|
| A Bolly-good show for Indian cinema |
| Aminah Sheikh / Mumbai Jan 01, 2010, 01:35 IST |
|
The Indian cinema has witnessed some key changes over the decade. The surge of multiplexes and digital screens, changing methods of distribution & promotion of films and rising actor remuneration — all have redefined the business of Bollywood in India.
Way back in early 2000, watching a movie in a theatre was a family event and all it cost was Rs 30 per ticket. PVR Cinemas was the only multiplex back then.
Cut to the present. If one desires to watch the latest Bollywood release 3 Idiots, the ticket alone will cost Rs 350. And from just 14 cinema halls that PVR ran in 2000, cinema owners now operate over 700 multiplex screens controlled by six theatre chains — Inox Leisure, Big Cinemas, Fame India, Fun Cinemas, PVR Cinemas and Cinemax India — not just in cities but in small towns too.
“You can choose any of the six leading multiplexes because they all offer the same comfortable service. It’s just a matter of which theatre is closer to your home,” says movie buff Vrushali Sawant.
It’s not just the thrill of watching a movie on the 70mm screen closer to home, but also the experiences that have been enhanced, thanks to the 50 3D screens in India that were installed for James Cameron’s mega sci-fi flick Avatar. In early 2009, just 14 3D screens existed in the country.
“One would not have imagined watching a Hollywood movie Avatar in India in an experience that makes you feel you are in the movie,” says an enthused movie goer Sharad Pathak.
While audiences are willing to shell out more bucks for an enriched movie experience, it’s the multiplexes and film makers who have had to formalise revenue models, which had existed for years. The year 2009 witnessed the longest ever producer-multiplex stand off — that lasted two months — over revenue-sharing terms.
The strike resulted in multiplexes and producers both agreeing to a ‘performance based’ revenue model. Earlier, only Yash Chopra was able to use his muscle to rake in almost 50 per cent of the box-office collections from multiplexes in the first week post-release.
However, following the strike, all Indian producers and multiplexes agreed to a uniform fixed revenue-sharing term. It’s no secret that the beneficiaries have been companies that own multiplexes and also have a presence in film production. Anil Ambani’s Reliance Big Entertainment, for instance.
Consequently, most theatre chain owners like PVR and Inox have in some way forayed into movie production. The advent of multiplexes and corporatisation of entertainment companies has eliminated the small individual film distributors from the chain. With studios like Studio18, UTV Motion Pictures, Eros International and Big Pictures, among others, acquiring distribution rights of films at almost double the price of the movie’s budget, film makers now prefer selling their movie directly to one studio which, in turn, directly deals with theatres.
As a result, film makers recover the cost of their movie way before the film hits screens. In 2009, Fox Star Studio bought the rights of Karan Johar’s My Name is Khan, featuring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, for a whopping Rs 100 crore — the biggest deal ever for any Bollywood movie till date. The movie will be released in 2010.
The remuneration model of saleable actors like Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar have also gone through a sea change. Each of these actors now command a certain per cent of revenue from the box-office collections, apart from the actors’ fee they earn. This implies that each of these actors earn anything between Rs 15 crore and Rs 20 crore from one film versus the Rs 3-5 crore they earned a decade ago.
Even marketing and promotion of films have taken a different dimension, going way beyond movie hoardings and posters in the last 10 years. “It’s no just about informing people about the movie and its release date. It’s about involving people in the movie way before the theatrical release,” says a film analyst.
Two movies in 2009 — the Amitabh Bachchan starrer Paa and 3 Idiots featuring Aamir Khan — have innovated the way movies are promoted in India. Paa ran teasers through outdoor and TV media, focusing on Bachchan’s character without the viewer realising the 13-year-old boy in the movie is Amitabh Bachchan himself.
“When you have an icon like Amitabh Bachchan, one has to make him look interesting for the audience to watch out for. The thought was to design a campaign that makes you forget Amitabh Bachchan and introduce him in his character in a manner that justifies his legend,” Paa Director R Balki says.
Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s 3 Idiots campaign created a nation-wide buzz with Aamir Khan disguising himself and travelling through India and being found at places like Varanasi, Palanpur, Kolkata and Chennai, among others.
“The idea was to touch the lives of a few individuals in each of the places I visited. Once I left the place, the town was buzzing with talks of the movie. This activity created a ripple effect and generated interest among people, even from small towns, to watch the film,” says Aamir Khan.
Most certainly, it has been an entertaining decade for Indian cinema.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Read Business news in |  |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Advertisements |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Content Guide
