No move to shut down theatres ahead of Pawan Kalyan’s movie release, says Dil Raju

Well-known Tollywood producer and exhibitor Dil Raju on Monday denied any move to shut down theatres in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana ahead of Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan’s movie release.

He told reporters here that no one has the guts to stop the release of Pawan Kalyan’s film ‘Hari Hara Veera Mallu’, scheduled to hit the screens on June 12.

Dil Raju, who is also the chairman of Telangana State Film Development Corporation, alleged that some vested interests were spreading false rumours.

He clarified that he was not part of any meeting which decided to shut down theatres or the Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce gave any such signal. “Why would anyone think of stopping Pawan Kalyan movie, who is a big star with a huge following,” he asked.

It was on April 19 that exhibitors and distributors from the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh resolved to shut down theatres in their region if their demands were not met. Dil Raju claimed that they softened their stand later as producers understood the problems faced by exhibitors.

The producer also stated that exhibitors in other parts of Andhra Pradesh and in Telangana also made a few demands, like the percentage system. He, however, claimed that the theatre shutdown was never on the agenda in any meeting.

Rumours have been doing the rounds for the last few days that theatres would shut down for Pawan Kalyan’s movie. Films like Bhairaavam, Thug Life and Kubera are also slated for release in June.

Dil Raju said the rumours created confusion and annoyed the Andhra Pradesh government.

Andhra Pradesh’s Tourism and Cinematography Minister Kandula Durgesh, who is a leader of Pawan Kalyan-led Jana Sena, alleged a conspiracy behind the call to close theatres. He even called for a probe to find out who gave the shutdown call.

Pawan Kalyan himself issued a statement, slamming Tollywood for lacking minimum respect towards the TDP-led NDA government when it is contemplating to accord industry status and develop it further.

The Deputy Chief Minister stated that representatives from Tollywood have not met Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu even a year after the formation of the coalition government.

The actor-politician remarked that filmmakers come to the government only during the release of their movies. He said the film industry forgot the alleged humiliation meted out to them by the previous government of YSR Congress.

He declared that henceforth, no individual meetings would be entertained with producers or directors regarding matters such as ticket pricing or film releases. Instead, all communication must go through recognised film associations. The statement also criticised the industry’s silence on several pressing issues, including a lack of transparency in theatre revenues, tax compliance, subpar infrastructure in both single-screen and multiplex cinemas, and confusion over ticket pricing regulations.

Following Pawan Kalyan’s outbursts, eminent filmmaker Allu Aravind distanced himself from the group accused of monopolising theatrical business decisions.

Denying that he is part of the group of four industry bigwigs allegedly influencing theatre policies, Aravind stated that his company does not own a single theatre in Telangana except AAA.

Aravind, who is the brother-in-law of Pawan Kalyan’s elder brother and megastar Chiranjeevi, also clarified that out of the 1500 theatres in the Telugu states, his company operates only about 15 theatres, which are also going to be handed over to someone else soon.

The veteran producer supported Pawan Kalyan and found fault with the reported move to shut down theatres.