BRS Slams Ticket Price Hike For Game Changer

Former BRS MLA from Manakondur Dr Rasamayi Balakishan today lashed out at the Telangana government for increasing the ticket prices for the Telugu movie Game Changer and allowing the screening of benefit shows.

He alleged that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy was giving preferential treatment to TGSFDC chairman Dil Raju. (Raju is one of the producers of the movie.)

"For how much did the CM sell himself to Dil Raju?" Balakishan asked.

He also attacked minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy saying the latter had misled the Assembly when he announced there that no more benefit shows would be allowed in Telangana. (Reddy had announced in the Assembly on December 21 that the Telangana government would no longer allow benefit shows for movies unless they focused on social issues or had a patriotic theme.)

BRS MLC Deshapathi Srinivas said that the CM's two-pronged approach had once again come out in the open with the decisions to allow ticket price hikes and special screenings. "Why were special exemptions given to Game Changer, a movie produced by Dil Raju who has been anti-Telangana?" he asked.

For context, in the wake of the recent Sandhya theatre stampede where a woman was killed and her son critically injured, Revanth Reddy had said that the movie ticket rates would not be increased and no permission would be given for the benefit shows any more. However, producer Dil Raju reportedly met the CM to seek permission to hike his movie's ticket prices, which was given. Six shows have been permitted on the day of the film's release (January 10), and multiplexes have been allowed to increase ticket prices by Rs 150, and single screens by Rs 100, on that day.

From January 11 to 19, five shows have been permitted per day per screen, and ticket price hikes have been allowed to the extent of Rs 100 for multiplex screens and Rs 50 for single screens.