Lately, some voices in the Telugu film industry are drawing a parallel between surge pricing opted by private transport during peak demand seasons like Sankranthi and cinema ticket price hikes for big-budgeted movies. "During Sankranthi, a bus ticket that normally costs Rs 500 is raised to Rs 1,500. Do people postpone their home visit citing the hike?" asked Raam Achanta and Gopi Achanta, the producers of Akhanda 2.
The juxtaposition comes in the wake of countless audience members citing increasing unaffordability of cinema tickets in recent years. Almost every audience member sees notorious piracy sites like iBomma as pro-people. In this context, by juxtaposing Sankranthi bus fares with elevated ticket prices at the cinemas, Tollywood is doing the right thing in trying to change public opinion.
It's crucial for those with skin in the game to speak their mind instead of beating around the bush for fear of offending the audience/customers. At the end of the day, market forces of demand and supply must determine ticket prices. Raju Weds Rambai opened to less prices recently. If footfalls go down drastically, even medium-range movies will follow suit. If distributors and producers don't see footfalls getting affected due to hikes for big-budget movies that enjoy craze, they won't bring them down no matter how much public opinion turns against them.
