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Shah Rukh Khan, fresh from the success of Chennai Express, believes that movies are like lipstick - they do brisk business in a slowdown. SRK, a shrewd businessman, is dead right: there is an indirect correlation between economic slowdown and inexpensive indulgences like lipstick and movies. It was there for all to see in 2008 when the global financial meltdown brought in fears of the worst slowdown after the Great Depression of the 1920s, and it is unfolding now when GDP (gross domestic product) growth has plunged, industrial activity is down, new investments have almost dried up, companies have begun to lay off people, stock markets are down and the rupee is in a free fall vis-à-vis the dollar.
The movie business is rocking. Such is the momentum that film producers, distributors and exhibitors no longer feel threatened by cricket. In the past, the fear that millions of Indians will be glued to their TV sets between April and May to watch the Indian Premier League (IPL) rather than go to cinema halls had impelled most producers to postpone releases of their films till the cricket carnival got over. But with viewers thronging cinema halls even if the Indian cricket team is playing a match, such fears have died down now and big releases do not wait for IPL to be over anymore.
Look at the numbers. In 2008, the year the financial meltdown led by the collapse of Lehman Brothers happened, 87 films which were released nationally did net box-office collections (gross collections less distributors' margin) of Rs 1,189 crore. In 2009, when India had come out of the crisis almost unscathed, 90 films recorded collections of Rs 1,168 crore, according to trade analyst Suniel Wadhwa. This was a fall of 2 per cent. The story is no different this time round. Net box-office collections between January and August 22 this year stand at Rs 1,547 crore, up over 8 per cent from Rs 1,420.1 crore in the same period last year. So far in 2013, 4 films have done a business of Rs 100 crore or more, compared to 9 in 2012 and 5 in 2011. With big releases like Krissh 3 and Dhoom 3 lined up for the coming weeks, this year promises to be like none other for Bollywood.
Flying high
The phenomenon is not restricted to Bollywood alone: the Ficci-KPMG annual survey on media and entertainment says it has spread over the entire Indian film industry. In 2007, the film business (which includes domestic and international box office, revenues from film rights et cetera in all languages) generated revenues of Rs 10,400 crore; the next year, says the survey, in spite of the slowdown, the business grew over 12 per cent with several blockbuster releases. The turnover fell substantially by 14 per cent in 2009, when the economy had rebounded, and it was able to touch the 2008 levels only four years later in 2012.
What explains this phenomenon? Economists have said that women buy lipstick in large volumes in a slowdown or recession because they can no longer afford handbags and shoes, which are expensive. A similar factor is at work here. Says Kamal Gianchandani, the president of PVR Pictures, which is a part of the country's largest multiplex chain: "We have had a lot of debate on this phenomenon. The reason is that films with average ticket price of around Rs 125 are the cheapest form of entertainment outside home. The price of a ticket goes down to as low as Rs 75 for morning shows. Also when a slowdown happens, people begin to look for an escape from the grim reality." Avers Wadhwa: "Historically, it has been proven that whenever there is a recession or slowdown, the entertainment industry flourishes with tremendous box office potential." A movie indeed works out cheaper for a family than a meal in a restaurant or a visit to a theme park.
That's why domestic box office collections increased 20 per cent during the first six months of this year compared to the same six-month period of 2012. However, ticket prices went up 4-5 per cent during this period; even if that is factored out, collections have grown handsomely by 14-15 per cent. Chennai Express, starring SRK and Deepika Padukone and directed by Rohit Shetty, the man with the Midas touch, has done gross box-office collections of Rs 200 within two weeks-a new Bollywood record. It now ranks amongst the three most successful all-time Bollywood films with Aamir Khan's 3 Idiots and Salman Khan's Ek Tha Tiger .
In 2008 also, despite the slowdown, Aamir Khan's Ghajni and SRK's Rab De Bani Di Jodi had crossed the Rs 100-crore mark in box office collections. Apart from these two, there were many other super-hit films such as Singh is King (Rs 91.75 crore collections) and Jodha Akbar (Rs 90.75 crore), amongst others. Clearly, the meltdown in 2008 in the world and in India did not really have any impact on the business of Bollywood as long as the films caught the fancy of the cinema goers.
Ticking in
The other good news for Bollywood is that it has become fairly insulated from cricket. In 2008, when IPL (it brought together cricket and entertainment, sport and glamour) was launched, no big producer dared to release his film in the months of April and May because Indians stayed glued to their TV sets. Five years (and controversies regarding spot-fixing by some players) later, that has clearly changed. This year, Aashiqui 2 , which gave a 200 per cent return on its investment to its producer, T-Series, was released in April when the IPL matches were on. Movies like Chasme Baddoor and Shootout at Wadala also did brisk business, despite being released smack in the middle of IPL. The box-office collections for the two IPL months of April and May (this excludes Yeh Jawani Hai Diwani which was released in the last days of May) accounted for over 15 per cent of box office revenues in the first eight months of this year. Points out Gianchandani: "During IPL1, we sold 10 to 12 per cent fewer tickets than we normally do for the months of April and May, which are pretty important for us. But if you look at the trend during IPL this year, we were back to our normal sales as big producers were releasing their films and the impact of cricket was no longer there."
There are two reasons for this, he says. One, movie ticket sales are increasingly getting concentrated on weekends where it is time for a family outing and people do not want to compromise on it for a cricket match, especially because matches happen throughout the week in IPL. Gianchandani points out five years ago, 35 per cent of PVR's business used to come from weekend sales; now, weekends contribute over 55 per cent of the business. Two, there is a lot more cricket happening now, literally throughout the year; so those who miss one match can always watch their favourite cricketers in another match soon thereafter.
While all other sectors sweat it out, the country's movie industry could not have asked for more.
With inputs from Urvi Malvania
