थिएटर्स को नहीं मिल रहे दर्शक, मालिकों ने कर डाली गुजारिश, क्या सस्ते होंगे टिकट?

New Delhi. The owners and operators of theaters across the country including Delhi are going through deep financial difficulties these days. The film industry has not been fully back on track since Corona epidemic. In such a situation, the cinema owners have requested the government to reduce the rates of GST on cinema tickets, so that the trend of the audience can move towards the theater again.

Brijesh Goyal, Chairman of the Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI), said that many cinema operators met him and shared their problems. After this, he has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding that the existing 12% on tickets and 18% GST should be reduced to only 5% on tickets up to Rs 200 and 12% on tickets above Rs 200.

At present, under the rules, 12% on tickets up to Rs 100 and 18% GST on tickets above Rs 100. This directly affects the cost of the ticket, which makes the audience the theater going expensive. Brijesh Goyal says that if GST is reduced, tickets can be cheap from 40 to 50 rupees. Due to this, the trend of people can again move towards the big screen and the industry will get relief.

Cinema owners say that now the pattern of the audience has changed. Earlier, where people used to go to watch movies many times a month, now most of the audience has started waiting for films on OTT platforms. Now on average, people go to see only one or two films in the theater in a year.

This year, only a few films like ‘Chhava’, ‘Sayyara’ and ‘Red 2’ have proved to be a hit at the box office. At the same time, most of the films could not be removed till their cost. In such a situation, it has become more difficult for theaters amidst expensive tickets and rising expenses.

Cinema operators believe that if the government gives relief in GST rates, then this step will not only support the theater owners, but can also strengthen the entire film industry.