It has been long since they put up a houseful board

Visakhapatnam: Too packed for the day, a section of cinema enthusiasts prefers to take a break from going to the theatres to make time for campaigning. Entertainment has taken a backseat for the past couple of months as lack of movies with interesting plots keep the movie buffs off the theatres. This apart, some of those who spend two-and-a-half-hour in the theatres are now busy raising slogans and donning the role of campaigners.

"This is the time to earn extra money as we get Rs.300 along with a biryani packet a day by extending our support to the political parties. Though I do prefer to head to a nearby theatre for a morning show quite often, of late, I find election campaign a viable option," says Ratna, a DWCRA member, who encouraged her circle of friends to follow suit.

Some of the daily wage earners say that they do get lucky with the package as it comes with a small bottle of liquor and so they feel it is worth putting off their 'entertainment time' until elections.It has been a long time since theatre owners put up a 'houseful' board. They forecast a dull season for a couple of weeks and expect an improved situation after elections as the time also coincides with the holiday season.

After Sankranti, film distributors opine that movies failed to click at the box office and recorded negligible collections for multiple reasons. "One reason is exam time is yet to conclude. Two, a section of filmgoers is taking part in the political campaigning. As a result, morning and noon shows are barely getting filled in the cinema halls.

Three, lack of good movies," observes Subbaiah Chowdary, manager at a film distribution office. Sharing similar views, proprietor of Kanthi Pictures, N Ramakrishna Reddy says that films with routine plots fail to draw the audience to the theatres in the recent times. "However, with Naga Chaitanya-Samantha starrer 'Majili' scheduled to release on April 5 followed by Sai Dharam Tej's 'Chitralahiri' on April 12, things are going to improve soon. But, Mahesh Babu fans need to wait till May as the actor's upcoming movie 'Maharshi' is likely to hit the theatres on May 9," he adds.