The debate over ticket price hikes and special shows in Telangana has once again come into the spotlight with Toxic. While Coolie and War 2 were not granted ticket price hikes and special-show permissions in Telangana despite featuring popular Telugu stars, Toxic has reportedly received approval for a ticket price hike in the Nizam region.
The development has attracted attention because Dil Raju and Shirish are handling the film’s Nizam release. This has naturally raised questions among moviegoers about why similar policies are being applied differently to major releases.
At the heart of the debate is a growing concern among audiences that excessive ticket pricing is slowly hurting the theatrical business rather than helping it. When ticket prices are further increased for premieres and special shows, a regular theatrical outing can become unaffordable.
The Telangana government’s decisions to restrict such increases in some cases have been welcomed by sections of the audience. If theatrical tickets become too expensive, many viewers may simply choose to wait for the film’s OTT release, ultimately defeating the purpose of creating a wider theatrical audience.
Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups is directed by Geetu Mohandas and stars Yash in the lead, alongside Kiara Advani, Nayanthara, Huma Qureshi, Tara Sutaria and Rukmini Vasanth. Yash and Venkat K. Narayana are the producers, while Yash is also credited as part of the writing team along with Geetu Mohandas.
