Showing posts with label Muhammad Ali. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Muhammad Ali. Show all posts
Developers plan to reduce space for movie theatres as footfall for shows come down
11:18 PM
Faizan Haidar & Rajesh N Naidu (THE ECONOMIC TIMES; November 28, 2024)
New Delhi: Large mall developers plan to shrink multiplex spaces in their future projects as cinemas no longer attract big crowds and generate enough revenues throughout the year.
Multiplexes used to generate 10% of the footfall of a mall, which has reduced to 6-7%, forcing the developers to rethink the strategy, industry executives said.
“With alternate forms of entertainment, we are looking for rationalizing cinema space in the mall,” said Sriram Khattar, vice chairman and managing director, rental business, at DLF.
Multiplexes pay a minimum guarantee amount to mall operators every month and share revenue. In 2023, they were able to breach the minimum guarantee threshold in 8-9 months, but this year they have managed it only in 4-5 months.
“In Southern India, cinemas still fare better than other parts of the country because of four regional languages,” said Muhammad Ali, CEO, retail, at Prestige Group.
“Having said that, we still have to rethink the space allotted to multiplexes as competition from OTT has led to a decline in occupancy level. The share for entertainment and gaming and F&B is going up as people are focusing on experiential retail and physical activity.”
In a mall, 10% is occupied by cinema and 10% by food & beverages brands while about 5-6% was occupied by entertainment and gaming companies.
The dynamics are, however, changing for future projects.
“In our future malls, space for cinemas is reduced to give that space to other revenue generating businesses. Lack of content is the biggest reason for cinemas not being able to be the crowd puller they used to be,” said Harsh Vardhan Bansal, cofounder of Unity Group, which operates half a dozen malls in Delhi and Punjab.
Increasing acceptance of streaming platforms as a potent source of entertainment across languages, high ticket prices in multiplexes, poor performance of several films at the box office, and better alternatives in the form of high margin businesses such as gaming and food court are a few fundamental reasons mall owners may not be finding business sense in multiplex business.
Till date, the net box office worldwide collection of Indian films in 2024 is Rs 7,811.8 crore, which is considerably lower than 2023’s box office collection of Rs 13,161.2 crore, according to early reports from Sacnilk, a firm that tracks box office collection data of Indian films.
Occupancy levels in multiplexes have not recovered from pre-pandemic levels. It is estimated that average occupancy level has fallen to 25.8% from more than 30% in the years before the pandemic.
“Occupancy in cinemas is decreasing. Mall owners may find it more lucrative to collaborate for food courts, gaming zones and retail chains,” said Girish Wankhede, an independent movie trade analyst. “Cinemas used to be the anchor or showrunner for malls. But with increasing cyclicality of cinema business, which impacts footfalls, mall owners have found that there is regular patronage for food courts and gaming zones.”
DLF is looking to more than double its retail portfolio and add about 5 million sq ft of retail space in the next 5-6 years with an investment of about Rs 3,000 crore. “Going forward we will focus on premium experience,” Khattar said.
The company has planned malls in Gurgaon and Goa and high streets in Gurgaon in addition to retail space in its upcoming residential and commercial development.
Watching films in theatres is no longer a Friday ritual but more of a conscious choice weighed against other avenues of entertainment outside theatres, experts said.
I think about direction every time I finish acting in a film-Farhan Akhtar
8:25 AM
Gratified that 'Toofaan' let him explore his favourite sport on screen, Farhan Akhtar hints at returning to filmmaking after a 10-year gap
Uma Ramasubramanian (MID-DAY; July 14, 2021)
It’s presumably a bittersweet feeling when a film you’ve lived with for one-and-a-half years reaches its culmination. As Farhan Akhtar’s journey with Toofaan nears its end, with the sports drama dropping on Amazon Prime Video this weekend, the actor is grateful that director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra chose him to front it. “I have idolised Muhammad Ali as a sportsperson and a human being. We grew up at a time when Mike Tyson was a reigning champion. Boxing, as a sport, has also influenced my psyche. So, to do a film that is a part of this world is exciting,” begins Akhtar, who plays a thug who discovers his true potential when he steps in a boxing ring.
'Toofaan', also starring Paresh Rawal and Mrunal Thakur, is a product of Akhtar’s determination and dedication — he trained for months to pick up the sport. How hard is it then to have your labour of love judged by the audience? “You have to be prepared when you are in a public sphere, and the work that you do is for public consumption. There is a part of you that has to understand critique when it comes your way. That said, there is a fine line where a critique can go from being about your work to becoming about you. So, you start valuing the opinions of people who you know mean well.” With social media becoming the deciding factor of a film’s fate, he says artistes have to take the bouquets and brickbats in their stride. “You have to focus on telling a story as job,” he reasons.
The mind behind gems such as Dil Chahta Hai (2001) and Lakshya (2004), Akhtar put his directorial ambitions on hold to focus on his acting career in the past decade. Now, rumours suggest he is gearing up to helm the third instalment of Don. Akhtar remains evasive about the subject of his next as he says, “I think about direction every time I finish [acting in] a film. Hopefully, in the near future, I will direct [a movie].”
I haven’t thought of playing a gay character-Ali Zafar
9:15 AM
Ali Zafar on comparisons to Fawad Khan and why he hasn’t made up his mind on playing a homosexual
Tushar Joshi (DNA; July 25, 2016)
Ali Zafar’s last release was 2014’s Kill Dil. The film
tanked at the box-office. Since then, Ali has been on a self-proclaimed
hiatus. Now, he’s back in the news for signing Gauri Shinde’s Dear
Zindagi, where he’s playing one of Alia Bhatt’s love interests. But a
lot has changed in the last two years. Another Pakistani actor, Fawad
Khan has cracked the code and become a favourite. For someone who
enjoyed similar attention at the beginning of his career, Ali gets the
comparison and talks to me about why he’s happy with Fawad’s success.
