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Cinema ticket rates to be hiked

-Photos: P.V. Sivakumar

Cynosure of all eyes: The ‘Best Actress’ award winner Trisha. (Right) Mahesh Babu receiving the Nandi Award for ‘Best Actor’ from Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy in Hyderabad on Sunday.

HYDERABAD: Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy said that the cinema tickets in the top bracket which were sold at Rs. 35 to 40 would be hiked to Rs. 50 each following a request by the film industry.

Giving away the Nandi film awards here on Sunday, Dr. Reddy assured that the tickets in the lowest bracket which were priced at Rs 10 each would be left untouched as they were purchased by the poor whom the government did not want to burden.

He also said the State government would institute national film awards in memory of B.N. Reddy and B. Nagi Reddy from next year. The centenary celebrations of the former are already taking place this year.

Dr. Reddy recalled the contribution of successive Congress governments to promotion of the Telugu film industry since it shifted its base from Chennai to Hyderabad. The government also scrapped the slab system on entertainment tax payable by theatre owners, he added. Information and Cinematography Minister Anam Ramnarayan Reddy said the Nandi film awards for 2007 and 2008 would be presented before the elections. The Chief Minister presented the NTR national awards to super star Krishna (2003), music director L. Ilayaraja (2004), Kannada actor Ambarish (2005) and Hindi film heroine of yesteryears, Waheeda Rehman (2006). The Raghupati Venkaiah awards were given to filmmakers M.S. Reddy (2005) and D. Rama Naidu (2006). They carried cash awards of Rs. 5 lakh each.

The Nandi awards for 2005 and 2006 went to Nagarjuna and Mahesh Babu (best actors), Trisha and Nandita Das (best actresses), ‘Pothe Poni’ and ‘Bommarillu’ (best films) and Krishna Vamsi and Sekhar Kammula (best directors), respectively.

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