Movie fans at a theatre in Bengaluru. (PTI Photo)

BENGALURU: The state government on Tuesday issued the government order capping the maximum price of movie tickets , in all theatres including multiplexes, at Rs 200.

However, the state has exempted Gold class seats from the capping. The government has laid down conditions for these exemptions, citing the Gold class seats cannot be more than 10 per cent of the total number of seating capacity of the movie theatre.

Further, exemption has also been provided for the high end movie theatres like IMAX and 4DX.

The state government has reasoned that IMAX and 4DX has a high end technology with sizeable investment in the theatres by owners, forcing them to exempt these theatres from the capping.

Promised in the 2017-18 budget, chief minister Siddaramaiah signed on the dotted line and issued the order on Tuesday evening. The notification will come into immediate effect.

The decision will bring cheer to lot of citizens who have been paying higher prices for tickets in multiplexes. However, there will not be any capping on the price of the gold class seats.

"We are reserving 90 per cent of the seats with the capping of prices. The 10 per cent of the seats is left to the theatre owners to reserve as gold class seats," said information department principal secretary M Lakshminarayana.

The bureaucrat said the gold class seats will not be more than 30 or 40 in any movie theatre.

However, with single screen theatres having no concept of a gold class will now reserve 10 per cent of their seats to be sold at a premium rate.

"We need to look at the macro view, and not dwell into the micro details," said Lakshminarayana, when questioned the gold class seats concept is not there till date in most single screen theatres.

The government decision on capping the movie ticket prices comes in the backdrop of the Congress regime trying to woo the urban voters ahead of the 2018 assembly polls.

Over the last five years, several rounds of talks with multiplex owners were held by the government and repeated assurances by former information department ministers of capping the ticket prices were given. However, none materialised.

But, with the information and publicity department vested with Siddaramaiah, the decision has been finally taken by the government to bring a uniform price capping for 90 per cent of the seats one year ahead of the polls.

