Ban, protests greet Kites in Karnataka

Friday morning, protests at various theatres stalled the movie screening in Bengaluru.

The Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, which imposed a ban on Kites in the state, have demanded an apology from the Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Big Pictures for not abiding by its norms.

Kites was released in 46 theatres against the KFCC's rules which permit a non-Kannada movie to be released only in 21 theatres in the state.

Members of the Kannada film fraternity are demanding that Kites be taken off movie screens in the southern state since two Kannada films, Shankar IPS and Nooru Janmaku do not have movie

The KFCC says the distributors of Kites approached the Chamber and requested that the film be released in 24 halls which was agreed to. However, the distributors released the film in 46 theatres which prompted the Chamber to ban the movie.

The Chamber now wants Reliance Big Pictures to abide by its norms and tender a public apology if things have to be smooth for Hrithik's new film.

As the protests continued in Bengaluru, the Inox theatre in Malleswaram commenced refunding money to disappointed viewers keen to see Hrithik in his first solo starrer after Jodhaa Akbar.