Thiruvananthapuram Mayor again raises issue of overpricing in cinemas

Mayor V.V. Rajesh has again raised the issue of overpricing at cinemas in malls and multiplexes.

At a press conference here on Saturday, the Mayor said besides overcharging for food, the cinemas had started hiking ticket prices during peak times all of a sudden.

Mr. Rajesh highlighted an incident at a cinema in a prominent mall in the State capital where a family shelled out ₹6,049 to book online seven movie tickets in the hope of getting recliner seats but was allotted only ordinary seats..

He also cited the case of a producer who was charged ₹498 for popcorn at a cinema when the price of a ticket was lesser than that.

A host of complaints were being received by the civic body from the public that wanted interventions to address complaints of overpricing in cinemas. A solution should be found to the problem. However, before moving on to legal or administrative interventions, the Corporation wanted cinema owners to come to a consensus on the issue, the Mayor said.

Cinemas should also provide drinking water inside or outside the cinema. Since it was the city Corporation that issued the licence to these establishments, the Corporation could seek that basic amenities such as drinking water be made available to the public in cinemas, the Mayor said.

Admitting that the civic body had limitations in intervening in issues such as deciding prices, Mr. Rajesh said it had been decided to convene a meeting of cinema owners in the Corporation limits. It would discuss issues such as parking facilities at cinemas commensurate with the number of seats, hygienic conditions inside the cinemas, waste management, fire and electrical no-objection certificate and other areas where the civic body could intervene. The date for the meeting would be announced later. Further steps would be decided after the meeting with cinema owners.

A meeting would also be held with cinema producers in connection with issues such as sticking on cinema posters.

He expressed happiness that the government had taken the initiative to conduct inspections on the issue of overpricing.