KFCC bans Kites screening in Karnataka

Bollywood's most-awaited film Kites has run into trouble in Karnataka even before seeing the light of day. This time, it's not the political outfits or moral police but the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) that has come down heavily on it. The association has banned the screening of the film in the state for violating the rules of the local film industry.

President of KFCC Basant Kumar Patil has directed the exhibitors not to screen the movie, as the distributors, Big Cinemas, has broken the norms of the local film industry by planning to release it in 46 theatres as against 24 theatres allowed.

"As per norms of the KFCC, non-Kannada movies can be released in only 21 theatres. The distributors approached us and requested us to relax the norms and grant permission to screen in 24 halls. We agreed. But now, they are releasing it in 46 theatres. Besides, they are also planning to screen it in another 10-12 theatres. Rules can't be different for different people," The Times of India quoted Patil as saying.

Vijay starrer Shankar IPS and Nagathihalli Chandrashekar's Nooru Janmaku, which are releasing today would suffer if theatres are reserved for Kites. "Due to Kites, Prakash Rai's Naanu Nanna Kanasu has been removed from theatres and the two films set for release on Friday have no halls. Who will protect our films?" Patil added. "If they screen this film now, we will not allow them to screen any more later," he warned.

Kites featuring Hrithik Roshan and Barbara Mori is releasing worldwide today in over 2, 300 screens. It is produced by Rakesh Roshan and directed by Anurag Basu.