Theatre Owners In Chennai May Axe Late Night Movies

CHENNAI, India, Dec 20 (Bernama) -- Theatre owners in Tamil Nadu, India's
cinema powerhouse, are mulling to ban screening of late shows as movie-goers are
skipping theatres at night in the bustling capital.
If the new ruling is imposed, thousands of theatres are unlikely to screen
movies after 10pm in the state, which prides its "Kollywood' movie industry as
being as vibrant and glamorous as Bollywood.
"Collections are dropping. We are considering this (ban) for many factors,
including the safety and comfort of movie-goers," Abhirami Ramanathan president
of Tamil Nadu Theatre Owners' Association told Bernama Tuesday.
This could be an unprecedented move to curb losses by theatre owners in the
southern state now governed by former actress J.Jayalalithaa.
Annually, the Tamil film industry produces about 200 movies, the majority
being multi-million-ringgit budget productions, making it the second largest
producer after Bollywood.
Recently, the association was mired in controversy after theatres refused to
screen a controversial movie, "Dam 999", which evolves around an old water dam
bordering Kerala.
Tamil Nadu, which depends on water supply from the Mullaiperiyar Dam, is
against the Kerala government's decision to build a new dam.
-- BERNAMA