Production houses contemplate playing previous hit films to increase footfalls, should cinema halls reopen
Upala KBR (MID-DAY; August 2, 2020)

Taking a cue from countries that have resumed operations of theatrical screenings amid the Coronavirus pandemic, Indian production houses will also screen their previous blockbusters to lure viewers back to cinema halls.

A trade source tells mid-day, "Some multiplexes and single screen owners are in talks with distributors and studios like Warner Bros India, Yash Raj Films, and Reliance Entertainment, among others, to showcase their blockbusters."

Devang Sampat from Cinepolis says that with the Indian audience comprising viewers of Indian and international content, they have a large slate to play with. "For the first two weeks, Cinepolis plans to screen 3D films like Avatar, Gravity, and Titanic, and Oscar-winning movies. Regional films will also be aired in accordance with each state," he says, adding that a survey conducted by their team has revealed that 86 per cent of moviegoers are eager to visit theatres. "Once we decide which titles we want to play, we will work on acquiring the rights."

Exhibitor Akshaye Rathi, who runs 17 single-screens across Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, adds, "Single screens have been at the forefront of these conversations. Reliance has Rohit Shetty-movies like Golmaal 3 and Golmaal Again, Singham, and Simmba. Warner Bros has gone a step ahead and created interesting packages and catalogues where the best of their comedies and action films can be sent to the exhibitors. The idea is to rebuild the habit of watching movies at theatres and earn the confidence of our audiences."

Over the past few years, Hollywood films have emerged as a huge competition to domestic films. In 2016, The Jungle Book collected Rs. 187.84 crore and it was the first Hollywood flick to have crossed the Rs. 100 crore mark. In no time, Hollywood films entered into Rs. 200 and even Rs. 350 crore club! The latter was achieved by the recently released flick, Avengers: Endgame.

What’s interesting to note that the collections of these English films get a boost because they are dubbed in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. It contributes to 40-50% or sometimes even more to the overall business. Also, only mainstream films are released in dubbed versions. Those films that are niche, dark or aren’t quite massy get an English version-only release. As a result, the collections of these films are obviously not so high.

But there have been exceptions. Titanic, released in 1998, was released without dubbed versions, although the trend had already begun in India. And yet, it collected Rs. 29 crore at the Indian box office, which is mind-boggling for that era. It was the second biggest grosser of the year after Kuch Kuch Hota Hai! The record of Titanic was then broken 15 years later by the space thriller Gravity. Starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, this Alfonso Cuarón directed flick released in India on October 11, 2013 in 192 3D screens and 3 IMAX screens, and only in English. The film was loved so much for its nail-biting content and visuals that it remained in cinemas for nearly 25 weeks! And it managed to collect Rs. 32 crore, thus surpassing Titanic’s collections.

And now Joker, one of the most appreciated films of 2019, has broken the record of Gravity. This dark film, which released on October 2 in India, stars Joaquin Phoenix in the lead role of a mentally troubled comedian in the fictional Gotham city. The character has been extremely popular among the niche audiences as 11 years ago, Heath Ledger too played the same part in The Dark Knight before his untimely demise. Moreover, Joker premiered at the 76th Venice International Film Festival and it got a rousing reception like never before. All these factors contributed to the buzz.

Yet, many in the trade and industry weren’t sure of Joker’s box office prospects in India. They argued that it’s too dark and also, it’s not releasing in dubbed versions. As a result, very select audiences would watch the film in cinemas is what they felt. Moreover, it was clashing with the big budget Bollywood actioner War and the multi-starrer Telugu film Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy. So experts believed these two films would be the top priorities for audiences at large.

Joker released in around 400-500 screens and the response took everyone by surprise. War took a thunderous Rs. 50 crore plus opening and yet Joker managed to collect Rs. 5.15 crore! In it’s five-day extended weekend, it collected Rs. 23 crore. On Monday, the collection increased in the evening as the next day, October 8, was a Dussehra holiday. The Monday collections were Rs. 4.35 crore while on Tuesday, it earned Rs. 5.35 crore. So in 7 days, it collected Rs. 32.70 crore and broke the record in Gravity!

In its extended first week, Joker has collected Rs. 37.50 crore approx. If the film remains strong in the days to come as well, then it can even cross the Rs. 60 crore mark! This is despite the limited release that too only in English, disturbing content, and having competition from two big films! At a time when so many articles have been written about Joker breaking records in its domestic market in North America, it’s also important to know that it has achieved a small but significant feat in India as well!

