In a major embarrassment to Karnataka government, the state’s Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday watched Rajamouli’s Telugu blockbuster Baahubali-The Conclusion by ”paying higher price” for the ticket, a report in The Hindu says.
The price paid by the Chief Minister for the ticket went against his budget proposal of capping the prices of movie tickets in multiplexes.
Quoting sources, the Hindu report said Siddaramaiah, along with son Dr. Yathindra and grandchildren, watched the 1.30 p.m. show at Bengaluru’s Orion Mall in Golden Class. They reportedly saw the film along with the general public who paid Rs 1050 a ticket. There were also rumours that CM watched the movie along with his family and friends numbering 40.
The report also added that Chief Minister was under pressure from his grandchildren to watch the movie.
However, as a face-saving measure, the Karnataka government on Tuesday finally announced capping of cinema ticket at Rs 200 across all single screens and multiplexes in the state, NDTV reported.
“Price cap applicable for all language movies. This is in line with our commitment of making cinema affordable to all,” tweeted Chief Minister Siddaramiah on Tuesday.
According to an NDTV report, the Karnataka government had proposed a similar idea last year but had dropped it. Claiming that it received a massive push from Kannada film industry and Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy, the government had announced its decision of capping movie prices during budget session in March.
The Hindu report said the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) and KCA refused to comment over Siddaramaiah’s watching of the film at higher prices.
