This controversy follows a similar storm two months ago, when the government approved a hike for Pawan Kalyan’s historical epic Hari Hara Veera Mallu.
Published Sep 18, 2025 | 12:10 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 18, 2025 | 12:10 PM
A poster of Pawan Kalyan's OG.
Synopsis: The Andhra Pradesh government’s decision to allow a steep hike in movie ticket prices for the upcoming action thriller OG, starring Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan in the lead role has reignited a heated debate, with critics calling it a gross misuse of power.
The Andhra Pradesh government has given the green signal for a steep hike in movie ticket prices for the upcoming action thriller OG (They Call Him OG), starring Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan in the lead role. The film is releasing on 25 September.
The decision has reignited a heated debate, with critics calling it a gross misuse of power since the film’s lead actor, Pawan Kalyan, also holds the second most important position in the state government.
A government order (GO) issued on Wednesday, 17 September, allowed theatres to charge up to ₹1,000 for a special midnight premiere. It also permitted a hike of ₹125 for single-screen tickets and ₹150 for multiplex tickets — roughly a 50 percent increase over standard rates — for the first 10 days of release, from 25 September to 4 October.
Critics have described the move as a blatant conflict of interest, questioning how a deputy chief minister, who doubles as a blockbuster hero, can use his official influence to inflate ticket prices for his own film.
This controversy follows a similar storm two months ago, when the government approved a hike for Pawan Kalyan’s historical epic Hari Hara Veera Mallu. That order sparked outrage, with Opposition parties and civil society groups accusing the actor-turned-politician of exploiting his dual roles for personal gain.
At that time, premier tickets went up to ₹600 and regular seats to over ₹700, prompting youth organisations to demand a rollback, calling it “outrageous profiteering at the expense of the common man.”
OG is being promoted as a high-octane gangster thriller with an ensemble cast that includes Emraan Hashmi and Priyanka Mohan. The film is estimated to have cost around ₹250 crore, excluding Pawan Kalyan’s remuneration of about ₹100 crore and that of the other names.
Now, Pawan Kalyan — the fiery Jana Sena Party leader who stormed into the corridors of power as part of the TDP-JSP-BJP alliance in 2024 — faces allegations of blurring the lines between his reel and real-world personas.
The scale of the hikes is striking: single-screen theatres are allowed to charge up to ₹272 per ticket (a ₹125 increase), while multiplex tickets will rise to ₹327 (a ₹150 increase). On top of this, the ₹1,000 flat rate for the 1 am paid premiere is expected to create a massive windfall for producers.
Reports suggest that Kalyan’s remuneration alone stands at ₹100 crore, with additional profit-sharing clauses tied directly to higher footfalls boosted by the price hike.
The Hari Hara Veera Mallu debacle, which ended as a disaster of epic proportions despite political push, still looms large. The film grossed under ₹150 crore against a ₹300 crore budget, leaving distributors in deep losses. Reports suggest the deputy chief minister had given financial guarantees to distributors in case of failure, which is exactly what happened.
Back then, Pawan Kalyan defended the inflated pricing, declaring at a promotional event that he would “show his power at the box office”. However, when theatres ran half-empty, his remark backfired, drawing jeers from critics. He later admitted the film had not turned out well and wondered aloud why he was being personally targeted for its failure.
Meanwhile, social media — particularly X — is abuzz with sharp criticism of the OG pricing decision.
One user, Rajiv (@KingRajiv), pointed out that OG does not comply with Andhra Pradesh government rules requiring at least 20 percent of shooting to take place in the state to allow it to hike its ticket prices.
His claim appears plausible, as most of the film was shot in Mumbai and Hyderabad, with only a few schedules reportedly planned in Tadepalli and Vijayawada, reportedly far short of the 20 percent requirement.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
