Same time, same place

The Matrix and the Indian film market have plenty in common. They8217;re both complex phenomena. Very few people understand the nitty-gritt...

The Matrix and the Indian film market have plenty in common. They8217;re both complex phenomena. Very few people understand the nitty-gritty. And if you are among those who don8217;t, chances are you will not believe anyone who tells you that s/he does.

As millions around the world grapple with the intriguing questions raised by The Matrix, the Indian film market too is dealing with some issues of its own. The week has marked a big first for audiences here. If you have not been hit by the publicity blitz unleashed by Warner Bros, then know this: as the clock struck 7.30 p.m. IST on November 5, Indian film-goers were watching the premiere of The Matrix Revolutions8212;the third film in the Matrix series8212;on the same day, at exactly the same time as it was opening in over 60 countries worldwide. The closest we have come to the US release of a Hollywood film so far has been a week: Charlie8217;s Angels 2 hit theatres here in that time. Will India get to see more of what the industry terms 8216;8216;day-date releases8217;8217;?

8216;8216;Absolutely,8217;8217; says Aditya Shastri, managing director of 20th Century Fox, India. 8216;8216;After the government did away with The Variety Check last year, it opened the window for us to release films on the same day and date as the international release.8217;8217; What8217;s The Variety Check? Film companies earlier had to give the Censor Board a hard copy of a review from a listed international publication before they would be permitted to import one print and two trailers of the film8212;which would then be submitted for Censor scrutiny. Since those reviews would be out only after the film was already in theatres elsewhere, this nixed all possibilities of day-date releases in India. In fact, it meant an assured delay of three to four weeks. An industry resigned to its kismet, good-humouredly christened this bit of vintage Indian red-tapism: they called it The Variety Check, in honour of the reputed US-based entertainment publication Variety.

But this story does not end here. The gap between international and Indian releases of films has in any case been narrowing in recent years. Spiderman swung into India three weeks after it was in US theatres. Ditto Terminator 3. Industry sources put that down to the dramatic increase in multiplexes here. 8216;8216;Six years back, there were barely three theatres each in Mumbai and Delhi which showed Hollywood films,8217;8217; says Jacinto Fernandes, marketing manager for Paramount Films in India. 8216;8216;More screens means more space where Hollywood films can be shown, so we don8217;t have to wait for one or two films to run their course before releasing the next.8217;8217; Adds Blaise Fernandes, MD of Warner Bros in India: 8216;8216;Each new multiplex improves the chances of Hollywood films in India. For instance a year ago, there was no such market as Noida, Gurgaon or Ghaziabad available to me. But with the opening of multiplexes in these Delhi suburbs, now there is.8217;8217; Companies are also pumping 20-30 per cent more into marketing their films in India than they were five years back.

Hollywood Fact File

8226; The gap between a film8217;s international and Indian release has shortened
8226; Marketing budgets for Hollywood films in India are up
8226; The number of prints released per film has risen

Add to that a media explosion which has meant that cineastes here are being bombarded with film news from abroad8212;on countless TV channels, on the Net. It no longer takes weeks for information to trickle in that the next Bond film will be released only in 2005, or that Revolutions has received an iffy response from critics abroad. A quick release then helps the film to cash in on international hype. Plus, as Fox8217;s Aditya Shastri points out: 8216;8216;Rampant piracy means that we cannot even afford to leave a gap between a film8217;s international and Indian release.8217;8217;

And so, on May 28, 2004, when The Day After Tomorrow is released worldwide, India will join the party. This is no small film. It8217;s the latest from Roland Emmerich, same chap who made the sci-fi blockbusters Independence Day and Godzilla. If you adored that humungous lizard, or watched in awe as Jeff Goldblum and Will Smith saved the world, then there8217;s a bit of good news.