With theatres still shut even after six months of lockdown, exhibitors are fuming over lack of support as single screens like the city’s Ganga Jamuna down shutters
Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 16, 2020)

Cinema halls across the country downed shutters from March 14. It’s been over six months since the Coronavirus-triggered lockdown was announced and there is no clarity yet on when they will reopen. The exhibitors are fuming. “All my savings have now been used up; we are back to 2010. The little money that remains will also go the day the theatres reopen as I will have to clean the carpets, replace the batteries and then, have to spend extra to follow all the SOPs,” frets Ashutosh Agarwal, a member of UP Cinema Exhibitors Federation.

Raj Bansal, an exhibitor from Rajasthan, informs that multiple meetings have taken place with the I&B Ministry, but they still don’t have a date. “If places of worship can open, then why not cinema halls? We can manage the crowd better,” argues Bansal, upset with the lack of support from the industry. “They’ve never supported us and never will. We’re on our own. The livelihood of lakhs is at stake and if nothing else, cinemas should open on humanitarian grounds.”

Bansal is placing his bet on Rohit Shetty’s action thriller Sooryavanshi, which has a star-studded cast of Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Ajay Devgn and Ranveer Singh, and Salman Khan’s Radhe to bring viewers back to the theatres. “The audience will get to see three big stars in Sooryavanshi and Salman Khan has his own fan following. We need a month-long trial run before Sooryavanshi arrives during Diwali, so cinema halls must open by October 1,” he asserts.

Varun Seth has shut his single screen theatre, Jagat, Delhi, for the time being, but plans to stay in the business with another multiplex in the Capital. “I don’t see much business happening in single screens post the pandemic,” he sighs.

Another Delhi-based exhibitor, Gurmeet Seble, slams B-Town’s A-listers for their silence. “If Bollywood can tweet on national issues, why not on cinema halls which is their bread and butter,” he questions, warning that the demise of single screens—with at least 35 having shut down in the Capital this year already— could impact their popularity and lead to the collapse of the star system. “Some actors will become the Salman Khan of OTT, but can you watch a Salman Khan film on the small screen? The answer is no, as he can draw hundreds of people to the theatres, first day, first show. That craze cannot be replicated on OTT,” he reasons.

Arun Mehra, the director of Kolkata’s Paradise Cinema, rues that producers going for an OTT release has only compounded their problems. “I’m still wondering what we will do even after opening up as we won’t have content to sustain week after week. But I can’t blame them either as they have to carry the financial burden. If cinemas don’t open in the next two months, even Sooryavanshi, '83 and Radhe might go the OTT way,” he admits, hoping the government steps in to revive the industry. “It’s impossible to continue this way. We can’t keep paying salaries, property taxes, electricity bills and other recurring expenses with no revenue.”

However, as Seble reminds, reopening of cinema halls comes with its risks. “We can’t open up at the cost of human lives. It’s going to be difficult to monitor that everyone is wearing a mask, particularly at the B and C centers. But stars should at least speak to the government, they have the power, we don’t,” he sighs.

All exhibitors believe that while it will take time for the business to get back to what it was in pre-Covid times, reopening is a step closer to attaining that. Exhibitor Akshaye Rathi, who owns a theatre in Nagpur, shares that many cinema owners are looking to shut shop or lay off their staff. He hopes theatres reopen by October 1. “Around 9500 screens were operational before March, I expect at least a 5 per cent drop out. Over 20 lakh jobs are at stake. Saving lives has to be balanced with the livelihood of 20 lakh,” he avers, optimistic that films like Sooryavanshi, '83, Radhe and Mumbai Saga, along with Hollywood franchises like Wonder Woman and James Bond will set the cash registers jingling again.

Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 8, 2016)

It is an extremely unfortunate state of affairs when a reputed production house like Balaji Telefilms, owned by Shobhaa Kapoor and her TV Czarina-daughter, Ekta Kapoor, has to deal with one of their biggest franchise films, Great Grand Masti, being leaked online, for no fault of theirs. It comes as a bigger shock since this leak comes only three weeks after the censor copy of another Balaji co-production, Abhishek Chaubey's second directorial, Udta Punjab, was leaked online two days before its release. In the case of the Masti franchise the leak was 17 days before and led to the release being advanced by a week, from July 22 to July 15.

