Director-producer
Karan
Johar
today
said
that
though
he
believes
in
promoting
regional
cinema,
putting
restrictions
on
multiplexes
may
not
be
the
best
way.
Maharashtra
government
is
planning
to
make
screening
of
Marathi
movies
in
the
state's
multiplexes
mandatory
during
prime
time
slots.
"I
do
believe
in
promoting
regional
cinema
be
it
Marathi
or
Bengali
but
I
am
not
sure
if
putting
restrictions
or
rules
and
regulations
will
help
that
process," said
Johar
at
the
launch
of
Ronnie
Screwvala's
book
'Dream
With
Your
Eyes
Open'.
"I
don't
know
many
details
about
the
whole
strategy
behind
doing
that
but
I
believe
empowering
Marathi
cinema
is
a
way
forward.
I
feel
when
you
force
it
and
not
enforce
it,
there
is
always
a
problem," Johar
added.
The
filmmaker
hoped
that
probably
the
new
rule
was
an
attempt
to
open
up
the
exhibition
sector
to
regional
films.
"Sometimes
there
is
a
common
perception
that
regional
cinema
does
not
have
an
audience.
Riteish
Deshmukh's
Lai
Bhari
made
huge
numbers
at
the
box
office.
It
released
the
same
weekend
as
Humpty
Sharma
and
it
dented
the
collections
of
my
film.
"So
perhaps
the
diktat
comes
from
the
fact
that
exhibition
sector
should
wake
up
to
the
fact
that
it
there
is
value,
virtue
and
viability
in
regional
cinema."
Ronnie,
founder
of
UTV
group,
said
if
regional
films
will
benefit
from
this.
"...
most
of
the
regional
movies
or
Marathi
films
don't
have
lavish
budget
to
spend
so
if
you
give
them
an
advantage
and
position
them
in
a
convenient
time
slot
rather
than
11
in
the
morning,
more
people
will
come...
If
it
works
people
will
accept
it
and
if
it
does
not
then
it
will
move
away."
PTI