Corporates get a bigger role in bollywood

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supply-demand equation is driving prices up for the few bankable stars,” points out Kapur. “It is a known fact that the industry is currently in a state of exaggerated pricing. This makes our task—the marketing and distribution guys—even more daunting and painstaking. Recoveries need to match pricing, taking the bar higher and driving us to chase the top dollar in every conceivable revenue stream,” remarks Tanuj Garg, an expert in international markets, and currently head of UK and Europe at Studio 18.

“Stars are charging high prices because they believe they carry the film on their shoulders and no one is getting less ambitious,” says Manish Porwal, CEO, Percept Talent Management. As an insider puts it: “The problem is that there are too few SRKs and Aamirs. Now, even stars like Akshay Kumar are charging Rs 30 crore. We see a correction happening very soon.”

The road ahead

According to Gautam Dutta, chief executive, Cine Media, PVR, the gap between Hollywood and the Hindi film industry will further diminish in the coming years. “New genre of movies like animation and science fiction will make its presence felt in the next 10 years. The boom in multiplexes will support the production of new genres,” he adds.

Rajesh Mishra, CEO, Indian operations, UFO Moviez, which has 1,000 digital screens to its credit in India, points out that the application of technology will be at an all-time high in the next 5-10 years. “Latest technology in processing such as DI negatives is putting film-making in a serious mode. With digital cinema distribution, movie viewing is a changed experience,” he adds. Digital media will dominate proceedings in future, says Singh.

The right mix

Most players also admit that small budget commercial films like Bheja Fry and Page 3 are here to stay. So, if UTV is producing four big-ticket films, it’s also producing six small-to-medium budget films. Ditto with Indian Film Company. “It makes sense to experiment across genres and budgets. It derisks the business,” says an analyst. Because despite the winds of change blowing and flow of corporate finance, a number of investors, including private equity and venture capitalists, are still wary of Bollywood. “The production side is still considered to be risky and so PE firms are hesitating to invest,” says Sawhney.