PVR ECX, a multiplex at Citi Mall, Andheri West, has remained shut since the first week of April 2021. Theatres across Maharashtra have been kept out of the state government’s unlock plans, until further orders. Pic/Satej Shinde

In December 2020, over two months after the Centre had given its nod for movie theatres to reopen, theatres in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana were still relying heavily on Hollywood productions like Christopher Nolan’s Tenet to revive from the losses the industry had suffered due to the extended Coronavirus lockdown. A surprise Christmas Day release, Solo Brathuke So Better, a romantic comedy starring Sai Dharam Tej, nephew of film actor-politician Chiranjeevi, proved to be a glimmer of hope. 

Hyderabad-based Balgovind Raj Tadla, partner at two single screen cinemas, Sudarshan and Devi, says the crowd’s reaction almost felt like a “revenge-response to COVID-19”. “The movie garnered a lot of media attention,” he recalls.

It also set the stage for three big January 2021 releases, Red, Krack and the Telugu-dubbed Tamil film Master that had superstar Vijay in the lead. All three did phenomenally well with Krack leading the race. But it was Uppena, another romantic drama, which stole the show, collecting over Rs. 150 crore when it released in theatres in Telugu-speaking regions in February, followed closely by Jathi Ratnalu.

Tadla, who is also joint secretary of the Telangana State Film Chamber of Commerce, says this is when film producers and exhibitors predicted an upward swing. But, the second wave that swept the country soon after, came as a huge blow. “At this point, only 10 per cent of the big ticket films had been released. The rest were still waiting it out. [Actor] Pawan Kalyan’s Vakeel Saab was going to be the next big release. It hit theatres on April 9, but despite someone like Pawan in the lead, people didn’t turn up at the theatres.”

Another dry spell due to the more devastating second wave, put theatres out of business again, before cinema halls started opening up by end of July. “I would say that we are still in the first 20 minutes of the film. We are yet to get into the story. It will take another 20 days for us to see where this goes. It should pick up, unless of course, COVID haunts us again.”

The confidence the film industry in the South has shown right from the beginning of the unlock phase has been unparalleled, considering its more popular sibling, Bollywood, has been holding its cards close to its chest, daring only a few odd releases since March 2020. This changed last week, when Akshay Kumar’s spy thriller Bellbottom released in theatres across India. The film hit the screens on August 19 and at the end of the first weekend, it had made around Rs. 15 crore gross in India. It became the first superstar-backed Bollywood film to be released in the pandemic. According to news reports, the movie will release on OTT in September. 

Amitabh Bachchan and Emraan Hashmi’s Chehre, which released last Friday, is the next big ticket film to have hit the screens. What makes these new releases significant is that, in a first, they won’t be screened in Maharashtra due to Coronavirus pandemic restrictions, which is home to the heart of Bollywood, and contributes a lion’s share of the box office revenue.

Film exhibitor Vishek Chauhan, who is based out of Bihar’s Purnea, where he runs Roopbani, the oldest single-screen theatre in the district, says releasing Bellbottom, in such a climate, was “a very gutsy move” by the makers, producers and Akshay Kumar, as well.  “Maharashtra is more than 25 per cent of Bollywood’s market. So, effectively they were left with just 75 per cent of the market to begin with. Out of this, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Assam theatres are still shut. That means the producers lost another five per cent. Add the 50 per cent occupancy cap, and curfew and other restrictions in some select cities and districts, and that left them with just 25 to 30 per cent [of their targeted audience],” says Chauhan, adding, “One might say that they didn’t make enough at the box office. But, for us that Rs 13-15 crore was pure gold. It has helped get the audiences back, and is now enabling cinemas to plan ahead.”

Though Bellbottom producer Jackky Bhagnani was unavailable for comment, Chehre producer Anand Pandit reiterates why production houses need to show more chutzpah. The film, directed by Rumy Jafry, was originally slated for release in July 2020. With cases peaking in March this year, it was pushed to August. “The narrative, storyline, and cast [of the film] lent themselves to the big screen. Watching it on the iPad or smart phone wouldn’t have justified the experience that we were trying to create for our viewers. I didn’t want to throw away such a film for Rs. 5-10 crore more [on OTT],” explains Pandit.

