Actor Dileep is new Kerala film exhibitors’ forum chief

The split in the film exhibitors of Kerala was formalised yesterday with a new body, Film Exhibitors United Organisation of Kerala (FEUOK), coming into being. FEUOK also claimed to have majority support among the exhibitors.Actor Dileep, who was elected president at the FEUOK meeting yesterday, said he would ensure that disruptions in the film industry were a thing of the past and nobody would be allowed to resort to such protests anymore.“We are here to make sure there’s no stoppage in the free flow of the entertainment industry and that the filmgoers are never disappointed,” he stressed.The Kerala Film Exhibitors Federation (KFEF) had been forced to withdraw its indefinite shutdown – that entered its 30th day on January 14 – after Dileep convened a meeting of like-minded cinema owners and decided to end the impasse.The KFEF had been demanding that producers give the federation a 60% share in film revenue at every screen instead of the existing 50:50 sharing pattern.Dileep, who also owns a production house and a restaurant in Kochi, ventured into the multi-screen business through a new arm, D Cinemas, opening its first multiplex at Chalakudy near the Kochi International Airport with three screens two years ago.“We have the support of the vast majority of the cinema owners, and at least 100 of them have attended the meeting,” the FEUOK president told reporters after the meeting.“This is going to be a collective of those who love cinema. The movie industry should move seamlessly forward, and there should not be such strikes anymore. Many theatre owners were part of film production as well, and their stakes are high.”Dileep said the new body had the support of almost 90% of KFEF members, which means it would have a membership base of 168 theatre owners with a total of 300 screens.The actor revealed that his appointment had the support of superstars Mohanlal and Mammootty, both of whom have production houses as well.Antony Perumbavoor, Mohanlal’s producer and business partner, is the vice-president of the new body.The strike had stalled the New Year-Christmas film releases like Mohanlal’s Munthiri Vallikal Thalirkkumbol, Dulquer Salmaan’s Jomonte Suvisheshangal, Prithviraj’s Ezra and Jayasurya’s Fukri. “There’ll be no stalling of film releases anymore. No blockades. No negative attitude towards producers. All producers and distributors are with us,” Dileep reiterated. Industry sources said that some 350 ‘A’ class theatres had remained shut during the strike leading to a loss of nearly half a billion rupees.The Kerala Cine Exhibitors Association, of mostly rural B and C Class theatres, had not joined the strike. So too had the multiplexes, a new culture fast catching up in cities like Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode and Kochi.Dileep said the FEUOK would attend a meeting convened this week by Cinema Minister A K Balan to discuss the formation of the proposed regulatory authority as recommended by the Adoor Gopalakrishnan committee set up by the previous government to suggest reforms. The industry is deeply divided over the proposal with the Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA) of filmmakers and technicians stating that government control on the industry was not desirable.