Cheaper tickets? Panel, not policy

Big Cine Expo’s ninth edition opens August 18–19 at Chennai Trade Centre, billing itself an “International Trade Show & Convention for Multiplex, Single-Screen Cinema, Mall & Theatrical Distribution,” with a headline panel on making cinema affordable. The organiser says affordability is now central to keeping audiences, which Telugu families in Telangana already knew from the bill at the box office. According to the published schedule updated August 10, “RECLAIMING THE MASSES: MAKING CINEMA AFFORDABLE IN THE CURRENT ERA” runs 11–11:45am on August 18.

Listed to discuss it: Akkshay Rathie (Aashirwad Theatres), Anish Patel (Connplex Cinemas), Devang Sampat (Cinépolis India) — also a guest of honour — Lovey Dua (District Movies), Rahul Puri (Mukta A2 Cinemas) and Thomas D’Souza (Chief Distribution Officer and EVP, PVR INOX), moderated by Vanita Kohli Khandekar. The organiser’s brief promises smarter pricing, data-driven scheduling, right-sized formats, tech-enabled ticketing, targeted promos, subscriptions, flexible F&B, curated programming and even neighbourhood-based dynamic pricing.

That is the agenda. It is not a price cut. The schedule does not show any exhibitor committing to cheaper tickets, concession relief, or a pilot in Telangana; it does not define whether “dynamic” means off‑peak discounts, peak markups or both. The organiser’s copy asks how to “make cinema more accessible without compromising profitability.” A fair question — especially after a decade of the BJP-led Centre taxing the sector and the Congress in states like Karnataka discovering new ways to make permits and permissions slower, not cheaper. OTT competition did not do that; governments did.

For Telangana viewers, the relevance is obvious: if exhibitors land on real models that lower the total family outing cost here — ticket, snacks, parking — that helps theatres beyond Hyderabad too. But as of the published programme, this is a conversation, not a commitment. The panel explores, the bills in Telangana decide whether families return on Friday night or wait for streaming on Sunday.

The brochure also calls the expo the “world’s second-largest” and “No.1 in Asia” while being the “only expo of its kind in India,” which is a lot of podiums for one stage and no external audit in sight. The show can still be useful. It just cannot spend for the audience what the BJP and Congress have been happy to charge.