Excerpts from our chat...
Why did you disappear from the scene?
I spent close to five years here shooting films and doing lot of work. To be honest, I was far away from family and saw my son growing up on Skype. He’s around five years old now and my daughter is a little over a year old. I was missing out on the important moments and I felt that I needed to give more time back home. I was exhausted with all the back-and-forth travelling. I took a break, went home, built a big house with a pool and fulfilled my dream to have a big music studio in the basement.
You record at home?
Yes, I do my recordings there. Then, I travelled the world with the family. I also had shows and tours. I put together my own production house and we have started some projects. So there was a lot that I missed back home. After the Peshawar attacks, we had pledged to make as many schools as the number of children that had died, so we have made about 40.
That’s impressive. What’s been B-Town’s biggest lesson to you?
I’ve learnt that the industry works and functions at a certain pace. And I have my own pace to do things. I don’t like to go on a signing spree and grab projects. I choose one project a year, so I can do that and everything else I want to do — travel the world, sing, make music, and sit in my studio. I am most peaceful and happy when I am sitting in my studio jamming with my friends, hanging out with my school buddies. I didn’t want to miss out on that part of life and lose that connection. I am no Aamir Khan. If I do one project and it doesn’t work I miss out on a year. So now, I have decided that I would indulge deeper into projects and not just do one project a year.
What has the failure of your films taught you?
I have been very conscious of the scripts and the content, but I think I will be even more cautious now. I didn’t sign many films before, because after a certain point, you get typecast and get the same roles. I had played the chocolate-boy and I wanted to try different things. I did Kill Dil because of that. It didn’t work out at that level. But the roles that I had been looking forward to would be roles which are not just clean-cut, but something edgy, cool, something crazy, different and something challenging... that kind of stuff.
Fawad was brave to play a gay man in Kapoor & Sons. Would you be open that?
If I play gay, it would only depend on what kind of role it is and the offer. I haven’t thought of it at all, because I haven’t been made any such offer.
Do comparisons with Fawad bother you?
It pleases me for a bigger reason: Since the time I came in, I just didn’t think of myself. I thought that I was just one person. There will have to be many like me who take this exchange of artistes between our two countries forward. And I feel very happy and glad that someone like Fawad is so well-received here. I hope more artistes come and receive that much love and vice-versa.
If you had to go back in time and tell the younger you one thing, what would it be?
Not a thing. You know your success is what defines you — how you were when something successful happened and how you were when something didn’t work out. These ups and downs are a part of life and how a man carries himself through those times is what defines him. I was, recently moved after Muhammad Ali’s death. For 10 days, I couldn’t do anything, but just watch his fights and his interviews. I learnt so much from him. As a boxer, he won fights and lost some, but it is about believing in yourself.
The lesson you came away with it, was...
I believe that I am destined for greatness, which is larger than whatever I have achieved so far. When I started singing, I was a nobody. But I envisioned that a day would come when I would be on stage and thousands of people would be singing my song. Similarly, I visualise and I see that day when this is just a start. I am still young, it’s a long journey. I have 20 years to play with.
Who is your therapist? Someone you can talk to about everything.
I don’t carry my baggage too much with me. I don’t like to talk about it. I think my troubles are for myself to deal with. But if I were to choose then some of my very close friends and my lovely wife.
You have a strong political opinion on what’s happening in Paksitan right now...
Well, I am an optimist and I will always be one. I am also a romantic, but at the same time. I am also a realist. You know I made a song called Udenge after the Peshawar incident. It spoke about a positive tomorrow, where we will rise. Pakistan is headed to a good space and good things are happening. Pakistan’s film industry business has picked up and has some amazing talent. Also, the youth in Pakistan is very proactive, which is a very good thing.
What are your sentiments on Qandeel Baloch’s honour killing?
I did tweet about it. I said if women started killing men to protect their honour a lot of us would be dead. It’s very sad that this happened.
Ali Abbas Zafar did his first film Mere Brother Ki Dulhan with you, did you watch his Sultan?
Ali is very dear to me. We met up recently. I watched Sultan, I really liked it and I have a very close association with Ali. He is a great guy and there is something that we are discussing, which I obviously can’t reveal, as of now.
Arunoday Singh to box Muhammad Ali style for film adaptation of Dancing With Demons
7:55 AM
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 19, 2014)
Joe Clough, the boxing coach who trained boxing legend Muhammad Ali in the '70s, will now teach actor Arunoday Singh how to throw a punch.
The actor, who plays a boxer in the upcoming film adaptation of Nidhie Sharma's novel, Dancing With Demons, is training with Clough who is also the head coach of Ali's boxing club in Santa Monica. He has worked with every award-winning boxing team in South-East Asia.
"I have watched every Muhammad Ali documentary and now am scrutinising other pugilists. Al's style is quick and very different from the technique of the book's protagonist. But since the film is not a biopic, I can use a different style," reasons Arunoday.
It was the actor's strapping physique which got him the role. "A heavy weight boxer has to be 6 feet tall and weigh over 90 kgs. Arunoday's training will last a few months. I will start filming by mid-2015," says Nidhie who assisted Sudhir Mishra on his 2011 film Yeh Saali Zindagi and will direct her book's film adaptation.
The film will not retain the book's English title."We're looking for an apt Hindi title," says Nidhie, adding that since the story ends on a high it definitely lends itself to a sequel. "I am planning to pen down more destinies."
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