Mumbai: Okay, Patrons, if you are holding your breath to see Saaho, if you are as eager to see it as you say you are, then pay more for the tickets.
Apparently the ticket rates for Saaho would be on a par with what is charged for films that fall in the ‘blockbuster’ category, which means ticket buyers would have to pay at least 1/3rd more than the original price, if not more.
This unfair practice of saddling the audiences with the extra budgetary costs of a big film is nothing new.
Says Bihar distributor Kishan Damani, “Yes, we’ve been given instructions to charge the blockbuster rates for Saaho, the same as the Salman Khan starrer Bharat. But it’s only for the first three days from release.”
Rationalizing the sudden steep hike trade analyst Girish Johar says, “Increase of ticket pricing is a joint call of the producer/distributor and exhibitor for a particular film, with the onus of the same lying with the producer/distributor. Now for Saaho, if they feel that the excitement levels are very high and audiences are super-excited to see the film that they will be willing to pay much higher prices, than the normal, it is their business decision.”
Girish admits this financial burden on the consumer is unfair.
“Yes, audiences may feel the pinch but then it all boils down to content. It’s a very thin line to tread. If they feel satisfied then they would not complain but if they are not, then it backfires badly. If the content is disappointing they shun it vehemently when the ticket rates are hiked. This makes the collections fall faster, which is not good. So the makers opt for higher pricing only if they are pretty much confident of their offering to the audiences. Saaho is a MEGA film with huge budgets and investments, so naturally the expectations are MAMMOTH from it.”
Trade insider Atul Mohan feels ticket-rates ought not to be hiked.
“Everybody is after breaking records and setting new benchmarks. One of the easiest way to achieve this is to hike ticket price. They know that paying public easily falls prey to this trap. But it should justify your demands. We all remember Thugs Of Hindostan right? There also, the ticket prices were hiked. But what happened to it after day 1? Historical opening and historical fall in 24 hours. As an audience I would rather wait for the views, reviews and initial madness to settle rather than to rush madly to watch the film. Hiking ticket prices, forming early judgments should be discouraged.”