Master of digital after-effects, Merzin Tavaria, who played a key role in converting the Oscar-winning Gravity from 2D to 3D, sheds light on the world of visual and special effects
Nilesh Rao (MID-DAY; May 7, 2014)

How did you end up in this profession?
I have always been a movie buff since my college days and interested in games and graphics. I wanted to do something related to computers and took up a course in graphics. My fellow student, Namit Malhotra, who is the owner of Prime Focus, floated the idea of setting up an editing studio then. About four years later, we started doing special effects.

What was your breakthrough point?
We started with popular TV shows and then ventured into commercials. At one point of time, I was handling projects for tele serials and films as well as commercials. I would go to a theatre and find the ads on which I had worked were playing back-to-back. I remember we had just one-and-a-half months to work on Harry Potter, Green Lantern, Transformers and a couple of Hindi films besides a South Indian one.

What are the pre-requisites for this profession?
One has to be patient as well as passionate and have a basic understanding of technology and softwares being used. You also have to be hardworking. This industry is growing by leaps and bounds. Employment opportunities are opening up in a big way.

Gravity was a visual treat. How challenging was the project? 
There were crazy shots. Another team in London team was working on the project. It was completed within 1.5 to two years. We converted around 30 minutes of the film from 2D to 3D.

What has been the most challenging project till date?
The definition of challenging keeps changing every minute! Working on Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film have been quite a challenge. Same goes for Aamir Khan’s Ghajini, not so much for its visual effects but because he is a perfectionist. Then there was Avatar and Clash Of The Titans. Right now, we are working on Sin City 2 as a whole. We are coordinating with the teams in Vancouver. Every year you get one or two projects which suck your blood but the result is always gratifying.

Where does Indian filmmakers’ sensibility stand in terms of special effects?
In 1976, when Hollywood was venturing into space and making Star Wars, we were moving back to the village with Sholay. That was the divide then and it exists now too. There is tremendous potential in the visual effects and animation genres here but they need to be fully exploited.

Which is your favourite film?
Godfather. I also enjoyed Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Rock On. There are many Hollywood films where the story is a big, fat chocolate cake and visual effects are the icing on it. Many characters who do not exist during the shoot, are created through visual effects. 3D or stereo is a part of it. You take every frame of the movie and add depth and volume, giving it an immersive touch.

Ankur Pathak (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 12, 2014)

Alfonso Cuaron’s Sandra Bullock-George Clooney starrer space drama Gravity, which has recieved 10 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, was partly shot in 3D, but chunks of it was converted to the format from 2D by Prime Focus India.

To make the space spectacle look as astounding as it does, about 400 technicians from the Indian branch of Prime Focus, a company that specialises in rendering visual effects, animation and 3D-conversion, worked in tandem with teams from London and Los Angeles.

Before it came on board, Cuaron asked the team here to do test-runs, and impressed by the results, Prime Focus was aboard the space mission. It helped that the VFX firm enjoyed tremendous goodwill in LA circles, having worked on the visuals of Avatar and on the 3D conversion of Clash of the Titans in a record-time of eight weeks.

Says Merzin Tavaria, Chief Creative Director, “Gravity was a major challenge as its visual treatment is unlike any other film you’ve seen. Although Maya 3D is generally used, we developed a software called View-D, which not only enhanced the conversion process, but also accelerated it.”

Working with technicians based in LA and London meant juggling multiple time-zones. But rather than it being a hindrance, the team made optimum use of it. “We would get a detailed update from Framestore, London, which did most of the visual effects. This included the number of shots to be converted, the treatment, and also the sense of distance that had to be created between the foreground and the background. While they’d sleep, over 100 programmers worked on it and packed it off to LA, before these guys woke up and punched in a feedback.”

The final output of this relentless research, complex coordination and constant sharing of programming data concluded to extravagant results. “The long, unbroken, floating camera-shots which Cuaron worked on translated spectacularly well in space, and led to us producing the longest continuous shot that we believe has ever been converted – 15,531 frames, or 10 minutes 47 seconds of screen-time,” he proudly says.

Tavaria says the film is a big leap for several Indian technicians as it breaks the West’s stereotype of India just being a hub of cheap labour. “Gravity and the other films we’ve worked on prove that we’ve artistic merit and creative capabilities, not only technical prowess,” he says, adding, “Our next big project is Sin City 2. Watch out for it.”