While several celebs took to the social media in support of the makers, one of the leading actors of the adult comedy, Vivek Oberoi, along with veteran actor Jeetendra, has been calling friends in the I & B Ministry to take the film off all online sites. Aman Gill, CEO, Balaji Telefilms, reiterated that it was an unfortunate state of affairs, and the production house hopes that the leak would slip under the radar.

Sympathising with the producers, North-Eastern distributor, Arun Mehra who is distributing the film in Bihar and seven states in the East, noted that exhibitors have a valid reason now for their reluctance to showcase the film. "Balaji understands this and have wisely brought the release ahead to July 15," he says, adding that it's a clash now with Hollywood animation-biggie, Ice Age: Collision Course. "The government can get pirated DVDs off the shelves, but getting the leaked copies off sites is difficult. It's up to the audience now to watch a legal print."

Former MVP distributor and film critic, Danish Bagdadi points out that when a film is leaked, the price drops by 30-40 per cent and the makers have to recover costs through satellite, DVD and music deals.

Exhibitor-distributor Akshaye Rathi recalled that Masti had been one of the highest grossers of 2004 and its sequel made over Rs 100 crore in 2013. "The leak problem needs to be nipped in the bud as not just exhibitors, even the government loses a lot in entertainment taxes," he reasons.

Well, will someone please launch an investigation, ASAP?

The exhibitors and trade analysts are anxious about the mega clash between two Khan starrers...
Anirban Das (MID-DAY; April 13, 2016)

Last year, two big films— Shah Rukh Khan starrer Dilwale and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Bajirao Mastani clashed at the box office and it affected the collection of both films. Trade analysts believe that if makers of the two films had avoided coming together, the films would have performed way better.

This year, Shah Rukh Khan’s Raees is all set to clash with Salman Khan’s Sultan on Eid. Recently it was reported that SRK has said that it would only be logical to shift Raees’s release date and avoid clashing with Sultan.

Struggle for screens
The trade believes that both films — Raees and Sultan, if released on same date, will not get enough number of screens. Kamal Gianchandani, CEO of PVR says, “The demand for Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan films is so high that if both of them release together, Indian exhibitors will not be able to give adequate space to them. The demand will be higher than the supply. It will also be extremely difficult for the makers of the two films to get as many number of screens as they would have desired. Also, from the business perspective, it would be beneficial for cinema owners if both films release in different weeks.”

Gianchandani also states that it won’t be a tough task for either of the films to shift dates. “For a Salman or a Shah Rukh starrer, choosing another Friday won’t be a problem as irrespective of holidays, people do catch up on their films.”

Upper hand for Sultan
A Maharashtra based screen exhibitor, on the condition of anonymity, asserts that the Salman Khan starrer will perform better if a clash is to happen. “Yash Raj Films which is distributing Sultan will ensure that they get maximum number of shows. They have a strong standing in the Indian film circle. Also, exhibitors are still unaware as to who will distribute Raees,” he says.

Another film exhibitor- distributor also explains that YRF has already started pitching deals to get maximum number of screens for the Salman-starrer. “While getting screens and shows for Fan, which is also produced by YRF, they (the makers) have started pitching deals in a way that Sultan also gets maximum screens and shows during Eid. In the coming days, there will be a lot of pressure on exhibitors from distributors of both films as far as allotting number of screens is concerned. But, if a clash happens, Shah Rukh’s film, might lose the battle as Salman’s film will eventually get more number of screens and shows,” he elaborates.

Akshaye Rathi, a film exhibitor, too believes it is logical to avoid releasing their film together. He says, “Both the film stars are the biggest names of the industry and it will only become difficult for them to get enough audience in limited number of screens and shows.”

Single screens vs multiplexes
It is also said that during the clash, Shah Rukh Khan will rule the multiplexes while Salman will be the single screen star. Arun Mehra, a single screen exhibitor in Bengal, says, “Shah Rukh has a strong multiplex audience base and Salman, although has started attracting multiplex audience with his last few releases, is still known as the king of single screens. In a clash situation, Salman’s film will do well in single screens and Shah Rukh’s film will perform better in multiplexes. It would be better that if the films don’t release together so that both films perform better.”