Date:31/08/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/08/31/stories/2004083102510300.htm

Karnataka - Bellary

Theatre owners seek permission to screen non-Kannada films

By Our Staff Correspondent

BELLARY, AUG. 30. Cinema theatre owners and film exhibitors in Bellary district have urged the authorities to permit them to screen new releases of non-Kannada films.

They did not screen films today to draw the attention of the Government to their plight in the wake of the release of non-Kannada films being deferred in the State by seven weeks.

They took out a procession in the city from Gadagi Chennappa Circle.

The theatre owners submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner requesting the Government to concede their demands and permit them to screen new releases of non-Kannada films.

The memorandum stated that though they were screening new releases in Kannada, there were not many such new releases that could be screened in all the theatres simultaneously.

The theatre owners, in the memorandum, said that they would have to undergo a loss.

They said they would have to incur huge losses as patronage for Kannada movies was not encouraging.

They also made it clear that they were bound by the decision of the Government.

They said that until a Government Order was passed, they should be permitted to screen new non-Kannada films keeping in view the interests of those depending on theatres for their livelihood.

The theatre owners requested the Deputy Commissioner and the Superintendent of Police to concede their demand and also to give them protection.

Lakshmikant Reddy, Hanumanth Reddy, Sai, Nagabhushan, Uma Maheshwar, and Ramesh, were among the theatre owners from all over the district to participate in the procession.