Thalapathy Vijay’s Varisu and Ajith Kumar starrer Thunivu hit the silver screen on January 11.
The police said that the movie theatres were holding special screenings of the films without permission.
On the occasion of Pongal, Tamil Nadu witnessed two big releases this year. Thalapathy Vijay’s Varisu and Ajith Kumar starrer Thunivu hit the silver screen on January 11. Both the audiences and theatre owners were excited for the projects.
For the audience, it is all about entertainment and supporting their favourite actors, and for theatre owners, it means big business. Tamil Nadu theatre owners started screening Varisu and Thunivu 1 am onwards on January 11. Now, it has come to light that district collectors of nearly every district in the state have received reports from the superintendents of police about violation of permitted time for the shows.
The police have said in their report that the movie theatres were holding special screenings of the films without permission or beyond the permitted time.
The police further said that in certain locations — by scheduling early-morning special screenings of these movies — theatre owners had created such a situation, where disputes among fans would have led to a law and order issue.
The sources said that while police commissioners in cities had the authority to issue show cause letters, collectors in districts, who were in charge of issuing licences, would demand an explanation from theatre owners within 15 days. If the theatre owners failed to explain their point, then disciplinary action will be taken against offenders under Tamil Nadu Theater Regulation Act, 1957.
Cinema owners continued with the screening of the films, despite an explicit order banning early morning shows of the two newly-released films, which attracted a sizable crowd. There were also claims that the prices of the tickets were outrageous.
The Home Secretary mentioned in an order, that was published a day before the release of the movies, that licensing authorities should “take necessary action to prohibit the early morning shows and charging exorbitant rates of admission during such shows of the new films in accordance with the condition 14-A of Form C licence under the Tamil Nadu Cinemas (Regulation) Rules, 1957.”
