Low occupancy for films in Hyderabad

Telugu film industry, which is considered the second biggest in India after Bollywood, received the onslaught of the terror strikes in Mumbai. The occupancy in theatres of twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad showed a drastic dropping by more than 40 per cent since four days.

"Our film got released last Saturday. Collections in the first week are very important for any film. But, unfortunately there is a big fall in the number of people coming to the theatres. They are damn afraid of the terrorist strikes that happened in Mumbai. The effect is clearly seen," according to Saikiran Adivi, director of the film Vinayakudu

Producers say incidence of bomb blasts in the country is leaving Tollywood with massive losses. They maintain that whenever there is a terror strike in the country, it is resulting in the decrease of occupancy rate in the cinema halls. Blade Babji, the film starring Allari Naresh and directed by Devi Prasad received hit talk at the very opening day and the success streak continued till the day before the Mumbai terror. There is a sudden fall in the occupancy rate in the theatres showing the film. "Yes. The impact of Mumbai tragedy hovered on our collections. Whether the theatres initiated security norms or not, the fear psychosis among the audience is strong and it might continue for some more while. Definitely, it is a big shock to the producers, distributors and exhibitors," said its director Devi Prasad.

Mr. KS Rama Rao, the Andhra Pradesh Film Chamber of Commerce (APFCC) president, says that in the last five days, the Tollywood received a blatant shot in its face with the collections dipping down somewhere between 35-40 percent. He pointed out that particularly the women and children were not seen in the theatres. He sought the government to immediately launch measures to upgrade the security norms at all theatres and that alone would create confidence in the audiences. He said that similar was the scene in the neighboring states of Tamilnadu and Karnataka. He said that the effect was also felt in star hotels and other night clubs in the city.