A week after PVR INOX pulled Malayalam films from their screens across the country on Eid (April 11) and reinstated them a few days later on Vishu (April 14), the Active Telugu Film Producers Guild (ATFPG) has spoken out about the issue. Given that the Telugu film industry also suffered a loss, as the release of Telugu-dubbed Malayalam films was stalled, they condemned the move. Here’s what they said. 

ATFPG’s statement

The ATFPG wrote on X, “We condemn the unilateral removal of Malayalam films across India by a multiplex chain. We stand with our Kerala counterparts in their pursuit of fair business practices. We shall stay united. #ATFPG.” The production house, Mythri Movie Makers, whose dubbed screening of Manjummel Boys was stalled due to the issue, also re-tweeted the statement.

Sashidhar Reddy of Mythri, who is distributing the dubbed version of Manjummel Boys in Telangana, raised a complaint with the Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce last week regarding the issue. He told the press, “How can PVR INOX stop the Telugu release of Manjummel Boys if they have an issue with producers in Kerala? It is unfair to stop shows like this when they’re collecting good money. The Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce will hold an emergency meeting soon to address this issue.”

What went down

The Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA) also held a meeting last week, where Aadujeevitham director Blessy and Varshangalkku Shesham director Vineeth Sreenivasan were also present. “we have decided that unless the producers are compensated for the loss they have suffered for the number of days their films were not shown, no Malayalam cinema would be given to any PVR theatre or screen anywhere,” told Unnikrishnan B, general secretary of FEFKA to press. But a resolution seems to have been reached between the multiplex and them.

Unnikrishnan claimed that the dispute between PVR INOX and the Kerala Film Producers Association (KFPA) arose regarding the virtual print fee (VPF) charged by the multiplex. The KFPA recently launched their own service called Producers’ Digital Content (PDC), unhappy with the steep cost charged by QUBE and UFO. Kamal Gianchandani, CEO of PVR Pictures Limited, shared a statement on X, claiming that it was ‘illegal’ for the KFPA to ask them to stream movies through PDC alone, which made them take a stand.

Films that were affected

Apart from the Telugu-dubbed version of Soubin Shahir and Sreenath Bhasi’s Manjummel Boys, Prithviraj Sukumaran’s Aadujeevitham - The Goat Life, Fahadh Faasil’s Aavesham, Vineeth Sreenivasan’s Varshangalkku Shesham and Unni Mukundan’s Jai Ganesh were running in theatres when screenings were stalled.

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