If you have cast your vote in Bihar on June I, you are in for a treat. One of the reasons why the new releases opened well this week was the ticket pricing of Rs.99 across the board for all titles .
Now in an unprecedented move in Bihar the movie theatres have been instructed to give a 50 percent discount on a movie ticket to every person who voted on Saturday during the Lok Sabha elections.
Informs Kumar Abhishek , Cinema Manger Connplex Patna, “We’ve been asked to provide a 50 percent discount at voters from Sunday onwards. This means the boost in footfalls will continue this weekend.”
Sharan Sharma’s Mr & Mrs Mahi has opened to an impressive 6 crore-plus on Friday while Abhinay Deo’s Savi has accrued around Rs 2 crores on Day One. The numbers are expected to improve even more on Sunday.
Says Kumar Abhishek, “Even the earlier releases Srikanth ,Laapata Ladies and Bhaiyya Ji are showing decent collections. But not to the extent that the movie business should start celebrating. The monetary incentives to get audiences into theatres work only if the product is good. This week’s releases have been liked by those who have seen them.Now we need the fence sitters to take the plunge.”
Significantly, the entire publicity of Savi is shouldered by its leading lady Divya Khossla. Anil Kapoor who plays a pivotal role and who was paid a hefty amount for agreeing to star in Savi, has refused to do any promotional activity.