Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has announced a new conditionality for allowing any hike in movie ticket rates: 20% of the additional revenue must be contributed to a fund for cine workers.
The move is part of a broader package of promises aimed at supporting the welfare of workers in the film industry. The CM further committed to building a new school in Krishna Nagar specifically for the children of cine workers. To kickstart the welfare initiatives, the CM also pledged a substantial initial deposit of Rs 10 crore into the cine workers' welfare fund.
While the intent behind the 20% norm is laudable, criticisms are inevitable. The government's policy towards the film industry has been fickle. After the Sandhya Theatre Stampede incident in December 2024, Revanth Reddy said on the floor of the Assembly that Tollywood can't expect special privileges anymore. Cine workers had no role in the death of a woman in the stampede, by the way.
Later on, ticket rate hikes were rejected wholesale, only for some movies like OG and Hari Hara Veera Mallu to be exempted from the rule. In the latest instance, 20% of additional ticket rates have to be transferred to cine workers, who are employed on daily wages and are fully paid regardless of the budget of the film. As such, it is the producer's prerogative to decide who should be paid the additional revenue (which, by the way, is NOT profit).
