ET Intelligence Group: The stock of PVR, India’s largest multiplex company, has lost 15% over the past month notwithstanding the bullish sentiment in the broader market. The stock has lost momentum following an estimated sequential fall in the box office collection for the December quarter.

Analysts point out that only a few big-budget films worked at the box office during the quarter compared with the previous quarter which had successful films released in Hindi, English and regional languages. Poor performance of mid-and-small budget films -- fourteen such films were released in the December quarter-- added to the woes of multiplexes.

According to the estimates released by trade portal Sacnilk Technologies and compiled by Kotak Institutional Equities, the net box office collections in the December 2023 quarter fell by nearly 23% to Rs. 2,324 crore sequentially. On a year-on-year basis, they grew by 73% since fewer films were released in the December 2022 quarter.

The absence of major movie titles in the early part of 2024 is another reason for the underperformance of PVR’s stock. According to trade analysts, 2024 is expected to be a year of mid-and-small budget films. Till date, there has been no announcement of big-budget star-studded films in 2024. Given the poor performance of recent mid-budget films, 2024 may produce fewer money-spinners when compared with 2023.

Non-Hindi movie releases, however, may offer a ray of hope for exhibitors in 2024. Films of regional stars who have a proven box office record in pan-India distribution territories such as Allu Arjun (Pushpa 2 - The Rule), Rajinikanth (Lal Salaam), and Kamal Haasan (Indian 2) are expected to generate high footfalls in theatres.

Besides this, after over six-month strike by Writers Guild of America (WGA) over sharing of residuals (income from reruns on various platforms) and guarantee of minimum wages for writers in the US, the release of spectacle and franchise films from Hollywood is expected to boost the net box office collections in 2024. This may help PVR to stay on investors’ radar.

On the valuation front, based on the FY25 estimates, PVR’s enterprise value (EV) is nine times the earnings before interest, depreciation, tax, and amortisation (EBITDA) compared with the EV/EBITDA of 21.6 in FY23.

For singer Roop Kumar Rathod, Lata Mangeshkar’s demise was a personal loss. But he wishes to look back at their time together and cherish the fond memories.

Recalling his last conversation with Mangeshkar on December 28 last year, he shares how she had taken to cooking and even offered to prepare mutton for him. He says, “Phone pe baat hui thi. I asked, ‘Tabiyat kaisi hai?’ She said, ‘Tabiyat ka kya hai, baithi rehti hoon, chal nahin sakti hoon’. She used to be apprehensive of walking and revealed, ‘Aapko khushi hogi jaanke maine cooking shuru ki hai. Main aapke liye mutton banaun?’ I told her, ‘Unfortunately, I have turned vegetarian. But the day I start having it, please send me the mutton you prepare’. She said, ‘I will send green mutton for sure, but it has a lot of ghee, hope you’re okay with that’!” says the 48-year-old, who is known for songs such as Tere Liye (Veer-Zaara; 2004) with the legend.

Taking a trip down memory lane, Rathod talks about the first-ever song he did playback for, which was with the late singer, for Aastha (1997), that never saw the light of the day. The two came together again for a song in Lal Salaam (2002).

Sharing one of the most valuable lessons he learned from Mangeshkar, who he fondly calls ‘didi’, he says, “I did my dubbing. Then, didi came and the moment she started singing, I realised how bad I had sung. I asked [the director] if I could sing my portions again... I started singing like a classical singer. Thodi der baad didi aayi aur kehne lagi, ‘Jis character ke liye tum gaa rahe ho, woh classical singer nahin hai, woh film mein doctor hai!’” and adds, “In one statement, she taught me what playback singing is about, you have to get into the character.”