Minus 100 crore club

For all the talk of resurgence, that is the loss margin in 2012 for Tollywood. CT explores what���s ailing the industry
They say when Rome was burning, emperor Nero sat back and played the fiddle. The music ��� tinged with the fire���s breath and the wails of citizens ��� could not have been soothing. But Nero played on nonetheless.
The babble that���s coming out of Tollywood at the end of 2012 is far from an equal music.For all the talk of resurgence, technical upgrade, cushy multiplex experience and fresh ideas, the last year has been something of a disaster in terms of business. Though film trade figures are hard to come by in Bengal, we dug these out: only seven hits from the 80-odd films that were released; Eastern India Motion Pictures Association (EIMPA) estimates the total loss to be around `100 crore. Is Rome, read Tollywood, burning? And are we ��� the industry and the audience ��� playing the fiddle?
PAISA NAHI VASOOL
The biggest debacle has been for the bread and butter of Tollywood ��� commercial cinema. ���First of all, we need originality in stories. The entertainment factor has to be huge to attract the audience. Somehow, most commercial films are becoming boring and repetitive. While Challenge 2 and Khokababu did well at the box office, Paglu 2 probably failed because the audience found nothing new in the story,��� says actor Dev. It doesn���t help that Bangla films have been up against some big-ticket Bollywood blockbusters. ���Our audience base is not on a par with Bollywood���s. If a Hindi and a Bangla film release on the same date, the audience will watch the former,��� says director Raj Chakrabarty.
It does not help that remakes of south Indian films ��� the staple of commercial cinema here ��� are often far lower in glamour than the originals. Says Rajib, whose Bikram Singha, one of the biggest commercial releases of the year, only did average business, ���The budget of the original was `50-60 crore, while we made it for `4-5 crore. Obviously, the grandeur can���t be the same. For remakes, we should choose south films for which the costs can be recovered from the market. In that sense, hits like Chrodini Tumi Je Amar, Prem Amar, Sedin Dekha Hoyechhilo or Awara were just right for our market ��� Paglu 2, Romeo or Bikram Singha were not.���
It doesn���t help that outside Kolkata ��� which is a big market for commericial films ��� the theatres are far from inviting. ���However good your film is, who would want to watch a matinee show in summer when even the fans in the theatre don���t work? Piracy also has to be stopped, so that people go to the theatres,��� says Dev. The situation is no better in even bigger suburban towns. ���There is only one hall in Midnapore and Krishnagar. Many theatres are closing across the state,��� says Krishna Daga, chairman, producer section, EIMPA.
LESS DEMAND, MORE SUPPLY
Over the past year, the films that loom large are biggies like Bhooter Bhobisyot and Awara (see box). But the bottomline is, far too many films are being made in Tollywood for its own good. Eighty Bangla films released in 2012, more than double the 2006 figure, which was 39 films. ���We had read about the demand-supply equation in economics. The same applies to Tollywood. For the number of theatres available, too many films are being made. Before the audience can realize if a film is good or bad, the pressure of new releases forces the film to be moved to odd show timings. Which working person can come and watch a morning show?��� asks Prosenjit Chatterjee, who crossed over to Bollywood this year with Shanghai.
Actor Roopa Ganguly echoes him. ���Many films that had potential but came from small production houses bore the brunt. By the time the audience comes to know a film is good, the halls have changed the timings. Not many can come and watch afternoon shows. Just too many Bengali films are releasing every Friday.��� And where is the money for all these films coming from? ���Anyone who has money ��� many chit fund companies, for example ��� thinks he can make a film. As a result, quality is going for a toss. Rather than making 500 films a year let���s make 50 films. But all of them quality films,��� says producer Shrikant Mohta.
A multiplex official who refused to be named likens Tollywood to a ramshackle factory that churns out films. ���How many films have a proper casting, marketing or distribution plan in place? So, quantity has gone up, but quality has gone down. The number of theatres is limited, but every Friday two-three Bengali films are releasing. Where is the audience? A Bengali film takes more time to gather steam than a Hindi film. For example, Aboseshe was a good film, but the initial collections were not good and so the film suffered. The initial is crucial for a production house. Bhooter Bhobisyot did business of `70 lakh while Hemlock Society did `85 lakh. But a lack of planning meant that Bhooter Bhobisyot���s initial collections were poor, while Hemlock Society did good business as it had planned marketing.��� Director Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury seconds this. ���After a film releases the initial game is on. If the initial of a film is good, the production house can see money.���
CONTENT IS KING
The lack of proper marketing in such a competitive space has harmed many films��� prospects. ���Most movies follow the same publicity path. News breaks that the film is going on the floors, shooting is covered on TV and in print, a talk show with the cast before the release is held, then there���s a premiere and a gala party. This leaves the audience confused,��� says director Subrata Sen. Add to that a dearth of good ideas. ���Bhooter Bhobisyot worked because it was a hatke film. More directors will take up stories dealing with ghosts, and after two years, even that won���t work,��� adds Sen.
Producer Ashok Dhanuka concedes that many films tripped at the box office in 2012 because they lacked good content. ���Star cast and packaging can only draw the initial but for a longer run, content will matter,��� he says. And who wants to watch a hero-heroine dance in foreign locales, asks distributor Arijit Dutta. ���They can see these countries on foreign channels,��� he says. Dutta has an interesting take on the dynamics of filmmaking. ���The making is only 15% of the job, while 85% deals with how it is positioned, marketed and distributed. Except for a few production houses, Tollywood is a big zero at that. About 200 Bengali films have already been registered for 2013, where is the audience for that?���
When it comes to business, the paths of commercial and new-age cinema are different. ���Compared to a masala commercial film, urban multiplex films always have lower collections,��� says Aniruddha. And to maintain a profit, the budget is the key. ���Multiplex films have a limited release and a very clearly defined market. Irrespective of how good or bad the film is, the box-office earnings are limited. So unless the film is made within a certain budget, it will never earn profits for the producer. A film like Bhooter Bhobisyot is an exception. My Charulata 2011 and 3 Kanya were hits for the simple reason that the films were made on limited budgets,��� says director Agnidev Chatterjee.
So what is the way ahead? Raj talks about breaking the ���age-old formula���. Tollywood also needs fresh pairings, feels Shrikant, which is why Awara ��� which had Jeet and Sayantika playing the lead ��� worked so well. ���One Awara or Bhooter Bhobisyot is not enough; we need five such films every year,��� feels Prosenjit. The signs are ominous otherwise. ���Bengali cinema saw a loss of about `100 crore in 2012 and only a four per cent profit. Producers, distributors and hall owners incurred heavy losses. Some production houses couldn���t even recover the cost of a film���s publicity. Some of them had to shut down,��� points out Daga of EIMPA.
Is Rome burning? And is Tollywood listening?