‘Bollywood Won’t Revive!’

‘People
have
got
into
the
habit
of
sitting
at
home
(and
watching
films).’
‘They
don’t
want
to
watch
movies
in
theatres
because
they
don’t
want
to
waste
as
much
as
Rs
1,000
on
tickets.’
‘They
feel
there
is
no
point
in
watching
a
film
on
the
big
screen
because
it
will
anyway
come
on
OTT
in
a
month’s
time.’

The
Hindi
film
industry
is
going
through
a
rough
patch,
and
many
A-listers
stars


have
no
film
on
the
floors.

There
are
many
reasons
for
this,
and
trade
analyst

Amod
Mehra
lists
his
reasons.

“Even

desh
bhakti
movies
aren’t
working
in
theatres
any
more.
People
are
tired
of
seeing
Pakistan
getting
abused
on
the
big
screen,”
Amod
Mehra
tells

Syed
Firdaus
Ashraf/


Rediff.com.

You
said
the
number
of
big
films
being
made
has
reduced.
How
do
the
economics
work
for
small
budget
films?

It
depends
on
the
budget.

For
example,
a
platform
like
Netflix
will
give
you
Rs
30
crore
(Rs
300
million)
for
your
film
and
keep
their
margin
of
Rs
5
crore
(Rs
50
million).

The
Hindi
film
industry
is
doing
badly.

Nobody
is
earning
from
theatre
releases.

Naaz
(a
distribution
hub
of
the
Hindi
film
industry
in
south
Mumbai)
has
shut
down.

Nobody
is
asking
questions
why
film
distributors
are
sitting
at
home
and
doing
nothing.

Maybe
it’s
because
actors
have
turned
producers.

Which
actor
has
become
a
producer?
No
one.

Shah
Rukh
Khan
and
Salman
Khan
have
produced
films.

They
don’t
produce
films,
they
only
keep
their
interest
in
remuneration
by
stating
they
will
share
the
profits
of
the
film.

They
do
not
put
their
own
remuneration
in
films.

They
only
do
films
that
will
give
them
more
profit.

Do
you
think
Akshay
Kumar
puts
his
own
money
in
making
films?
He
never
produces
a
film
alone.
You
will
always
see
four
other
names
as
producers
of
the
film.
He
wants
a
share
of
the
profit
and
satellite
as
well
as
OTT
rights.

That’s
why
I
tweeted
that
instead
of
charging
Rs
90
crore,
Akshay
Kumar
must
take
out
that
zero
from
the
figure
and
charge
Rs
9
crore
per
film.

Why
do
producers
give
them
so
much
money?

You
journalists
give
them.
There
is
no
investigative
media
left.

Recently,
I
spoke
to
a
film
journalist
who
wrote
that

Shaitaan
made
Rs
70
crore
(Rs
700
million).

I
asked
a
simple
question:
Do
you
know
how
much
Ajay
Devgn
charged
for
that
film?

The
answer
I
got
was
shocking.
The
journalist
told
me
the
figure
was
taken
from
the
Internet!

And
who
puts
these
figures
on
the
Internet?
The
same
producer
who
produces
the
film.

What
will
be
the
ratio
of
star
remuneration
compared
to
the
cost
of
a
film?

It
depends.
If
it
is
a
top
star,
80
to
90
percent
of
remuneration
is
taken
by
the
top
star
in
making
a
Rs
100
crore
film.

Karan
Johar
has

spoken
about
the
hefty
star
fees
in
the
making
of
films.
Why
did
he
say
it?

He
has
clearly
told
actors
that
if
they
want
to
work
with
him,
it
has
to
be
on
his
terms
and
conditions.

He
has
said
you
have
to
accept
the
price
I
pay
you.

If
there
is
a
profit,
I
will
shell
out
more.

He
said
he
cannot
give
actors
what
they
demand
as
their
fees.

He
has
folded
up
the
movie
he
was
to
do
with
Salman
Khan.
For
another
one,
he
was
thinking
of
taking
Akshay
Kumar
but
that
has
also
been
shelved.

He
is
co-producing
small
movies
because
he
has
to
pay
his
office
staffers.

He
recently
co-produced

Kill.

What
can
be
done
to
revive
the
film
industry?

It
will
not
revive.

People
have
got
into
the
habit
of
sitting
at
home
(and
watching
films).

They
don’t
want
to
watch
movies
in
theatres
because
they
do
not
want
to
waste
as
much
as
Rs
1,000
on
tickets.

They
feel
there
is
no
point
in
watching
a
film
on
the
big
screen
because
it
will
anyway
come
on
OTT
in
a
month’s
time.

When
VCRs
came
in
the
1980s,
it
was
said
that
the
theatre
business
would
be
finished
but
nothing
happened
after
some
initial
hiccups.
Do
you
feel
OTT
will
also
be
a
passing
phase?

When
the
VCR
came,
things
were
different,
as
you
did
not
get
video
cassettes
easily.

Moreover,
the
quality
of
content
was
not
good.

People
did
stop
going
to
theatres
but
then
the
multiplex
came
and
revived
the
theatre
business.

Today,
multiplex
tickets
are
so
expensive
that
movie-going
has
become
a
very
expensive
outing.

Once
upon
a
time,
going
to
cinema
was
the
cheapest
way
of
entertainment.
Today,
it
is
the
most
expensive
form
of
entertainment.

How
are
multiplexes
running
then?

Shows
are
being
cancelled
due
to
lack
of
audiences.

Do
we
get
big
box
office
openings
for
star
movies?

After
COVID,
people
think
it
is
better
to
sit
at
home
and
watch
movies.
This
is
a
worldwide
phenomenon.

In
the
USA,
movies
production
has
lessened
by
50
percent.

Theatres
are
shutting
down
in
the
US
and
London.

Have
you
heard
of
a
James
Bond
movie
or
a
Marvel
movie
coming
up?
No.
Recession
has
hit
the
movie
industry
all
over
the
world.

Can’t
we
create
new
stars
for
the
new
generation?

Shah
Rukh
Khan
said
he
is
the
last
superstar
of
India.
He
knows
after
him,
there
will
be
no
superstar.

So
many
actors
came
like
Rajkummar
Rao
but
they
did
not
become
stars.

Will
a
cut
in
star
fees
revive
the
Hindi
film
industry?

It
is
very
difficult
to
revive
the
Hindi
film
industry
unless
the
ticket
prices
reduce
to
Rs
100.

Do
multiplexes
not
know
this?

They
cannot
reduce
price
tickets
because
electricity
is
so
expensive
to
run
theatres.

The
government
is
not
doing
anything
despite
the
fact
that
they
talk
all
the
time
about
giving
industry
status
to
the
film
industry.

If
there
are
six
screens
in
a
multiplex,
in
reality,
only
four
will
be
running.

There
is
no
manager
for
a
single
theatre,
a
manager
runs
a
multiplex
chain.

There
is
no
job
for
an
usher
in
a
multiplex.

Movies
on

desh
bhakti
were
doing
well
and
saw
good
footfalls
in
theatres.
Will
such
films
work?

People
are
tired
of
that
also.

It
worked
for

Uri.
The
movie
was
a
novelty
to
viewers
where
they
saw
the
Indian
Army
going
inside
Pakistan
and
bashing
terrorists.

But
in
the
last
five
years,
so
many
films
were
made
on
those
lines.

People
are
tired
of
seeing
Pakistan
getting
abused
on
the
big
screen.

Nobody
is
interested
in
Pakistan,
including
Prime
Minister
Narendra
Modi.