He says that filmmakers and producers shouldn’t forget that it’s the theatre industry that made Bollywood what it is today. “They have been by our side for the last 70-odd years. At one point, theatre was the only avenue to release films. Today, because of the pandemic, there are over 10 lakh people, connected to the business, struggling to keep afloat. Many have even lost their livelihoods. I think, those who can, should come out and extend their support by releasing their films in theatres.”

Not all risks are worth taking. Director Sanjay Gupta says he learnt it the hard way. Gupta’s Mumbai Saga featuring an ensemble cast of John Abraham, Emraan Hashmi, Kajal Aggarwal, and Prateik Babbar, made it to the big screen on March 19 this year. “We announced the release just a month prior, in February. At the time, the cases were down, and the second wave was nowhere around the corner. We were confident about our film, and also the fact that people would return to the theatres. Looking back, I think we were probably over-confident about the public’s mood,” he says.

When the film released, the second wave had just about begun. “We hadn’t expected COVID-19 cases to rise exponentially. A lot of theatres had opened just to screen our film. It was too late for us to back out by then.”

Having said that, Gupta feels that some measures need to be taken to ensure that the theatre chain survives. “Ultimately, we make movies for theatres. And if they survive, we survive. Most cinema halls have been shut for over a year-and-a-half. At some point, we need to resume. That’s the sentiment with which we had gone ahead. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out, and we suffered.”

According to box office numbers available on bollywoodhungama.com, the movie, which had a production budget of Rs 50 crore, made a gross of Rs 19.68 crore in India and Rs 2.61 crore overseas; its worldwide gross collection was estimated at Rs 22.29 crore. The movie later released on Amazon Prime.

Chauhan says now that most theatres are open, they’d need movies to keep the business going. Post Chehre, there will be a long gap. Kangana Ranaut’s Tamil political drama Thalaivii, based on the life of J Jayalalithaa, will arrive in theatres only on September 10. Bollywood is yet to make further announcements of any new releases. A few odd Hollywood films can help theatres tide through the lean phase, but what after that, asks Chahaun.

Sony Pictures Films India has announced its Hollywood line-up, with Don’t Breathe 2 releasing on September 17, and Spider-Man: No Way Home on December 17. There are a slew of Bollywood films that are ready, but a decision on their release hasn’t been taken for now.

Vivek Krishnani, managing director, Sony Pictures Films India, says that in the last few years the entire “content fabric” has changed. “There are only certain kinds of films, which drive people to the theatres. And this kind of content has to tick off certain boxes. First, it has to have mass appeal. Next, it has to be good enough for people to leave their houses, get into their cars, go to the cinema, find parking, and buy tickets. During the pandemic, we’ve noticed that people have started evaluating their own approach of going to the cinema, and that’s probably because of the kind of exposure they have had to diverse content on OTT. If they are going to be taking the effort to come to a movie theatre, they need to be rewarded for that effort with content that is different and exciting enough, and which they cannot get on the smaller screen. This [consumer behaviour] has forced us to rethink our own creative strategies,” he says, while discussing what parameters they consider, when choosing which film goes for OTT, and which film should wait it out for the big screen.

He alludes to the record turnout that the Tamil film Master saw, when it released on January 13. “People went into the cinema in a big way. Our release Godzilla vs. Kong also had a humongous box office earning, despite releasing in March. What we have seen is that when theatres are open, and the right content comes along, there is but a natural tendency for people to go into cinemas and consume this content. It’s held true in the past, and I don’t see why it won’t in the future.”

Krishnani, however, isn’t sure about the hybrid model, which is being widely discussed ever since Salman Khan’s Radhe released simultaneously across multiple platforms, including theatres outside of India, and via pay-per-view. The film’s collection in India till July 13 was at Rs 1.85 lakh, as it was released on the big screen only in three cinemas, that too in the state of Tripura, bollywoodhungama.com reported. 

“A hybrid model is where the movie runs in theatres and is also being offered as a premium video on demand (VOD). The VOD usually comes at a very expensive price point. This model hasn’t been embraced in India yet. And I think, the jury is already out on what it does to the theatrical revenue. Another issue is that in India, we aren’t used to paying for a one-time watch; we’d rather opt for subscriptions.”

There’s also the issue of piracy, which Krishnani, admits has spiralled with the OTT boom, thus, bringing about newer challenges for content creators. Delaying Hollywood releases in India doesn’t make sense for a similar reason, as most films have already released globally, and pirated content then becomes available online.  

