Last year post couple of theatre strikes in Tamil Nadu it looks like the unpleasant days is back for the South film industries. Now the whole issue has affected the whole South film industries. The Producers Council of South India has expressed their unhappiness against Digital Service Providers (DSP) like Qube for charging unfair VPF (Virtual Print Fee), which, according to them, makes producers and exhibitors suffer. The producers are also alleging that they had to pay the VPF for not more than five years, but they are still being charged an exorbitant amount. The Producers Council has announced an indefinite strike from March 1, because of which new releases, especially in Tamil and Telugu, are unlikely. But the new Bollywood and Hollywood films are expected to release without any issues.
Talking about the screening of the films in the south the producers said, “Among all the south industries, it is the Tamil and Telugu film industries which have expressed their concern. We got a notification from the Kannada industry that they aren’t interested in the strike. Though the Malayalam industry is against an indefinite strike, they said that they are ready for a one-day strike. Exhibitors simply can’t shut down the screens as we are answerable to the government. Producers are saying that Qube charges more. Considering the current situation, I don’t know whether protesting against a private company is right or not. Let them decide — I’m hopeful of an amicable solution at the earliest.”
They further said, “The DSPs aren’t charging VPF for Hollywood films since 2014. Why should Tamil films or the other language films in India pay the amount? We gave them six months’ time to come up with an amicable solution but in vain. The situation is such that a person who took a loan is expected to keep paying a certain amount for a lifetime even after the EMI is settled. Their argument is that they are following the agreement, but the agreement itself is an unfair one. There have been instances where an exhibitor was asked to pay a compensation of `35 lakh (`10 lakh/year) after the DSP removed a projector worth `6 lakh.”
They also added, “For now, the situation looks like a deadlock. We are not strike-hungry, we don’t believe in creating chaos just for the sake of it. In an industry where success percentage is too low, we can’t go by their terms. Paying `85 lakh may not be a big thing for a film like Theeran Adhigaram Ondru, but imagine the scenario where I had to pay `50 lakh as VPF for a small movie like Aruvi. The share amount of Kootathil Oruthan was `25 lakh, and I had to pay `27 lakh as VPF rate. We will be finding an alternative solution if things are not going the right way. We are ready to associate with any provider who accepts to give the projector to us or the exhibitors, that too, at a minimal rate. There has to be a long-term solution.”
They also said, “As per the initial understanding, the DSPs were supposed to charge VPF only for five years, and now, even after six years, they continue to charge the amount. They can’t charge permanently like this. For now, there is little clarity where this strike is heading; it looks complicated. The English and Hindi films will continue to release.”
They concluded by saying, “We have been having continuous meetings to sort the issue out. We came up with a deal where we promised to reduce the VPF rate, but it was rejected by them. If their idea is to rely on an alternative provider, it is up to them. We are hoping to get clarity on it very soon.”
