Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday encouraged the Telugu film industry (TFI) to relocate to Visakhapatnam and offered the industry and individuals a slew of benefits.
“I’ll set up accommodation for you, as well as provide you with land for a studio and other essentials. Make Visakhapatnam your permanent residence. Let us take ownership of Visakhapatnam and work together to build it into a megacity like Hyderabad or Chennai,” the Chief Minister addressed the industry bigwigs.
On Thursday, a group of Telugu stars and filmmakers led by Megastar Chiranjeevi met with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to discuss a variety of issues relating to the film industry, including the contentious pricing of movie tickets.
According to Jagan Mohan Reddy, the state of Andhra Pradesh was the biggest market for Telugu films, accounting for 60% of earnings.
The Chief Minister agreed to the industry’s demand to allow a fifth show to be screened daily, mostly to aid low-budget films.
Tollywood must relocate from Hyderabad to Visakhapatnam, according to Jagan. He also gave ample hints that Visakhapatnam will be the state’s new capital city.
CM Jagan has stated numerous times that Visakhapatnam is the largest city in Andhra Pradesh and the city with the most growth potential. As a result, he proposed to relocate the administrative capital of Andhra Pradesh from Amravati to Visakhapatnam. In this regard, a bill was also introduced in the Assembly. However, the bill was removed from the Assembly a few months ago for unknown reasons.
The big offer to the Telugu film industry is also seen in the context of Jagan’s wish to make Vizag the capital city.
The film industry delegation was pleased with the outcome of their meeting with the Chief Minister.
Following the meeting, Chiranjeevi informed reporters that he hoped to have a positive outcome before the end of the month.
Against the backdrop, they addressed the topic of cinema ticket pricing, which would benefit everyone, he claimed.
Since the Jagan Mohan Reddy government attempted to take control of cinema ticket sales, first by lowering prices and then by attempting to implement online sales through the State Film Development Corporation, a controversy has been simmering for a few months.
The film industry was dissatisfied with the government’s decision, notably the cheap ticket prices, and demanded that it be reconsidered.
The dispute was also taken to the High Court, which ordered the government to appoint a committee to fix ticket prices, which would include members from the film industry.
Chiranjeevi also met with Jagan directly last month to discuss industry difficulties.