“The truth is that there has been a sharp increase in content consumption [during the pandemic], and that’s because accessibility has increased. Though [OTT] subscriptions have grown, it is but obvious that there’s an audience that’s not paying for this. We do not have metrics to prove this, but this is something we have been able to infer,” says Krishnani.  

Sony Pictures Films India is waiting to release Major, a Telugu and Hindi co-production, which is based on the life of Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, who was martyred in the 26/11 attack at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. “It’s a cinematic experience, because of the story, visuals, and the emotions it draws. I think it is important for stories like this one to be seen in a theatre.”

What’s then, holding back producers and filmmakers from releasing these films?

Shibasish Sarkar, Group CEO, Reliance Entertainment, says that the opening of theatres in Maharashtra will be key to deciding the future of big releases. “The situation is still quite uncertain. While theatres in a majority of the states have opened up, it’s not the case with Maharashtra, which is 25-30 per cent of our market [depending on the film]. At least for pan-India, Hindi films, it is quite a challenge to go ahead and release a film, without Maharashtra. So, while I think we will see a few-odd [Hindi] releases in the coming months, a majority of them are going to wait it out for Mumbai and the rest of Maharashtra to open.”

The release of Kabir Khan’s biographical sports film '83, starring Ranveer Singh in the lead, which has been co-distributed by Reliance Entertainment, has been postponed thrice already. “It was first set to release on April 10, 2020, then we had planned a December Christmas release last year, before pushing it to June 4 of this year. Right now, we are clear that we won’t make any announcement, until and unless there is a semblance of normalcy,” he says, adding, “When I say normalcy, the basic expectation would be that Maharashtra opens up. Only if that happens, can we even have a discussion. Otherwise, there will be no point in doing this exercise all over again. For us, it doesn’t make sense, creatively or business-wise, to ignore 30 per cent of our market.”  Director Rohit Shetty’s Sooryavanshi, starring Akshay Kumar, is also hanging in the balance for the same reason.

Pandit feels that by keeping theatres in Maharashtra shut, the state government is depriving “cinema owners the opportunity to revive their businesses”. “All of Bollywood is sitting in Mumbai, so it feels like we are being victimized. The [state] should, [on the contrary] be supporting the industry,” says Pandit.

Tadla, whose theatres in Hyderabad have been open for nearly a month now, however, has seen a worrying trend of late. Bell Bottom got a luke warm response in his city. “Suddenly, it feels like the audience has lost the habit of movie-watching. I think the second wave was damaging, and that has made people more cautious and wary. We [cinema-owners] are obviously concerned. There was a time, when, even if a movie wasn’t good, it would run for about four weeks at least.”

The digital boom, he feels, has made the audience less tolerant. Today, the fate of a film is sealed is one weekend.

For both Bollywood and Hollywood, 2016 has been a year of sequels and franchises. While Hollywood had over a dozen franchise sequels releasing in India this year, Bollywood, too, had its share of notable ones. Jason Bourne, The Conjuring 2, Kung Fu Panda 3, London Has Fallen, Finding Dory, Inferno, X-Men: Apocalypse, Captain America: Civil War and Underworld: Blood Wars are just some of the titles from the West.

Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3, Ghayal Once Again, Tere Bin Laden: Dead or Alive, 1920 London, Jai GangaaJal, Housefull 3, Great Grand Masti, Raaz: Reboot, Rock On 2, Tum Bin 2, Force 2 and Kahaani 2 represented the desi stable. The trade report card suggests that Hollywood sequels franchise movies have outdone the fare from Bollywood. While only Housefull 3 became a hit like the previous outings in the series, Jai GangaaJal and Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3 recovered the production cost, but didn't set the cash registers ringing exactly. GangaaJal, spearheaded by Ajay Devgn in the lead role, back in the day  was critically and commercially acclaimed. Also, the previous films in the Kyaa Kool Hain Hum series were notches higher in terms of comic value and audience footfall.



Raaz: Reboot and Rock On 2 remained on the other extreme, failing to draw the audiences. Though trade circuit indicates there wasn't enough pre-release buzz about Rock On 2, demonetization seemed to only add to their woes. Force 2, which came a week later, managed to register decent numbers during the cash crunch phase. Of this year's Bollywood sequels, Great Grand Masti suffered the biggest jolt, with the censor copy leaking few days before its theatrical release. As for their off-shore competitors, films like The Conjuring 2, X-Men Apocalypse and Captain America: Civil War had an impressive run at the box office here.

