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CINEMA ON MS EXCEL, MS PPT AND Market Research
Chapter 1
It’s been some time since Dhoom [1 as we may now call it] and Hum Tum….and we are very well aware of a force called YRF. Whatever you want to call their cinema, many would give a hand or any other limb to be a part of it.[cannot question success…envy you can call it….guilty as charged] Have been to the premise once. I traveled back in time. I had just finished graduation and my first job…..ICICI Bank. My parents were really happy for me….Tam Bram [ok he took commerce…we forgive him] banking job and ICICI bank….like every 4th guy there is a tam bram. Come back to the flash back. I was to sit it that Glass tower at BKC. It was like the structure to be inside those days. As I entered and made my way to the 6th floor….every step I took a voice rang thru the hollowed chambers…..this is not the place man….the processes the MIS reports, Excel Sheets…Power Point Presentations….this is not where I belong…[I quit very soon….almost like the time it took to type till here]. The same feeling rang again…thru the similar looking hollowed chambers. The only difference I had a job at ICICI here I was called to see if I could be accommodated and I went and I wanted a job [then]. Whatever happened I was out in like 20 odd minutes. I am no where even close to being a loss to this place…no one is going to miss me here…..it was my need and not theirs…I don’t even matter….I very well know…..
Chapter 2
Have been observing their cinema…hell you cannot escape an YRF production….any multiplex…any single screen on that god damn Friday a YRF product releases you just cannot escape the film. It’s playing everywhere……If you make it to the hall there is no other choice as some other SMALL time filmmaker has been forced to be accommodated in an afternoon slot. Even if he wants to have more and maybe even has some money in his kitty to shell that much to get is film screen there are no slots……they have all been taken up….no vacancies………
Chapter 3
Formula films.,…we thought they were done with after Satya. The all too obvious formula….popularly known as Formula number 44….donno why but since childhood this was the number stuck to all clichéd formulas….could never figure out why….but 44 it was. Then it became much more complicated than that. But the formula remained just that it had some MBA jargons attached to it and tool which provide the geek with the power to put me to sleep even if I have had like 20 cups of caffeine. Cinema on Microsoft Excel Spreadsheets, Microsoft Powerpoint and Market Research.
Target Audience, Market Scenario, SEC-A ..B A++….C….., Market Penetration, blah blah…blah…..
Chapter 4
A film maker thinks of making a film…he approaches “THE” production house…..what does he do….???????????
Thinks of a story he wants to tell
Writes a script
A charter sketch of the characters he has in his film
A treatment…..
NAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is what
“India’s one billion people spend US$2 billion on movie tickets each year, a figure which is expected to grow by 30% over the next five years. But behind this huge growth is a complex story of an increasingly prosperous middle class patronizing new multiplexes while traditional cinemas decline………………… ” [aaiiii!!!! Ee kah hai Gajodhar bhaiyya??????]
How do I pitch in…..
Ok here is my pitch….Summer vacations are coming up. Children will be free of exams.
> My TG [Target Group/Target Audience] Age Group – 6-14
> Number of Children in India
> Income Group of the Parents who have children falling under the above mentioned age group.
> Further divide these income groups in slots of Sec A++ and Sec A and Sec B….
> The number of children falling in the age category and the income category to be further divided into groups according to the existing distribution chain in India. Mumbai, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi NCR, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab….etc….etc……
Why all this. Cause children under this age group do not go unescorted usually. So for every child who is coming to watch my move he will bring along his Parents.
So if a family has 2 children who want to watch my movie I have 4 patrons. 1….2….ka…..4….get it. Now write a scrip according to this…..treat it like a 130 minute advertisement…..cause people use these tolls to make 60 seconders…the same strategy
Typical Example.
Dhoom, Dhoom-2, Bunty aur Babli, Krrish[distributed by YRF], TA RA RUM PUM
The TG of 6 to 14 surely covered. Every child drags along his/her parents.
TG of 18 – 25 to covered. Couples going around…..engaged…or to be married….sure shot sale at the counter.
Looking at these films…..I for sure firmly believe they have been scripted and designed on MS Excel, PPT and Market Research. Is this what is cinema going to be???????…..is this what is going to drive people to make one……???????????
When one talks of cinema it’s just not intellectual or niche [I am not the SNOB hence the post…nor am I the intellectual not the niche]….cinema is what the maker feels for and wants the audience to feel what drove him to such insanity as to go to the lengths [you people are now aware of it takes] he went to to make it. Will you not feel angry when you are taken for a ride….every time you go to a cinema hall and are bombarded with a PPT, MS Excel cinema billboard ..…is that the experience I crave for and are left with no choice but to watch it….???????? If we cannot escape YRF cinema…. then please give me my Deewar days back…please give me another Kala Patthar…..give me Mashal….give me Daag…..give me Kabhie Kabhie…..give me Trishul…..give us these films from your stable…..we loved them….we still do….but this?????????????
