Picture abhi baaki hai

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 COVID-19 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 R150 crore when it released in theatres in Telugu-speaking regions in February, followed closely by Jathi Ratnalu.

A viewer seen at the Wave Cinema in Noida, which is screening the Akshay Kumar spy thriller Bell Bottom. While theatres in several states have opened, those in Mumbai and the rest of Maharashtra continue to remain shut. Pic/Nishad Alam

Tadla, w

ho 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 Vakil 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."

A worker at a cinema hall in Secunderabad sets a banner of Salman Khan-starrer Radhe, initially scheduled to release on May 13 amidst the pandemic. Since theatres in the country were shut, the movie subsequently released on multiple platforms, including OTT and DTH services in May this year. Pic/Getty Images

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 Bell Bottom 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 R15 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 pandemic restrictions, which is home to the heart of Bollywood, and contributes a lion's share of the box office revenue.

Shibasish Sarkar, Group CEO, Reliance Entertainment, says opening of theatres in Maharashtra, especially Mumbai, will be key to deciding the future of big releases; Anand Pandit, producer Chehre, feels that the state government is depriving cinema owners the opportunity to revive their businesses and Vivek Krishnani, managing director, Sony Pictures Films India, says that the perception of the audience towards content has changed greatly in the last year

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 Bell Bottom, 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 Bell Bottom 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 R5-10 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."

An almost-packed Sudarshan in Hyderabad on August 14 this year, when the Telugu film Paagal released

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."

Rumy Jafry's Chehre, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Emraan Hashmi, was originally slated a July 2020 release . With cases peaking in March this year, it was pushed to last week

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.

The release of Rohit Shetty's Sooryavanshi and Kabir Khan's biographical sports film 83, both from the stable of Reliance Entertainment, have been postponed due to recurring lockdowns

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.

Sanjay Gupta, Balgovind Raj Tadla and Vishek Chauhan

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. Another 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 victimised. 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.

30 per cent
Chunk of box office revenue films make from Maharashtra