The Deputy Commissioner of Bengaluru rejected distributors' applications for screening the Rajinikanth-starrer Kabali at city five-star hotels.
Deputy commissioner V Shankar said that screening movies at five-star hotels is not permitted under the Karnataka Cinema Act of 1964 and amended regulations of 2014.
In an attempt to screen Kabali at Bengaluru's five-star hotels, recording company Lahari Music has reported a loss of ₹50 lakh after their appeal was shot down by the district governance.
The recording company began making preparations for over two months for the four-day movie screening at the city hotels. The company had purchased screens and close to 300 international quality seating arrangements for the big day.
Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) chairman Sa Ra Govindu had rejected Lahari's proposal in a press meet held on Monday. He said, "If the screening is allowed then regular theatres will suffer losses. The theatres threatened to stage a protest across the state if the appeal was approved."
The KFCC had also resolved not to allow Kabali screening in regular theatres if the proposal was accepted. Those who had made reservations for the movie screening at five-star hotels were reimbursed.
Premier hotels such as JW Marriot, Royal Orchid, Lalit Ashok and Crowns Plaza were reserved for the screening. The ITC group had extended its supported to this innovative move and had also agreed to accommodate all its five-star hotels for this new start up.
