Friday Fizzle

“I hold poor content responsible for the present situation,” says Nityanand,unit head of PVR,adding,”our business is directly proportional to the quality of films we show. The dismal stuff producers have turned our way over the past few months has left us looking for ways to sustain our clientele.” He evades comment on the ongoing tussle between producers and multiplex owners over revenue sharing,but admits it is the worst of times. “Thankfully,because of our heart-of-the-city location,things have never come to such a passe that we had to cancel a show.”

But everyone is not blaming only the poor content. “The tentative schedule for the year is drawn right at the beginning. We knew from January that April and May would be hit by IPL so we were duly prepared,” says Akash Khatri,manager INOX. That talks between IPL managers and multiplexes to screen the cricket matches to a paid audience didn’t materialise is another story,again one that nobody is ready to comment on.

“As for movies not doing well because of poor entertainment value,our Plan B was to hold festivals and to exhibit regional films. To our surprise,we discovered there is a sizeable viewership for Telugu films in Lucknow,” he adds.

All representatives remind there are high overheads involved in running a cineplex,so contingency plans have to be in place. “We keep running contests and lucky draws and would go full throttle once the holiday season begins,” says Anuradha of Inox,elaborating that it was imperative to continue giving patrons the different and indulgent experience they come looking for.

“We consider children a very important part of our business and most of our strategies and events are focused on them,” says Saraswati of Wave multiplex at the Eastend Mall. “As far as the current lull is concerned,highs and lows are part of every business. The aisles will be buzzing once again with the onset of the season,” she says on an optimistic note.

And what if there is no letup in the producers-multiplex owners’ imbroglio? And even if it does,what if the forthcoming attractions,including the Kareena-Akshay starrer Kambakht Ishq and the Kareena-Saif sizzler Agent Vinod turn out to be duds as big if not bigger than Tashan,Chandni Chowk to China and the recent disaster 8X10 Tasveer despite the same impressive cast?

“The gain will be ours if multiplexes refuse to share 50 per cent revenue. All new films will come to us and no matter how bad,at least the initials will help our business look up,” says Rajesh Tandon of Novelty Lalbagh,where morning shows and Hindi-dubbed foreign films are helping the show go on.

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