28 Responses to “CINEMA ON MS EXCEL, MS PPT AND Market Research”
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“So if a family has 2 children who want to watch my movie I have 4 patrons. 1
Awesome post VB..loved it.
No harm in having your TG though..not every movie is made to be a masterpiece…a Target Knowledge..mebbe…..Whenever i think of all the complexities of defining a good cinema…i recollect what Nishikanth kamat said
” End of the day a cinema is entertainment…entertainment has many forms…if my audience is not entertained by my cinema..it is a bad film”
Words of gold..I loved it….
Cinema is an art… and is a confused medium…
This leads to creativity…result into innovations….many frame… in flow…it’s special…wow…
If it’s a corporate business then it’ll became principle & strategy(formula)…which leads to the danger of repetitions & many as YRfilms….
Within art repetition is a crime….person sd b hanged till change……
Bala sir…wakai good post…tnx..
nice VB
YRF has a shelf life. its been stretching it of late, but i do believe we are seeing the end of YRF as it is.
if A. Chopra doesnt tweak his shrewd mind, they might be on the way out…
jusht might be
I think people hate YRF for the monopoly in the cinema market than the movies that come out of their stable.
I dont think YRF are gonna be out any time soon.
They are very smart about things.
We will see their movies for a long time to come.
YRF has diversified and hybridized itself very deeply and significantly into the Indian motion picture market. They have a terrific marketing and distribution structure (however much people may hate them for it, or complain about their ethics) which will always ensure they don’t lose money on their films.
@DPac - When you say we are seeing the end of YRF as it is, I am assuming you are referring to the sugar-coated formula romances/family dramas. Do correct me if I am wrong. In that sense, those kind of films will still be around, but I believe YRF will recognize a market for different kind of films and diversify into that, as is exemplified by their backing of a film like Kabul Express. So yes, I would agree that YRF will perhaps not continue to be synonymous only with romantic dramas.
Good point Vijay…and to add to it…YRF never had a ” Brand Genre”….they have been experimenting a hell lot….Veer-Zaara, Dhoom2, Salaam-namaste…are not the same genre…if to say…
I wouldn’t call it experimenting at all. I think that may be a stretch. Veer Zaara and Salaam Namaste fall right into the YRF brand of romance. Those are the kind of films I would expect them to produce. Dhoom (1) was the first time they branched out of the drama/romance genre. I was shocked to see YRF’s name on an all out action flick. It was a carefully planned and calculated move. Certainly not experimentation. Dhoom 2 of course built on the hype of the first one, and carried through to its huge earnings purely because of YRF bombarding the film through all media avenues. The movie sucked.
The only time I actually felt Yashraj experimented was when they picked up MF Hussain’s Meenaxi for distribution.
I think Salaam Namaste was an experiment. Though it was a typical romantic movie…but you could clearly see YRF taking baby steps in stretching the boundaries in it own light…well..saying so, cause Salaam Namste came dagerously close to ” Kya Kehna”
And if we are talking about distribution…YRF distributed Mangal Pandey, Sins, Maqbool, Maine Gandhi ko Nahi Maara…
Now these films def. not fall in the so-called YRF brand…thats why i say..YRF is taking baby-steps..which is quite intelligent considering the business they own.
we value yash chopra but aaditya chopra (bro of uday chopra, fren of srk,rani…n many)a smart man…?dhoom ke saath kabul free…remember..!!
We got that dense on d day we heard he’ll back with dhoom III….(director)
Man must b bizzi in copy paste n research n’ll release it on holi or diwali…
@vijay
u got it precisely the way i meant it
Salaam Namaste was a shameless remake of “9 Months”. I don’t think they really pushed their limits or anything. It was pure formula as was the original film.
But yes, you do have a point that I would not expect them to distribute films like Maqbool. A quality film with no saleable stars, it was mighty of YRF to back it. Mangal Pandey…well who wouldn’t pick up a film starring Aamir Khan? Sins and Maine Gandhi Ko Nahi Maara were surprising decisions.
Also one needs to note how they are slowly also trying to monopolize fresh talent in the industry. After Jaideep Sahni became famous post Khosla Ka Ghosla, they have contracted him for a 2 or 3 picture exclusive writing deal. They’ve taken Shimit Amin and Pradeep Sarkar as well. And why should these people not go to YRF? YRF invests a lot in presenting and marketing a film correctly, unlike some producers who will agree to finance a hatke project, but refuse to provide further funding for publicity.
To add to this conversation.
I have heard YRF is one of the best places to work for an AD. They are treated like human beings. Paid well. Payments are always on time. Same story about most of these blockbuster commercial production houses.
Something that most of these arty farty filmmakers hardly do.
And Vijay is right. DHOOM is a example of how they are smart about guessing the pulse of junta. It was a very unlikely YRF film.
Its Karan Johar & his melodramas that piss me off.
And the guy claims Pedro Almodovar is his favourite filmmaker.
