How risky is Film Making in India today?
At the very outset I would like to make a couple of things very clear – this is not a critique on any particular kind of movie or personality and I’m not a film maker, at least not yet. So what exactly is on my mind & what am I trying to say? Well for starters what I need to impress upon is that cinema at the end of day in spite of being an art form, still has a business consideration to look into and that is a fact that cannot be denied by anybody. Just for the sake of discussion let us forget about movies being good or bad and just look at movies on the whole. So be it a commercial movie, small middle of the road movie, a completely “offbeat” movie – let us for sometime put them all in the same bandwidth & needless to say this is irrespective of the language & the genres.
The only exception to what I’ll be writing here would be the rare movies made by people who absolutely do not care for how the audience would react to the movie. In fact they are not bothered about the audience at all since they are after all making the movie only for themselves. So if you consider Bollywood movies released in 2009 so far the success rate has been below 10 % – in the 1st Qr alone there were 3 successful movies out of a total 31 (read it here- http://passionforcinema.com/kudos-to-raaz-2-slumdog-crorepati-dev-d/) and in April the releases so far have all been complete failures.
The situation is not too different when it comes to regional cinema. Whether its Tamil,Telugu,Malayalam or Kannada the number of successful movies in the year so far would be extremely low. And believe it or not if the success ratio currently is so poor, one needs to understand that this is only considering the movies that at least managed a release. So how would the situation be if one considers the movies lying in the cans for ages?Obviously its not going to look better. It’s another story that the ongoing strike in Bollywood has seen the release of some long pending movies like Pal Pal Dil Ke Ssaath and Ek Se Bure Do (no I’m not mentioning anything about these movies here 
).
What I’m trying to put across to everyone is that in today’s recession period, film making can be one of the most risky business initiatives. To understand this a little better let us first look at the different schools of thought about how to make a successful movie-
1.Have big stars; you have a winner on your hands- While I will definitely agree that stars bring a lot of early attention to the project and help in a lot of ways, then again I don’t think stars alone can pull of a movie just like that. The most recent example of this can probably be 8* 10 Tasveer and CC2C.
2.The story and the story alone is important- Yeah sure the story and the screenplay is important. But then can somebody tell me why a Barah Anna, Luck By Chance or a Gulaal haven’t really succeeded the way they should have ?
3.A top notch director/production banner will do the trick- Sure its nice to have a big production house backing your movie and a well known director helming your movie- but does it spell sure shot success? I don’t think so. What would you then say to Dhoondte Reh Jaoge (UTV), Ek- The Power of One ( Sangeeth Sivan- K Sera Sera ) or a Delhi-6 ( Raykesh Omprakash Mehra- UTV) ?
So what now comes across clearly is that there is no specific formula to ensure the success of a movie. Considering all this have the number of movies being released or going on the floors reduced? Have the number of people moving to Mumbai, Chennai,Hyderabad –( the 3 main locations of film making in India ) wanting to act, direct ,write or do anything else connected with movies reduced? Have the number of people wanting to shift from some other industry to the film industry reduced? The answer is a big no to all these questions. But then one needs to understand that in the current recession period what is becoming difficult are the following-
1.Get a production house to back your movie if you are still to make your mark
2.Getting corporate tie-ups/ in film advertisement to help in giving some monetary support.
3.Getting the right break in the industry if you are a new comer
and the list goes on
All this said & done am I trying to say that film making is to be avoided? That one should not make movies till the recession period is over? Certainly not, but what I’m only saying that one needs to exercise a lot more caution when it comes to making a movie now. Be it in all respects-choice of cast & crew, choice of subject, deciding the budget etc all become quite important. There can be nothing more passionate than making movies and also writing about it like I’m doing here. Hence it’s all the more imperative that we realize the risks associated with film making and try to overcome them rather than ignore them.
On a parting note I wish to point out that I’m looking forward to the release of Frozen, a movie made with a lot of passion and with a lot of risk by everyone associated with it. After around 2 years of struggle, the movie is finally all set to release on May 8th 2009 (confirmed by Shivajee Chandrabhushan- the director & producer) and I just wish that movies like these definitely attain success and ensure that the passion and the risk behind such a venture pays off.
