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T-Series is planning to expand its portfolio of movies and produce seven a year, riding on the back of 2013-superhit Aashiqui 2.
A sequel to 1990-musical blockbuster Aashiqui, T-Series' "formal entry" into film production was made on a modest budget of Rs 18 crore. It went on to earn Rs 85 crore at the domestic box office, making it the most profitable movie of the year.
"With Aashiqui 2, we made a formal entry into film production. Before that, we had done a few films here and there like Tum Bin (2001), Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007) and Patiala House (2011). But with Aashiqui 2, we decided to go full swing and have six to seven titles a year," said Bhushan Kumar, chairman and managing director, Super Cassettes Industries Limited - known as T-Series.
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After the mammoth success previous year, Kumar stuck to the low budget-low risk strategy this year. The four films from the T-Series stables this year were Yaariyaan, Hate Story 2, Bhootnath Returns and Creature, all of which did well enough at the box office to recover investments. Yaariyaan also went on to make a profit.
In 2015, however, T-Series will go no-holds-barred. Some of its projects are Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Roy (budget: Rs 45 crore); Baby (Rs 55 crore), starring Akshay Kumar; and Airlift (around Rs 50 crore), also with Akshay Kumar.
Apart from this, a Rs 70-crore project is being planned. It would be the biggest investment by T-series till date, said Kumar.
Besides signing on stars as leads, Kumar has also inked deals with directors in order to churn out a steady stream of movies across genres and budgets.
"We have signed on Milan Luthria in a two-film deal. Nikhil Advani and Anurag Basu are in for a film each. We will be working with the Bhatts on two movies, both directed by Pooja. We are also looking at young talent and upcoming directors," says the T-series chairman and managing director.
At a time when every producer is cautious to hedge the risk of movie-making through co-production deals and co-investment partnerships, Kumar believes in taking the maximum risk in order to get the maximum returns. At least 80 per cent of the cost in any project is borne by T-Series. The production house retains not only the intellectual property rights but also assumes the title of the principal producer as opposed to a co-producer.
Explaining his high-risk model, Kumar said if a movie is made due to his conviction in the script, it should not incur major losses or accrue profits for anyone but him. He believes that his slate of movies is well balanced with projects in the range of Rs 5 crore to Rs 25 crore and also those in the Rs 40 crore to Rs 60 crore range.
"We just locked in Airlift with Akshay. It is a big budget film. Saif Ali Khan's and Nikhil Advani's film will also be a big budget project. Milan Luthria and Anurag Basu will also be on the hig budget ventures. Then, we have two films with Pooja Bhatt, both are in the range of Rs 10 crore to Rs 15 crore," said Kumar, displaying the variety of films under his banner.
He added: "We will also make Hate Story 3. The previous one - Hate Story 2 - had a budget of around Rs 6 crore. The sequel will have a slightly larger budget - around Rs 7.5 crore."
Analysts believe that T-Series' model of investing in low budget films (leading to higher profitability) has worked until now.
"It is difficult to say whether the model can be translated to bigger films or not, but scaling up is always a good idea for a studio. They have a knack for picking up good musicals and still continue to make small budget films. Given the right balance, they should be fine," said a trade analyst and critic.
Music continues to be the cornerstone of all T-Series productions said Kumar. From acquiring music, the label now also produces its own. In fact, in the case of Bhootnath Returns, which had little scope for songs, Kumar went ahead and added two songs to the movie's album. These turned out to be quite popular.
"Music will always be an integral part of our movies and business. People have been asking me if the increased competition in the music industry is worrisome, especially since the industry is going through a change. Frankly, I am glad that there are new players. Now, I can be even more selective in picking up movies in terms of music rights. The first choice for any producer (to sell the music rights) is always T-Series given our track record," said Kumar.
