These days, several filmmakers are opting for ticket price hikes for their films, including some dubbed releases. Rajinikanth’s upcoming film Jailer 2, which is set to release in Telugu as a dubbed version, has also received a ticket price hike. Naga Vamsi, who acquired the film’s distribution rights in the Telugu states, reportedly secured permission for the hike from the Andhra Pradesh government. Producers often argue that high production budgets make such hikes necessary. Nani’s The Paradise also received a ticket price hike recently.
When Vijay Deverakonda was asked about a possible ticket price hike for his upcoming film Ranabaali, which is being made on a big budget, he made his stance clear. “Not just for this film, I don’t want any of my feature films to have a ticket price hike. I don’t like ticket price hikes. There will be no ticket price hike for Ranabaali,” he clarified.
The actor also recalled an incident from his college days that shaped his opinion on the issue. “When I was in Intermediate, I wanted to watch a film in IMAX. At that time, the ticket price was Rs 80. I used to get Rs 10 for tiffin, but I would skip it and save the money so that I could watch a film in IMAX with my friends,” he said.
Vijay added that he would even save on travel expenses to make the plan work. “I used to travel on my friend’s bike so that I wouldn’t have to spend money on transport,” he recalled.
He said he was disappointed when ticket prices suddenly increased to Rs 100. “I felt sad about it and thought the price hike was unnecessary. Though I didn’t understand economics because I wasn’t mature enough at that time, I felt it was not right. That stayed with me, and I have always felt that ticket price hikes are not a good thing. Even after I became an actor, it continued to bother me, and I decided not to hike ticket prices for my films,” he explained.
Vijay said he had already discussed this decision with his producers and team for his upcoming projects. “I spoke to my producers and my team about not having a ticket price hike for Ranabaali, Rowdy Janardhana and even my upcoming film with Shouryuv,” he said.
The actor added that he would discuss ticket pricing with producers before committing to any project. “I tell my producers that we can work things out for business reasons. For instance, I may reduce my remuneration, or we can work out a profit-sharing arrangement. Unless I work with Rajamouli sir, there may be a ticket price hike. Otherwise, you will all troll me again for saying there should be no hike,” Vijay said.
For Ranabaali, the actor said he specifically asked the producers to ensure that more people could watch the film. “The purpose of this film is to make sure that as many people as possible watch it, and that is very important. So, I asked them to do whatever is necessary to achieve that. I am confident that the film will recover the money invested in it, but I want more people to watch it. The money should come through footfalls,” he said.
Vijay reiterated that his decision would apply to his future films as well. “No film of mine will have a ticket price hike in the future either. I make this clear to producers before committing to a project,” he clarified.
