Nayanthara’s Connect will have interval despite being only 99-minutes long: Experts weigh in on age-old phenomenon

Connect would have become the first Tamil film to be released without an interval, which created anticipation for the fans. With the change in the decision, many have expressed their discontent on Twitter.

The phenomenon of interval emerged due to technical reasons as exhibitors needed time to change the film reels back in the day. However, that also ended up becoming a business model as it increased the revenue of cinemas in terms of snacks and refreshments. While the concepts slowly vanished in the West with the advent of digital technology, Indian cinema continues to hang on to the tradition.

Karundhel Rajesh, a screenplay consultant (Sudhu Kavvum and Indru Netru Naalai) and screenwriter, says the concept of interval severely affects the way films are written and conceived here. “It changes the way we write films. Even during story discussions, it is given that we have to come up with something before the interval. It’s pressure. It is also interesting in a way because interval demands some intelligence in writing as many decide whether to stay in the theatre or leave depending on the interval block (laughs).”

“At the end of the day, the interval is for business purposes. Given that a huge part of the revenue for theatres depends on food, it’s more for selling popcorn and other cool drinks and not because one has to give a break to the audience. Imagine, if a few films are released without intervals and succeed, it would become a business model. That wouldn’t be welcome,” he adds.

Thus it begs a question of how Hollywood and the west are surviving without intervals when food plays a vital part to the theatre economy. Veteran producer Dhananjayan notes that it is because of the cultural differences between the audiences. “Intervals have been around for a hundred years, and people here are used to taking that break to buy something. It is not as if everyone prefers to buy from the theatres. Maybe, only 25 percent of them do. Still, it is a substantial amount for theatre owners because ticket revenue is shared by multiple parties. It includes tax, and a share of the producers and distributors, and only about forty percent of the ticket price goes to theatre owners. So, the interval becomes a must,” he says, adding, “In Hollywood, the culture is to buy the popcorn and snacks ahead of the screening, but here, we are not used to such practice. You can’t expect our audience to buy all of it and come when they are already late by five or ten minutes due to traffic and other reasons.”

On the other hand, Tiruppur Subramaniam, Tamil Nadu Theater Association head and distributor, opines that it’s not an important issue. “It’s a non-issue. Connect will release with an interval. Nobody claimed it is a problem. Any small discussion is turned into an issue these days.”

When asked if the lack of intervals would affect the revenue of theatre owners, he says, “It is not like we are earning in crores during the interval blocks. Interval is a must because it provides a respite to the audience. One takes a break from any task, intervals are similar to that. It provides time for people for restroom breaks and such. Again, it is not an issue in the first place.”

It has taken several decades for Indian cinema to let go of the concept of songs and comedy tracks in films and looks like it would take a lot more to kick out archaic interval too.