The Karnataka Bundh called on Saturday on account of the prosecution permission of Karnataka Chief Minister Dr BS Yediyurappa granted by Karnataka governor HR Bharadwaj has been a lethal blow to the Kannada cinema industry.
On Saturday 22nd January the activities in cinema halls looked very bleak and out of 156 cinema halls in Bangalore including the multiplex, malls etc the collection is not even 10 percent.
From the 870 theatres and cinema activities in Karnataka the estimated loss is around Rs.1 crore says Thomas D Souza who heads the exhibitor wing in Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce.
Rs 1 crore also includes the stalling of film production and post production activities. Quoting one of the gravely affected cinemas ‘Kanteerava’ of Ramu Enterprises the loss is Rs.30 lakh. In a theatre like Navrang there are only 130 persons to watch the cinema. The Friday release on the next day facing this type of Bundh is very difficult to sustain says Thomas.