Owners alarmed by hooliganism in theatres

Owners alarmed by hooliganism in theatres

Theatre owners believe that sudden power cut, a boring storyline, a failed projector or lack of an item number, can trigger destructive acts among moviegoers.

Deccan Herald

Vandalism is rampant in Bangalore’s theatres. Last week, an unsuspecting girl was pierced by a needle that was purposely left jutting out of her seat at a theatre on M G Road.

This wasn’t the first incident. Half-eaten chewing gums and spit on theatre seats are becoming disturbingly common. Cut seats, torn rugs, scribbled arm rests, pen-poked rexin- even stolen toilet fittings - all bear testimony to the bad manners of the City’s movie goers.

Even as suffering spectators simmer helplessly, theatre owners are finding this hooliganism an expensive affair. Theatre owners are spending anything between Rs 50,000 and Rs 1,50,000 per month only in maintenance costs, claims Prasad, owner of Innovative Multiplex.

The swanky Innovative Multiplex at Marathahalli has 43 employees on the rolls for maintenance, but still has around 25 seats that are damaged every month. The same situation exists at Naga Theatre where theatre owner Venkatesh incurs a monthly expenditure of Rs 35,000 for replacing damaged furniture.

“Irrespective of whether it’s an old theatre or multiplex, such problems exists. It is not even possible to identify the culprits because it is dark. Security gets lax because of the continuous coming and going of viewers,” explains Venkatesh.
It might make an interesting subject for a psychological case study, but owners believe only viewers of action-packed thrillers and pornographic films indulge in such intentional damage. A sudden power cut, a boring storyline, a failed projector, absence of a heroine or lack of an item number, can trigger such destructive acts. If it is house-full, crowds can go on a rampage for a minor operational lapse, says K V Chandrashekhar, owner of Veeresh Theatre.
However, the number of such incidents have come down in the last decade, believes President of Karnataka Films Exhibitors’ Federation Odugoudar. The dip can be attributed to two factors. Firstly, with the emergence of DVDs and pirated VCDs, not many film buffs visit theatres anymore.

In fact, occupancy rate has been reduced from 80 per cent to 25 per cent in the last five years. Also, modern-day crowds are more disciplined. “Until five years ago, at least 25 seats in a 500-seat theatre would be damaged every day. Now the number has been reduced to one or two,” adds Odugoudar.