Rishab Shetty’s Kantara: Chapter 1 is just a day away from its release. However, the Karnataka High Court has recently provided a major update on the Rs 200 movie ticket cap.
The court has declined to lift its stay on a rule that caps movie ticket prices at Rs 200. The court also mandated that records of ticket sales across all payment methods be kept up to date until the case is decided.
A division bench of Justices Suraj Govindaraj and Rajesh Rai K heard the case.
However, the multi-screen premium theatres with fewer than 75 seats are unaffected by the cap, which was included in the 2014 amendment to the Karnataka Cinema (Control) Rules.
The state had previously implemented this policy in 2017, but it was revoked in the face of a challenge in the high court.
The Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, the Kannada Film Producers Association, and others filed the petition, which sought to have Justice Ravi Hosamani's September 23 ruling that stayed the Rs 200 cap overturned.
The division bench that heard the case ordered all of the state's multiplexes to keep track of all cash and electronic ticket sales. Additionally, it instructed the different multiplexes to submit monthly information about the same to the appropriate licensing body. Prior to movie screenings, the order must also be prominently displayed.
The judge also noted during the September 23 hearing that the filmmakers who had contested the price cap had the advantage of convenience in obtaining the temporary stay. This was because they would have lost money in the interim if their challenge to the price cap had been successful, but no stay had been issued.
However, orders pertaining to the excess money collected could be issued if a stay was granted and the price cap was maintained.
The latest update on the movie ticket cap came just a few days before the release of the highly anticipated Kantara: Chapter 1, a prequel to the blockbuster Kantara, starring, directed and penned by Rishab Shetty.
The producers of the Kantara franchise, Hombale Films, were also among the petitioners who opposed the price cap before Justice Hosamani.
Kantara: Chapter 1 is produced by Vijay Kiragandur and Chaluve Gowda under Hombale Films. Besides Rishab, the upcoming film also stars Rukmini Vasanth and Gulshan Devaiah in the key roles.
The upcoming sequel delves deeper into the origins of the mythological traditions and ancestral conflict introduced in the first film.
Kantara: Chapter 1 is slated to hit the theatres on October 2, coinciding with Dussehera.
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