theatres that existed in Andhra Pradesh have closed in the past one and a half decade due to lack of occupancy and financial constraints.
“After mobiles and online technology have come, audiences have given up watching movies in cinema halls,” said I. Ramakrishna. “As a businessman, I saw no business in theatres, except closing shutters,” he remarked.
Exhibitors Association of East Godavari former president and one of the proprietors of Rambha, Urvasi and Menaka Theatres at Rajamahendravaram, Mr. Rowthu Surya Prakasa Rao told Deccan Chronicle that previously women used to watch movies frequently in theatres, as cinema was only entertainment for people in those days. “But now, there are more entertainment platforms. People have no time to spend three hours in a theatre,” he observed, reiterating that many of the theatres have closed.
However, Rajamahendravaram Film Exhibitors Association president P. Lakshamana Swamy said more theatres have come up in suburban areas. “If a big movie is released, it can receive huge collections within three or four weeks, as the movie is released in all theatres,” he pointed out.
