YSRCP MP S Niranjan Reddy, who has produced several films including Gaganam (2011), Kshanam (2016), Ghazi, Wild Dog (2021), and Acharya (2022), has lamented that most single screens have shut shop in the last couple of decades across the country. He has urged the government to remove/reduce the GST on tickets, offer renovation support, and introduce single-window clearance.
Even if these steps are taken, the gains may be modest. Real issues that have depressed the mushrooming of single screens in villages will remain unresolved. Indian consumers are extremely price-sensitive. A reduction of Rs 30-40 on a ticket won't be enough to undo their poor purchasing power. If China has ten times more theatres, that's because of their higher per capita income. Also, given the exorbitant real-estate costs in urban areas (these costs are driven by massive political and bureaucratic corruption), businessmen can't even dream of setting up theatres. Only corporates and deeply-entrenched players (read producers) can dream of it.
It's likely that policies will eventually be made to boost existing single screens and encourage the establishment of new ones. But, invariably, they will be exploited by politicians and their cronies. Red tape exists across sectors in India precisely to help the political class and the entrepreneurs they prop up. In 2021, producer NV Prasad said that many, many theatres in Andhra Pradesh are owned by MLAs from both YSRCP and TDP. You now know why a Telugu MP raised the issue in Parliament.