Independent distributor Amod Mehra insists that the reason Indian sequels and franchise movies haven't really kicked a storm is the lack of a great story to take the baton ahead. “We're only learning half the lesson from the West. They make a sequel or continue a franchise only when they have something worth telling. But we seem to be making them irrespective of whether we have a great story or a solid reason to do what we're doing. The reason why films like Rock On 2 and Tum Bin 2 didn't impress is that they lacked a strong story. The audience also feels cheated because our producers here often confuse a sequel with a franchise,“ he rues.

The trend of sequels-franchises in Bollywood, in recent memory, began with Sridevi's Naagin and Nigahein. The latter tanked. Cut to the beginning of the new millennium; Raaz and Raaz 2 opened the floodgate for Bollywood producers all over again. The films, in their genre, brought in a lot of promise. The first three films in the franchise hit the bullseye at the box office too.

From the way it appears, Bollywood can't quite give up its fascination with sequels and franchises. In 2017, the industry has an impressive list like Baaghi 2, Judwaa 2, Jolly LLB 2, Commando 2, Sarkar 3, Baahubali 2, Hate Story 4, Aankhen 2, 2.0 (sequel to Robot) and Golmaal Again lined up. Hollywood will throw in titles like XXX: The Return Of Xander Cage, Resident Evil: Final Chapter, Fast And Furious 8, Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Spider-Man: Homecoming and Smurfs: The Lost Village. The competition will only get stiffer.

Distributor Anil Thadani believes that a good film, timed well, will work wonders at the box office. For instance, Rock On 2, he says, did take a beating also because of the demonetization drive. “Most sequels have worked. At least, they have recovered costs. Whether a sequel or a franchise works or not depends on the film itself. For the last month alone, I'd give the Hindi releases a benefit of doubt. But Hollywood content in general has been great on quality. And the results are visible in their box office numbers. The films, when dubbed in regional languages, have an even bigger audience base. Its budget, production quality, scale and the overall output are much better than our films,“ he says.

Vivek Krishnani, who heads the Hollywood studio in India that helmed The Angry Birds Movie, believes that a sequel or a franchise works when it offers a fresh story or a point of view with familiar characters, a technique that Hollywood has more or less mastered. “Some Hollywood sequels work in India because they are visually appealing. Indian actors dub parts of these films, which makes them even more attractive. In the past, Indian films like Tanu Weds Manu Returns and the Dhoom franchise worked because they had familiar characters in a different, challenging environment. A sequel's success depends on how the story is being taken forward and whether it is more entertaining than the prequel. This logic applies to films all over the world.“

Having said that, what cannot be missed is that like Bollywood, even Hollywood sequels haven't had a 100 per cent track record. Independence Day: Resurgence and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, for instance, were box office downers. Producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah believes that though the trend of making sequels and franchises is catching on in India, it is going through its initial teething issues. “We scaled up Force 2 and it worked despite the demonetization drive. Maybe we need to get our sequels on floors sooner and also up the quality of the content with each film in the franchise,“ he avers.

Sunil Bansal, a distributor from Rajasthan, points out that Hollywood franchises or sequels largely work because they find takers among young Indians, who are huge in number. Year after year, the anticipation for Hollywood sequels and franchises has only swollen in India. Franchises like Paranormal Activity, Hangover and Austin Powers among others have a huge fan following and people earmark their release dates. Irrespective of how they fare abroad, these films have a loyal fan following in the country. “I've generally seen youngsters thronging cinemas when a big Hollywood franchise releases. The overall quality of our films has also dipped. We need to first work on that and then work on sequels and franchises. In the current year, Hollywood has only done 20 per cent better than us. The number could have been higher had the demonetisation drive not affected cinema-goers. We must also not forget that they have some exceptionally big franchises and sequels lined up for next year.We need to pull up our socks,“ he sums up.





The Tamil movie Visaranai is the official entry for Oscars this year in the foreign language category and just like last year's Marathi movie Court, this film not only managed to avoid the annual fuss created over which film is 'worthy', but was also applauded by the filmmakers.

