Small Screen’s Big Picture

It’s not that people wait for a film to premiere on television. Watching a film in the theatre still has its own charm. If it’s a good film and has had some good reviews,viewers do buy tickets and watch it in the theatre.

According to the current industry average,it takes about three months for a film to come on television after its release. Earlier,it took about six months. For example,3 Idiots was shown on television after about six months and it still pulled in a lot of audiences who might have seen it in theatres since it was one of the top-rated films of that year.

However,there is no denying the fact that if a film comes on television just after its theatrical release,then it will probably also do well on TV. And in such cases,it is easier for us to build the film into the psyche of the audiences because it’s fresh on their minds. We benefit a lot if the film is recent as it has great recall value. For example,if a film like Grand Masti comes on television in the next 4-5 weeks,as a channel,we will be able to ride on the theatrical promotions that are already playing on different channels and elsewhere,which will get us instant traction. It helps us get good ratings as well,because the film is fresh in the audiences’ minds.

Thus,in my opinion all kinds of media can co-exist —be it Direct To Home (DTH),DVDs at home,satellite and theatres. Plus,these different avenues have a dedicated set of viewers,so the question of biting a bigger share of the pie doesn’t exist.

There are all kinds of viewers out there — right from people who have to watch a film in the theatre on the big screen to be able to enjoy the experience to someone who is okay with just sending an SMS to his or her service provider and pay per view. So,I wouldn’t say showing a film on a channel affects the box office much.

Manoj Desai

Executive Director,G7 Multiplex,Mumbai

In 1993,I produced Khuda Gawah and vividly remember that I had given it in writing that the film will not be shown on television for the next five years. Those were the days,when people would throng to theatres to watch a film. But today,I have seen that films that are running in my theatre are simultaneously being aired on channels every Sunday. So why would anyone want to take the effort to watch a film in a theatre,when they can do so from their home? So yes,we face a lot of problems due to this and it eats into about 30-40 per cent of our revenue.

We survive on masses and if they stop coming to the theatre how will we continue to exist? If the common man has to watch a film,he may think of watching it after four days on television rather than watching it in the theatre. This phenomenon of early television release is alarming for us,even more for multiplex owners as their tickets are more expensive forcing people to pick television over big screen. This trend pinches our pockets too.

However,there are a lot of films that don’t do well in theatres but gain momentum later. One such example is Hum Aapke Hain Kaun,which didn’t do well in the beginning but it gained a following and people came to the theatres much later. In such cases probably airing the film on TV may help generate interest and they might come to the theatres to watch it again. But that’s rare.

Producers no longer ink deals to determine a minimum waiting period. They want to monetise the film right from its release and are always in a hurry to sell its satellite rights,especially if the film has been pegged to do well. Plus there are so many players in the market such as Sony,Zee and Colors lending producers the opportunity to get the best deal. But in the end it’s the theatre owners and multiplexes that suffer the most.

Debate conducted by Meenakshi Iyer