Note- I have only written this to point out the current situation as far as Indian cinema is concerned from my standpoint. I would definitely appreciate a wholehearted constructive discussion on the same and look forward to those in the industry sharing their thoughts on the same over here.
Tags: Barah Anna, CC2C, Delhi 6, Dev D, frozen, Gulaal, Luck By Chance, Raykesh Omprakash Mehra, shivajee chandrabhushan, UTV
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
hi setu ,a small correction Delhi-6 is not made by Ashutosh Gowariker but rakeysh om prakash mehra…..All the suggestions are very good , sply the choice of subject…..but to be very honest that a good story and bad story….why something works and why something doesn’t…all this questions are tricky coz if you asked any dir/prod…they always considered this contents for their best levels ..things works sometimes and sometimes not ….so we should always give a filmkaer a chance …coz its same like IPL if sharikch team is not going to win a single match then he could not help ot make him team winning coz he is SRk..but getting irritated will not help..and if you say selction then he did a superb choice so all i am goinh to say this everbody do care a lot but to the limitation of their creative and commercial limits…..SO WHO CAN HELP..CHEERS :-)
@ Deepak- my bad, thanks for pointing out the error- a typical typo thing.
Yes most of the things I’ve addressed in this article are quite tricky & do not really have readymade answers.Thats why even I’m not suggesting any suggestions as such.And towards the end I’ve also mentioned that I’m not against movie making as I feel its one of the most passionate things that one can do.My objective is to only make people be aware of the risk & be a bit more careful espcecially considering the current condition.
“look at movies on the whole”
reminded me of TA. LOL.
Yes. Sethu..we need to be more careful when movies are made…the audience will refrain from watching movies on the theatre because, there are many options available for entertainment nowadays, movies have to compete with IPL, TV Sitcoms, Reality Shows, Pubs, Discotheques, Piracy, Theme Parks and Shopping Malls…which was not there say 5-10 years ago…So, in order to ensure that audience are in the movie theatre..producers should take care that the movie is not only technically good but also entertaining, it is easier to say than done..For Example, Mani Ratnam could have avoided Janaka Raj and VK Ramasamy in ‘Agni Natchathiram’ as they had very little to do with main story line, or Ram Gopal Varma could have asked any actor to play ‘Commissioner Sreenivas’ in “Company”, Mohanlal was not specifically required, Shankar could have done without ‘Remo’ in ‘Anniyan’, he used Remo to put in some fast numbers to woo young audience. Its the packaging and freshness, along with quality that matters..This does not mean that you dont have a strong script, which is a basic necessity, an original script, dealing with a ‘different’ subject (not the miniscule difference that bollywood directors claim of :-) ). So if the core product is good, all the packaging around it will work..but what happens here is that producers and directors do not come forward to pick up different scripts, they at the first step itself reject saying that the subject is too intense, ‘historical does not have market’, ‘political thrillers are not for Indian audience’, ‘documentary anno uddhessham..’ (do you mean to make a documentary?)..such questions are thrown in ensuring that the writer goes back and comes with a script which is invariably a love story..That is why less than 10% of the movies only succeed…this has been happening for the last several decades and we have not woken up…
Sethu: The context is very nicely established by differentiating cinema as Art from the Business. Many of the discussions I have read in PFC confuses between the two different verticals and leads nowhere.
I have limited exposure to regional films (Tamil, Telugu and partially Bangla). I personally feel a strong script combined with good character performances can satisfy most of the urban audiences, but I know that’s a generic statement. ‘Satisfying audiences’ also may not necessarily mean BO hit.
All your points are valid. Additionally Publicity/ Marketing which is a combo of your point #1 & #3 can make a difference , though.
I also think quality of movies may improve if the number of movies made/releases are reduced.
@ Ram- you have put up valid points.The comedy track in Agni Nakshatram or a Remo angle in Anniyan was not ridiculed because the core product was good.But if the core product itself is not good the extra jazz & packaging will fall flat for sure.than paranyadhu sheriya ( what you said is right) when people try to ensure that the script writer “plays it safe” -but what they fail to understand is that this way they are not exactly minimising the risk in any way.
