Studio given raw deal by each producer, says an ex-senior executive, as Aamir Khan claims lion's share of profits of Rs 350-crore grosser, leading to 90 staffers' job termination
'Dangal' Movie
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How would you explain producing the biggest blockbuster of the year, yet making so little by way of profits that you have to sack 90 staffers? That's exactly what happened at Walt Disney Pictures India office, where the staff was given pink slips on Monday. Despite Disney being one of the producers of 'Dangal', Aamir Khan has walked away with the lion's share of the profits.
Strangely, lack of business foresight seems to be Disney India's hallmark. Despite producing huge hits last year like The Jungle Book, Captain America: Civil War and Baaghi, they have been given the short end of the stick every time. "Clearly, it wasn't a balanced arrangement as Disney was given the raw deal by each producer. It wasn't difficult to deduce that the business policy in place was failing," said a senior executive, who left the company in October, on condition of anonymity.
Top bosses gone
Currently, the company has a staff strength of 600 and terminations have been happening since last year. In the last few months, besides the ouster of their honcho Siddharth Roy Kapur, the company has reportedly let go of Nikhil Gandhi, who quit as VP and head of revenue media networks, and Sameer Ganpathy, who quit as head of interactive.
In a press statement, the current CEO Mahesh Samat had said, "Moving forward, we'll accelerate the great work done by the team and create new ways for audiences to engage with our stories, brands and characters, and drive growth across our businesses."
'Lack of foresight'
The senior executive said, "There was a real lack of foresight in those heading the Indian company. The dissection of what went wrong has been underway since the American company first announced its exit from the Indian market.
The last few months have been rough for the people there and the ill-timed demonetisation added fuel to it. By March, the India businesses need to massively shrink as the company is looking at restructuring everything.
The good thing is that Disney has always been a happy workplace. Even in firing people, they ensured everyone had enough notice and enough money till they landed a new job. The bad thing is that the decision to change policies happened suddenly."
He said, "For most of us who left in October, it came as a massive shock. In our heads, we thought we were invincible, but were living in a false bubble. In a way, the parent company did what they had to. We had great bosses who were bad businessman," he said.
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