Prithviraj Sukumaran’s Aadujeevitham: The Goat Life director Blessy Thomas is planning to stage a protest against PVR-INOX as the multiplex giant has stopped the screening of Malayalam films across the country. For the unawares, the dispute between PVR-INOX and Kerala film producers has led the multiplex chain to halt the screenings.
According to a report in The Hindu, Blessy will stage a protest outside PVR Lulu in Kochi. He told the news portal that despite his latest film Aadujeevitham’s success, PVR Cinemas halted its screening abruptly without prior notice.
The film hit the big screens on March 28 and its screening has been reportedly halted since April 10.
What is the controversy?
PVR Cinemas sparked a controversy by not screening recent Malayalam films like Fahadh Faasil’s Aavesham, Vineeth Sreenivasan’s Varshangalkku Shesham and Unni Mukundan’s Jai Ganesh. This decision reportedly drew sharp criticism from filmmakers.
Besides this, at the heart of the conflict is the virtual print fee (VPF) imposed by established content providers like Qube, UFO, PXD, and TSR for showcasing films in theaters. In response to industry apprehensions, The Kerala Film Producers’ Association (KFPA) recently introduced the Producers’ Digital Cinema (PDC), a content mastering unit. The goal of PDC is to provide affordable screening expenses and tackle distribution hurdles.
Blessy has questioned why PVR Cinemas would cease screenings outside of Kerala for an issue primarily affecting only the state.
Urging the audience to raise their voice against the ‘unjust treatment’, Blessy said, “If my film, for which I worked hard for 16 years, does not receive proper recognition, then this could be the end of my life as a director.”
