No Production Or Exhibition Of Malayalam Movies Starting June 1
A group of film bodies in Kerala have called for a strike calling for stoppage of all film production related activities starting June 1.
A month after the Kerala Film Producers’ Association (KFPA) put out a statement which stated that the Malayalam film industry suffered a loss of over ₹ 650 crore in 2024, a group of major film bodies have come together to announce a strike demanding lower entertainment taxes and a reduction in star salaries.
The strike is expected to start on June 1 and will affect all production activities of Malayalam films. It also called for a shutdown in film exhibition. The protest was announced after a meeting on Thursday, which was attended by members of the Kerala Film Producers Association (KFPA), the Kerala Film Distributors Association, the Film Employees Federation of Kerala, and the Film Exhibitors United Organisation of Kerala.
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The meeting was held to discuss massive losses the industry suffered last year. Demands included relaxation in entertainment taxes and a salary cut for actors. “If the situation continues, producers will struggle. So, we have decided to go on an indefinite strike from June 1. There will be no production or exhibition of films,” Suresh Kumar, president of the Film Chamber of Kerala, said.
Apart from star salaries, the association also brought attention to the increasing salaries of technicians and directors. The issue of OTT platforms not purchasing several films, creating a massive unsold inventory, was also discussed at the Thursday meeting.
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In a report that was tabled in December last year, it was announced that only 26 Malayalam films that released in 2024 qualified to be called hits; this comes from a total of 204 films, including the re-release of five old films.
The total investment was stated to be in the region of ₹ 1000 crore and the 26 hit films managed to collect a profit of around ₹ 350 crore, with the rest being declared flops.