PVR INOX agrees to screen Malayalam movies amid issue of content sharing

PVR-INOX has revoked its decision not to screen Malayalam movies due to the content-sharing dispute with the producers’ association. It was on April 11 that PVR announced that it would not screen Malayalam movies.

Following a dispute between the Kerala Film Producers' Association (KFPA) over content sharing, PVR INOX, a multiplex operator, has revoked its decision not to show Malayalam films on its screens.

Tensions escalated further as the Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA) declared plans to stage protests outside multiplexes affiliated with the company. The protests were initiated to demand compensation for the losses incurred due to the non-screening of new releases, such as Fahadh Faasil’s "Aavesham," Vineeth Sreenivasan's "Varshangalkku Shesham," and Unni Mukundan's "Jai Ganesh." The multiplex chain had also ceased screening previously released Malayalam films, including Blessy’s "Aadujeevitham," A. D. Girish’s "Premalu," and Chidambaram’s "Manjummal Boys."

The company halted the screening of Malayalam films in response to the Kerala Film Producers Association's (KFPA) insistence that these films should be released at the screens in the Forum Mall in Kochi at a lower virtual print fee (VPF), utilizing content mastered at the PDC (Producers’ Digital Cinema), a facility under the association. Producers and distributors expressed dissatisfaction with the VPF charged by existing content providers like Qube, UFO, PXD, and TSR for screening movies in theaters, deeming it excessively high.

B. Unnikrishnan, the general secretary of FEFKA, expressed gratitude towards M. A. Yusuff Ali, businessman and chairman of the Lulu Group, for his intervention in resolving the deadlock. This came as the multiplex player, which operates numerous screens in malls under the Lulu Group in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram, had ceased screening Malayalam movies. Unnikrishnan highlighted FEFKA's objection to the unilateral decision made by PVR INOX to discontinue screening Malayalam films.

Blessy emphasized the importance of FEFKA's intervention in resolving the issue, noting the significant losses incurred after the movie was removed from the screens of the company. Despite initially planning a protest outside PVR Cinemas in Lulu Mall, the protest was called off following the truce reached between the involved parties.