Ronnie Screwvala

Competition Commission

A still from Sonchiriya

Indian producers on an average have to pay Rs 2-3 crore as VPF if they want to release on 1000-1500 screens –Ronnie Screwvala

A still from Love Per Square Foot

Since the matter is now sub-judice and will be under investigation there is nothing more to add at this stage –Kamal Gianchandani, CEO, PVR Cinemas

PVR Cinemas

has filed a case with theof India against four multiplex chains—PVR, Inox, Cinepolis and Carnival Cinemas—as also the FICCI Multiplex Association of India for “anti-competitive collusion with respect to undue imposition of Virtual Print Fee (VPF)”. In his petition the filmmaker has complained that the multiplexes make Indian film producers/distributors pay Rs 20,000 for every film screened in every theatre as VPF. He described it as a “draconian discriminatory charge that the multiplex chains are forcibly imposing”.Following a discussion among producers, distributors and exhibitors in 2010, the process of transformation from physical prints to digital started and the fee was agreed upon to support the evolution for a period of five years till December 2015. But, according to the complaint, it was extended twice following a verbal agreement with producers and distributors with the sunset clause till December 2017. “However, they have continued collecting VPF directly from the distributors of Hindi and regional films,” the petition states, pointing out that Hollywood movies, even dubbed versions, are exempt from VPF and this gives them a competitive advantage over domestic films.The petition brings to notice that 2016 Aamir Khan-sport drama, Dangal, produced by Disney was not charged the discriminatory fee owing to an arrangement with the foreign studio regarding the exhibition of their international films in India. “This severely limits any kind of level playing field that Indian content creators crave for.”The petition informs he was forced to release Love Per Square Foot, digitally, as the exorbitant charges to get his film screened in the national chains were not economically viable. It reasons that while national multiplex chains are the obvious choice for a theatrical release since they control 60 per cent of the entire multiplex film exhibition business in India, given that Love Per Square Foot was made on a budget of just Rs 8 crore, the additional cost would have made it a loss-making venture, as hypothetically, the multiplexes would have earned in excess of Rs 7 crore from him as compared to his earnings of Rs 2.35 crore. “All the Indian producers on an average have to pay Rs 2 to 3 crore to the multiplexes as Visual Print Fees, if they want to release their film on 1000 to 1500 screens,” it states.More recently he had a run-in with cine-owners during the release of the Sonchiriya. He’d planned to release Sushant Singh’s dacoit drama on 505 screens in PVR, INOX, Cinepolis and Carnival. Butthat would have meant spending Rs 93 lakh on VPF. So he had to change his release plans.When we reached out to Kamal Gianchandani, the CEO of, he said, “Since the matter is now sub-judice and will be under investigation there is nothing more to add at this stage.”