From the tweets about regional language movies which were not heard of, to the huge posters of regional movies, next to the most awaited Bollywood releases at the cinema halls, and winning awards for best film at film festivals, the regional language films were present everywhere this year. Thanks to the mainstream actors, they even managed to reach the average movie buff. Unless you have been living off the social network, it is very unlikely that you have not found yourself googling about a particular regional movie just because your favourite Bollywood celeb tweeted or praised the film in his/her interviews. If the exhibitors are to be believed, the word of mouth not only helped in getting more publicity but also audience. They say that this is the push that regional cinema needed.

REGIONAL MOVIES FLOORED BOLLYWOOD
When Thithi was screened at the BRICS festival in the capital recently, the hall was so packed that the late arrivals had to sit on the floor. How did a Kannada movie became so popular? Thithi director Raam Reddy told us, “I am overwhelmed with the response of the audience and I was expecting it because many people came and told me that they never got to know if the film was even released in Delhi or not. It was, but just for a week.“ He further added, “People got to know about the film after it got support from Bollywood. I went to Mumbai to show my film to as many people as possible but the support that I received from Anurag Kashyap, Kiran Rao and especially Aamir Khan was really instrumental in changing the image of my film. It was really wonderful to see that people are watching a film for the content and language barrier is not stopping them. Praise by Bollywood stars made a huge difference as our national advertising budget was zero and still Thithi was seen and discussed.“

Bollywood directors like Anurag Kashyap, Karan Johar, Sudhir Mishra and Imtiaz Ali came out in support of many regional films apart from Thithi. If Anurag Kashyap organised Thithi's special screening, then Irrfan Khan did the same for Sairat.

During an interview, Irrfan recently said, “Fortunately, now the audience is kind of exposed to the world cinema. They want a similar thing coming from India too. That's why Talvar, that's why Piku, that's why Sairat. All these films are being lapped up by the audience. Chaar crore ki film sattar crore ka business kar rahi hai.“

Last year films like Court, Killa and Kaaka Muttai also garnered good response in the mainstream space. The filmmakers (of regional movies) agree that Bollywood support helps them get publicity and more business. In an interview, Nagraj Manjule, director of Sairat said, “I never knew it would cross the language barrier so easily and in such overwhelming numbers. Today when Aamir Khan or Irrfan tweets about the film, it's a huge thing for me.“

WORD OF MOUTH PUBLICITY MEANS BETTER DISTRIBUTION
Talking about the impact of Bollywood push, Raam said, “Irrfan and Shekhar Kapur tweeted about the film. These actors have a huge fan following. Aamir has more than 17 million followers and if he tweets something, people will stop and see. Word of mouth helps because even the exhibitors get an idea on whether the film will attract audience or not. As the opinions of these actors are valued, so exhibitors know that if they allot more screens, people will come. Even in Karnataka, we had a really tough time explaining to the exhibitors what is this film about, without music and usual story. But Bollywood's reaction is valued.“

Agreeing to it, Vivek Krishnani, Managing Director of Sony Pictures India said, “Stars talking about a regional film definitely works in their favour and regional cinema is growing in mainstream space which is a good sign. The word of mouth publicity has its own importance.“ Yogesh Raizada, Corporate Head, Wave Cinemas, adds, “For a north Indian to know about a Marathi release or a Kannada release is rare, but when the information comes from a celeb route, it makes the film a must watch.“

AUDIENCE IS MATURE ENOUGH TO BE OPEN TO CONTENT, NOT LANGUAGE
The exhibitors told us that there are fantastic films that come from the regional cinema industry, and people who love cinema will appreciate the content, but the same content finding a place in the larger market is a different game altogether.

Ajit Andhare, COO, Viacom18 Motion Pictures, said, “The regional cinema is at a different stage, so the studios have to be really alert on what content they are offering in which market. Only that can determine whether they will be successful or not. There is lot of new audience that is more concerned about the content, not whether the film is being made in language A, B or C.“

Kamal Gianchandani, CEO, PVR Pictures, said, “Punjabi films have done well at the Box Office, Tamil and Telugu continues to do excessively well. All language movies are co-existing, you can't say these films are competing with each other, but they co-exist. A good film always works, it will always discover its audience. Ultimately, its the power of content which works. When somebody of the stature of Aamir Khan, Irrfan Khan and even Anurag Kashyap speaks about the films, it definitely creates a buzz and attracts more audience, but let's be fair and not take the credit away from the film also.“