Telangana High Court rejects ticket price hike for Chiranjeevi’s Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu

Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu

• Telangana HC rejects plea against ticket price hike for Chiranjeevi's new film
• Court urges government to create clear, consistent film ticket pricing policy
• Minister denies approving ticket price hikes or benefit shows for recent releases

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On Saturday, the Telangana High Court turned down a house motion petition from lawyer Vijay Gopal. He wanted the ticket price increase for the upcoming Chiranjeevi movie, Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu, which is set to come out on January 12. Lawyers who know about the case said that the court turned down the request at this point and told the person who made it to file a new one after the Sankranthi festival, on January 19.

The decision comes just a day after the High Court made a big decision to stop a similar ticket price increase for Prabhas' The Raja Saab. In that case, the court also strongly criticised the Telangana government for not having a clear and consistent policy on film ticket prices and for raising prices on a case-by-case basis.

During the hearing, the court is said to have voiced concern over repeated changes to ticket pricing rules, saying that these kinds of actions could hurt the public interest. It warned the government not to make movies a luxury good and stressed the need for a clear and consistent framework.

On Friday, the Telangana government gave the go-ahead for a special paid premiere of Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu on January 11 from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. The price of tickets, which includes GST, is Rs 600. Also, theatres could raise ticket prices for seven days starting on January 12. Single-screen theatres could raise prices by Rs 50 (including GST), and multiplexes could raise prices by Rs 100 (including GST).

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In the middle of the ongoing debate, Telangana's cinematography minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy made a clear statement on Saturday. He said that he had not approved any ticket price increases in the past and was not giving permission for any now.

The minister said he had told people in the film industry not to ask him for benefit shows or ticket price increases, especially after Pushpa 2, to distance himself from the controversy. He went on to say that his office had not received any files about recent releases, upcoming films, or Sankranthi releases. He also said that he had nothing to do with setting ticket prices or benefit shows in the state.