Bollywood takes plea of increasing the number of theatres to PM

Delegation including Aamir Khan, Rajkumar Hirani and Ritesh Sidhwani request for government aid in upping number of cinema halls in India

A delegation of Bollywood stars and filmmakers made its way to the prime minister's office yesterday in a bid to discuss the scope of upping the number of theatres in India. A team, including Rajkumar Hirani, Aamir Khan, Aanand L Rai and Ritesh Sidhwani, turned up in Delhi to meet PM Narendra Modi and seek the government's aid in increasing the number of screens across the country.

A source tells mid-day that the film folk had gathered to discuss measures that could be taken for the betterment of the industry. "The meeting was [primarily] initiated by Sidhwani. Aamir was vocal when discussing the issues plaguing Bollywood. The PM acknowledged that the people belonging to the industry are India's cultural ambassadors since Bollywood is recognised across the world," says the source. Sidhwani, we hear, had prepared a presentation to highlight why the industry needed more cinema halls for screening.

Rajkumar Hirani and Ritesh Sidhwani

In 2015, top Bollywood producers, including Ramesh Sippy, Gulzar and Mukesh Bhatt, had met the then I&B minister of state Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore to improve the process of film certification.

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