Manoj Desai, executive director of G7 multiplex and Maratha Mandir Cinema, recently announced that he will be slashing the ticket prices of both their single-screen theatres, as the management is fed up with the poor performance of Bollywood films in recent times.

Speaking to us, Desai reveals that following this announcement, he got calls from several multiplex owners who complained about the decision. “I know multiplexes won’t cut their ticket rates. In fact, they’re not liking this step taken by us. I won’t take names, but I got a few calls from people saying things like, ‘Aap prices kam kar lete ho to humein nuksaan hota hai’. But, it doesn’t affect me. I’ll continue to slash ticket prices if that results in more people coming to theatres. It’s better than having vacant seats in the cinema hall,” he says.

Desai believes in bringing people from all walks of life to the theatre: “Multiplexes are for rich people who want to spend thousands on tickets and food. Jis public ko paise ki padi nahin hai, wo wahan jaakar enjoy karlein. However, for families where 4-5 log ho, unka toh poora salary chala jayega ek film dekhne mein. I want Gaiety Galaxy and Maratha Mandir to be the places where people continue to come for experiences.”

After suffering huge losses during the pandemic, he was pressured by distributors to raise the prices in the last four months, but poor film performance has added to the misery. “We are suffering because movies are failing. Hum pehle bhi rate nahin badhaate, but distributors ne dadagiri chaalu kari,” says Desai.

He informs that the prices of Gaiety and Maratha Mandir will be reduced from ₹140 and ₹170 to ₹130 and ₹150 as of November 21. The changes will be implemented in all other G7 theatres beginning today.

Though he is optimistic that the decision, taken by him and managing director Arun Nahar, will result in increased attendance, he is disappointed that Bollywood is not producing any good films: “It’s only the South films that are working. Kantara still has shows with 100% occupancy.”