@ uh- yes promotion/marketing is another element but did not mention it here as it goes with the other elements as mentioned by you.Moreover there has been a lot written on it by me & others in PFC. As for success formula- well yes as you said typically a good story with the right set of actors ( not necessarily big stars ) under the right director should ideally do the trick- but then again one can never be sure
It’s all about taking a risk with caution. we need to explore divergent subjects with gripping plots. Many a time looking for a safe subject or time-tested formulas inadvertently lead you to making a flop film; as viewers may have seen it somwhere earlier. Feshness is the key.
i completely get where u are coming from but i would always go out and do what i want to make irrespective of what the situation of the world is; or really get worried about what kind of movies run in theater… for me movies are personal and very intimate… so just roll…
Regards,
Sharath
@ Vineet- Yes freshness is the key, but its a pity that a lot of people end up doing silly stuff using the pretext of trying something fresh.
But those who get it right, do well.
@ Sharath- Thanks for understanding what I’m trying to say, and yes I think you are right in your own way.
sethu…how many films do you make in a year or have made in your life?
@ James-
“At the very outset I would like to make a couple of things very clear – this is not a critique on any particular kind of movie or personality and I’m not a film maker, at least not yet.”
Thats how I’ve started this article, so looks like you haven’t read the article properly my friend.
What are you trying to say?
Are you advising filmmakers to stop taking risks?
You should quit writing here & start a blog of distributors & exhibitors.
Nice article sir, but sir your article has given us the problems which each n every strugler knows and bask ab’t. Why people here are analysing the problem as a film-maker & why don’t they discuss it as a movie goers?? If u will do it this way only then u might get to know, if nothing, then at least the real problem. So let me raise the real problem here:-
1. Why should i watch you movie?? ;) (it’s first question which they ask, so marketing should be strongly influencing, so that they don’t forget that ur movie is releasing ’cause u know every friday 2-3 movie releases ..so how do u think they will rmr a particular movie out of these..so don’t make them film it’s just another film they are going to see)
2. the writer, the writer and the writer: (If a film is flop the first person to be blamed should be a writer..why…because films are never bad..filmmaker never tries to make a worst film..filmmakers just over judge the market of the script…I believe a writer knows very well how much his film has market by the time he has completed the script..n i think he should honestly tell the producers that a film on this wudn’t earn more than this amount…so make the film but within the budget limit only.)
3.Time on which the movie is released:Good films have flopped too the film makers released the films in the wrong time…eg, Gulaal in board exam season.
4.Ticket rates:tickets prices these days are in 100 -300 Rs. Now take this situation, that an ordinary b grade film is released with a holywood film, say, spider man-3. Now to a b-grade we have to pay 300 and to watch the spider man-3 you have to pay 300. Do u think anyone wud even think of paying 300 for a b-grade film. Its much like you are to buy a mobile set, you see that both sony sets and local Chinese sets are being sold at the same price. So this is where problem lies. Rate of the product shud match the standard of the product. If ur product is not of that standard then cut it’s price. And honestly, only very very few movies here are made of international standards which you can say are worth the amount. So their is no need of high and equal rates for all of them. If multiplexes will follow this trend, i.e. selling a low budget project at a cheaper rate, then at least we will be able to see those independent films which are only known in the film festivals.
5. The most important point from the film makers point of view…a film maker just tries to make a film which people must enjoy …but the thing is he is also the part of the audience..now DOES HE REALLY ENJOY THE FILM?? this is the real question, which only & only he can answer. His being honest on this question will only help him make a good film. And its very interesting fact that Aamir Khan has never liked his own work, which he has confessed in many interviews. & that’s why he keeps on doing better & better.
I think i have made myself clear her. If i have been rude then i’m sorry for that.
pfc@ 13- looks like you haven’t read the article properly- given below is what I’ve written in line with what you wanted to say
“All this said & done am I trying to say that film making is to be avoided? That one should not make movies till the recession period is over? Certainly not, but what I’m only saying that one needs to exercise a lot more caution when it comes to making a movie now. Be it in all respects-choice of cast & crew, choice of subject, deciding the budget etc all become quite important. There can be nothing more passionate than making movies and also writing about it like I’m doing here. Hence it’s all the more imperative that we realize the risks associated with film making and try to overcome them rather than ignore them.”
would advise you to first understand the article before shooting off whatever is on your mind.And thanks for your suggestion btw!!!
