> 1] I don't agree with the ticket-price thesis; If Jannat can be a hit and > people are willing to pay money to see that, I think any decent film can be. > The problem is at the supply end, not the demand end; there *is* a quality > issue with the films that come out. I think the industry is going through a > transitional phase because of the market splintering into different > segments, and they'll sort it out duly.
Not sure if quality is a problem for Bollywood. A lot of big-name crap makes its money and runs before word gets out that the movies suck. I don't doubt that there is a lack of demand, but it's similar to real estate; there's only so much that people think a film is worth, and that's all they're willing to pay. Budgets play a role in choice too. 2] Many films not classified as hits in India in the traditional sense still > make a profit for their makers: low-budget films often recover money through > the multiplex crowds; the Yashraj types make money from overseas audiences. Trade figures factor overseas earnings into the revenue reports, while 'hits' and 'flops' being classified locally. A large number of near-misses can still turn over good money for the producers. 3] I don't see how piracy can be a reason for new releases not being hits. > At most, piracy is one reason why DVD revenues aren't lucrative enough. > Online piracy is even less of a problem, imo: internet penetration in India, > despite the hype around it, simply isn't high enough for it to matter. This holds true for Hollywood, where DVD releases are delayed until a couple of months after the film has left theatres. In India, DVDs are released in a weird overlap with theatre runtime. The pirates put the films out on VCD and online within a day or two of release, and both theatre revenues and DVD sales are compromised. The piracy I am talking about is not torrent downloads alone, but also the VCD you can buy at street corners, which does not accrue revenue to anybody in the production value chain. Again, if Jannat can be a hit, film-makers should just stop passing the buck > and learn the basics of good storytelling (not that Jannat is an example of > it!). I'm sure they will, if they needed to. If Jannat can be a hit, it means that the filmmakers don't need a good story to make a successful film. -- Sumant Srivathsan sumants.blogspot.com