Vijay: “Mangal Pandey
From 1998 the movies distributed by YRF had become the biggest grosser of that year. For eg: Kuch Kuch Hota Hai in 1998, Biwi No. 1 1999, Kaho Naa Pyar Hai 2000, Koi Mil gaya 2003, Veer Zara 2004, Doom 2 2006. The remaining years, except for 2002, they were at second place.
ohh wow Justing..great info…does anyone know AC’s background? was he a management student? This guy is immensely talented..
Yeh on the payment for it’s ADs yes even I heard that they don’t give any headache or heartache……great point that some other arty farty filmmakers infact hold back….and a famous example…..FACTORY…have heard horror stories on payment.
On Kabul Express it turned out to be a picnic……I can pat their backs for going to Kabul but with the cast [esp. the paki and the afghan] they could have made a much better film.
I do understand cinema is entertainment….but look at early Yash Chopra who laid the foundation for YRF…man he made great cinema…..I loved them…..iss liye bhi gussa aata hai….ki aab yeh kya bana rahen hai…
But the forthcoming look promising. All said and done koi bhi film ho…..just cannot miss Madhuri’s comeback…..Shamit Amin’s Chak De India has a good vibe….Pradeep Sarkar
Oh yeah….
I have the excel program used by Warner Brothers in my computer. they have got it down to fucking science. It was amazing.
But lets move on. lets stop complaining. Lets beat them instead.
Power & Money corrupts the most sane & honest film maker.lets wait n watch what happens to yrf this year.
@ Mainak - Dude, you have this!!! You need to do a post on this, one that won’t get you or PFC in trouble with the lawyers!!! That would be very, very interesting…
may be one day they will make a movie on how they made movies…tat might be interesting!!!!!
but i liked the concept of using economics…man, these guys r into the business of making money….
ab jaane bhi do yaaron!!!!!
yeh YRF ko gaali dena ab boring acitivity ban chuka hai…..nowadays i daily see somebody or the other complaining…..
wher is RK and his brand of movies…..i miss reading ur reviews RK..whr r u?
Hey check it out,
A post about making an independent animated short film using techniques similar to the one used in Waking Life.
http://onesmallwindow.com/2007/05/04/finding-meaning/
The added bonus is that the film is also included.
RK & his brand of movies. So rightly said man.
He gets the best & most obscure hindi movies out of nowhere….
Personally I think YRF’s is great. You just have to understand they are not into making hardcore realistic films but are into giving the majority of audiences entertaining, escapist films. As they audience changes, so will the films…
I liked Salaam Namaste for what it was. Same goes for Veer Zaara, Hum Tum and Dhoom.
As for a good place to work, well I know Arjun Sablok (he’s from Vancouver… his brother/father still live here…) he is all praise and said there’s no better place to work. Think about it, when he gets a chance to direct “Neal & Nikki”, you know they’re treating their employees very well and giving them chances.
I commend Aditya Chopra for putting his filmmakers in the lime-light and not so much himself (I think guys like Subhash Ghai and to an extent VVC and RGV should be doing the same). It would be a dream for any of us to have Adi Chopra produce one of our films.
But where I think YRF’s is going wrong is that rather than progressing cinema, they are progressing their own brand of cinema. And the progression is in all the wrong areas. Its too much gloss and hype and escapism and ingredients and not enough story and storytelling (the forte of Yash Chopra who like VB I too am a big fan of for films like Daag, Waqt, Trishul, Deewar, Ittefaq, Kaala Pathar, Silsila and others)
I think we’ll see YRF’s evolve, especially as they work with diverse filmmakers such as Shimit Amin, Kabir Khan, Pradeep Sircar and others.
Ta Ra Rum Pum wasn’t a bigtime disapointment, and I’m glad its not doing well at the BO. The only way a filmmaker will change is through BO failure. If audiences keep validating bad films (case in point, Fanaa) then that’s what will continue to be made.
As a side note, after seeing the promo JBJ I’m not much impressed at all. I’m hoping if the films as bad as it looks, it’ll tank worse than TRP (or is that TRRP… or maybe TRPP… WTF…) and YRF will realize audiences don’t want BS gimmickry and are moving well past the cliches.
Maybe then we’ll get back to good storytelling, something I stronly believe YRF is more than capable of.
i agree with most of you…on the treatment to the employees and other stuff…..good money that i don’t….i know that personally…no 2nd 3rd hand info…..but then they know it’s a yash raj break….so…brand value more than the take-home….do the math….still more to gain for surely.
Like the early Raj Kapoor people swear by….likewise with Yash Raj…It’s a personal opinion…
Yeh I do agree they have given breaks to new comers and promoted them as An Anand Raj Anand film…or Kunal Kohli film unlike ….a few others who once called the shots>>>>totally agree on that. And It does also have a clean/cleaner reputation as a film production unit as compared to some houses/house….state of the art facilities…etc…etc….
Just the the man who spearheaded this organisation once made great films without the TG/TR, Spreadsheet, presentation funda…that was my point…..
AS pointed out by many here maybe it’s time to change and for the better……have been waiting for the change…
And Kafir sorry to bore you…