They have no posters to show

They have no posters to show

The campaign launched by the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike against illegal display of cinema publicity material on the city's roads has hit collections and the Kannada film industry is seething with anger, Srikanth Hunasavadi reports

Srikanth Hunasavadi



THE mood might be festive in the city what with the festival and holiday season setting in. But Sandalwood had no reason to cheer, as Friday's major release, superstar Upendra's Rajni, had to make do without a single poster being put up anywhere in Gandhinagar, the nerve centre of the Kannada film industry.
Rajni producer Ramu admitted that they could not put the film's posters because of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) drive against illegal display of cinema publicity material on the city's roads. He said the lack of publicity had made his film's box-office collections suffer.
On Friday, the BBMP registered two more cases over illegal display of posters in Kalasipalyam police. The cases were registered against Vayuputra and Iniya producers under Sections 3 and 8 of the Karnataka Open Places Disfigurement Act.In all, 12 cases have been registered against various film producers till date over the issue.
The film industry is seething in anger at the BBMP for launching the drive against illegal display of cinema posters without providing them alternative space to display the same.
The Palike is sticking to its stand that it is for the representative bodies of the film industry such as the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) to identify the locations to put up posters and producers must obtain licence before displaying the publicity material in public.
The film producers have approached the KFCC to resolve the issue. KFCC president Jayamala told DNA that the BBMP should not lodge complaints against film producers without providing alternative arrangements. "We will meet the BBMP commissioner and request him to provide us with alternatives. Till then, no complaints should be filed against film producers," she said.
Making it clear that the film fraternity too was concerned about maintaining the beauty of the city, she said the industry's compulsions should also be addressed. "Without posters, it is difficult to reach out to the people. We are holding talks with the producers and within a few days, we will submit a memorandum to the BBMP to earmark places for film posters," Jayamala said.
According to Karnataka State Film Producers' Association president KCN Chandraskehar, posters are the best and cheapest media to lure literate and illiterate fans to the movie halls.
"The BBMP must identify separate places for putting up film posters, but no fee must be collected for this. Commercial holdings have a value for a longer duration, while a film's posters can stay in currency for not more than a fortnight. So levying fee on film posters does not make economical sense," he argued.
The BBMP has till now booked three cases against Arjun Sarja of Vaayuputra, two each against Amarnath Hegde, producer of Hushaar and Madhusudhan Reddy of Iniya and one each against Ramesh of Jugaari, BN Pawan Kumar of Cheluvina Chilipili, R Anasuya of Chamkaysi Chindi Udaisi, BP Thyagaraj of Ullasa Utsaha, and the producer of Kaminey for illegal display of posters.
BBMP officials said they are tough on those illegally displaying posters in Gandhinagar ward as they want to make the area a zero-garbage zone. The cleanliness drive has to be a success here as the area has one of the highest floating population, they said.
Incidentally, Kempe Gowda Road, where premiere theatres are located, is part of Gandhinagar, Sandalwood's nerve centre.