Amaravati, Feb 10 (PTI): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday asked the Telugu film industry (TFI) to make Visakhapatnam city its new home and promised various sops to the industry as well as individuals.

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"I will give you house sites, land for studios and other needs. Make Visakhapatnam your new home. Let us own Visakhapatnam and together give it a push to make it grow into a mega city like Hyderabad or Chennai," the Chief Minister told the industry bigwigs.

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A delegation of Telugu film stars and directors, led by Megastar Chiranjeevi, met Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy here on Thursday to discuss various issues related to the film industry, particularly the contentious pricing of cinema tickets.

Jagan Mohan Reddy pointed out that AP was the biggest market for Telugu films, with 60 per cent of revenues coming from the state. He, hence, wanted the industry to focus on Visakhapatnam.

The Chief Minister approved the industry proposal for permitting screening of a fifth show daily, particularly to help low-budget movies.

Referring to the pricing of cinema tickets, he said it would be uniform for all films.

"We have to keep in mind that OTT platforms are giving good competition to cinemas. Hence, we have modified the rates so as to not burden the cine-goers and at the same time ensure the industry does not suffer any loss," he added.

He also felt that movies with high budget of over Rs 100 crore should be treated specially and special rates fixed for them.

The film industry delegation expressed happiness over the fruitful talks with the Chief Minister.

After the meeting, Chiranjeevi told newsmen that hopefully by the end of the month there would be a happy outcome.

"We have discussed various things. Telugu cinema has not only attained national but also international glory, thanks to some high-budget movies. Telugu cinema is being talked about greatly,” Chiranjeevi observed.

In the backdrop, they discussed the cinema ticket pricing issue that would be beneficial to all, he said.

"The Chief Minister assured us that a favourable decision will be taken after discussing it with the committee (appointed to look into the ticket pricing). Hopefully by the third week, a government order in this regard will be issued," he added.

Chiranjeevi said the Chief Minister wanted Telugu film shootings to happen in AP along with Telangana and he promised to create all facilities needed.

"The Chief Minister wished film shootings to happen in Visakhapatnam. We too wish the film industry develops equally in the two Telugu states,” the Megastar said.

Superstar Mahesh Babu, obliquely referring to the controversy over the cinema ticket pricing issue, noted that confusion was ruling the Telugu film industry for 6-7 months now.

"After the meeting with the CM, we hope to hear good news in a week to ten days," he said.

Another top hero Prabhas, blockbuster director S S Rajamouli, director Koratala Siva, actor-director R Narayana Murthy, actor Ali and others were part of the delegation.

They thanked the Chief Minister for appreciating the concerns of the film industry and seeking to resolve them.

Information and Cinematography Minister Perni Venkataramaiah, who coordinated the meeting, said the state government was ready to help the Telugu film industry by all means. Special focus would be on supporting the low-budget movies, he said.

For a few months now, a controversy had been brewing ever since the Jagan Mohan Reddy government sought to take control of cinema ticket sale, first by curtailing the prices and next by seeking to introduce online sale through the State Film Development Corporation.

The film industry was apparently unhappy, particularly over the low pricing of movie tickets and wanted the government to reconsider the decision.

The matter also landed in the High Court, which directed the government to constitute a committee, including the film chamber representatives, to fix the ticket rates.

Last month, Chiranjeevi met Jagan personally to discuss the industry issues.

The meeting on Thursday was a follow-up to that.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)