Ahimsa director Teja: Not OTTs or TV, Hindi cinema lost its sheen because of….

Director Teja minces no words when he’s on camera. He refuses to beat around the bush and discusses matters with a forthrightness you don’t often witness from someone in the film industry. In a recent promotional interview with Gopichand on the former’s upcoming release Ramabanam, Teja voiced his understanding of the challenges behind drawing crowds to theatres.

“The biggest complaint I’ve heard from audiences is the price of popcorn and soft drinks. I find it expensive, auto-drivers or two-wheeler owners can’t bear it. This ridiculous pricing of snacks in multiplexes can alone kill cinema. Neither OTT nor TV has distanced audiences from theatres. What’s cinema? It’s a family of four paying parking charges, coming to theatres and enjoying it with a samosa or popcorn,” he said.

Teja believes when snacks become expensive, crowds will naturally stop frequenting theatres. “In Mumbai, Hindi cinema has lost its sheen not because of OTT but because of popcorn rates. Luckily in Telugu states, because we still have many single screens, it hasn’t worsened yet. I still recommend audiences to watch films in single screens and enjoy it on a bigger screen. Multiplexes have small screens that are slightly bigger than our TVs at home,” Teja added.

The filmmaker is of the opinion that cinema gets killed whenever there are too many multiplexes in an area. “It’s not because of multiplex or the film, but the rates of the popcorn. You can’t imagine cinema without popcorn. When there’s a fight sequence, I enjoy it more with a tub of popcorn; it’s the USP of entertainment. How can you kill it? OTTs, TV can never kill cinema but popcorn can..,” he shared.

Ahimsa, Teja’s next action-romance, starring Abhiram Daggubati, Geethika, Sadha, with music by RP Patnaik, will release in theatres later this summer.