We are finally allowed to take our own food in movie theatres. As awesome as this sounds, there are side effects of this rule.
I remember excitedly going to the movies with my friends a few years back. My friend’s mom had lovingly packed some chips with cheese toppings for all of us to eat during the movie. So when the guard at the multiplex refused us to take the chips dabba inside, you can only imagine how upset and humiliated we girls were.
I’m sure all of us have experienced this at some point in our lives – having to surrender outside food to the guard and just staring at the morbidly overpriced food at the counter! We Indians are used to buying samosas for ₹10 – 15. Naturally, paying four times that is intolerable for us.
No wonder Maharashtra is celebrating the new rule that the government has passed which now allows movie-goers to carry their own food items inside theatres from August 1. Theatre employees and owners who don’t comply with this rule will be reprimanded. Moreover, multiplex owners will be asked to reduce prices of food items sold in the premises.
While this move has left us in a frenzy, it has some downsides too. It is neither good for the multiplex owners, nor for the cine-goers.
- This rule infringes on the rights of private property owners. Several public places have similar rules for smooth functioning and comfort of all their patrons. Even the Mumbai metro has a rule which states that eating inside the metro and on the platform is not permitted.
When someone purchases a movie ticket, it becomes part of the contract that they will not be allowed to bring outside food. This new rule takes away the freedom of contract.
Just as we all have house rules and expect every one entering the house to follow them, private property owners should be able to decide the rules on their property.
No one is forced to buy the food from the stalls at the multiplex. In any case, if the demand for cheap multiplex food is high, people are free to start their own chain of multiplex which also offers cheap food.
- Multiplexes make a substantial profit from the sale of food on the premises. Reportedly, nearly 30 per cent of revenue at the multiplex comes from this. if this revenue goes down, the multiplex owners are likely to increase the ticket prices to make up for the losses.
Another reason to increase the ticket prices is extra compensation to the staff for the extra cleaning they will have to do.
Perhaps then the government will resort to regulating the ticket price itself which Karnataka has already been doing. We all know what the side effects of price caps are.
Moreover, there are good reasons for not allowing outside food. Entering a movie hall expecting three hours of visual indulgence with great sound but instead, all you get is a room full of people passing theplas, achar or dahi to each other while the room smells like a marriage hall.
The solution for affordable food in multiplexes is reducing the number of licenses required to start a multiplex and the additional licenses required to sell food on the premises. If these regulations are easy to comply, we can have a plethora of food services on the premises who will keep the rates low to attract consumers, like a food court in the mall.
If such rules can be imposed on one industry, it can also be imposed on your industry to appease voters.
While we may be tempted to cheer when the government takes away rights from someone else, let’s not forget that our rights could similarly be taken away in a quick swoop.