@ Abhijeet- your way of trying to look @ the situation from the angle of audience is quite good & here are some responses to what you’ve written-
1. Yes marketing is important & I’ve mentioned in
comment # 7 as to why I have not specified it in the article.
2. Well the writer is to be blamed but equally the director is also to be blamed.For it is the director who most likely chooses the story & the writer and not the other way around.
3. Yes timing is important- the example I would give is 4 small movies – Barah Anna,Straight,Firaaq & Aloo Chaat all releasing on the same day.Your example of Gulaal is not very correct- the target audience for the movie are not school kids so nothing wrong if it clashed with the board exams.
4. Regarding pricing of tickets@ multilplexes- yes its an issue which needs to be addressed.
5. Your last point about the director being honest with himself is very valid.
No you have not been rude @ all, I do appreciate your line of thought.
@ Abhijeet
“2. the writer, the writer and the writer: (If a film is flop the first person to be blamed should be a writer..why…because films are never bad..filmmaker never tries to make a worst film..filmmakers just over judge the market of the script…”
My friend, what kind of weirdo arguments are you putting forth here? Have you any idea of how many levels a good script can get murdered at on its way to the screen? Have you any idea about something called the slip between the cup and the lip?
“I believe a writer knows very well how much his film has market by the time he has completed the script..n i think he should honestly tell the producers that a film on this wudn’t earn more than this amount…so make the film but within the budget limit only.)”
Since when did writers become Nostradamus?
Have you any idea about the box office numbers of The Blair Witch Project? El Mariachi? Clerks? The Sixth Sense?
@14:
“why don’t they discuss it as a movie goers??”
Read comment # 5 and 7. Whos POV you think we are discussing here ?
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‘Time on which the movie is released:Good films have flopped too the film makers released the films in the wrong time…eg, Gulaal in board exam season.’
Gulaal was never meant for folks below 18. It has an ‘A’ certification.
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5. The most important point from the film makers point of view…a film maker just tries to make a film which people must enjoy …but the thing is he is also the part of the audience..now DOES HE REALLY ENJOY THE FILM?? this is the real question, which only & only he can answer.
Who is he the film maker? The Director? Producer? Distributor? Scriptwriter ? A ‘Film maker’ is never part of the audience like an ‘author’ is never a ‘reader’ of his book or a ’singer’ is never a ‘listener’ to his/ her songs.
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I think i have made myself clear her. If i have been rude then i’m sorry for that.
- No you have not. You are probably a confused soul who doesn’t think much before writing long silly comments. As you have not seen real rude comments yet,no need to be sorry too.
Kenny,uh- dont bother too much about comment# 14.
either he’s a kid trying to act knowledgeable or else he’s just too confused thats it.
I’ve been generous in my reply for the same reason!!!
@kenny, Sethumadhavan and all: very honestly yes, I’m a kid. My points are silly and yeah kinda filmy!! Spcly when i said “filmmaker must enjoy his films?”. Here, from the filmmaker, i mean the WRITER. Because a film truly belongs to a writer. It’s his creativity which others have to follow to make the film. So if a film is good full credit should be given to the writer and if it’s a flop then writer should also come forward and take the responsibility. From the writers i mean all three script writer, screen-play writer and also dialogue writer. My this point too is really very silly, because what I’m talking ab’t is the respect and credit given to writers. But in our film industry it has never ever happened not even by the people who watch the films?? no one ask who coined the word “chak de” and no one ask who made Amitabh bachchan an angry young man. In fact no body knows whose the writer of the famous and successful films produced so far. We all judge the film by the actors and if more serious then by the directors or producers. My point here is also very silly how can a film promote the writer when they are not gonna be seen in the whole film. But i believed why not promote the writer why everyone ask,”hero kaun hain? heroine kaun hain?” why nobody ask, “WRITER kaun hain?”. May be i’m confused n the way i perceive the art of film making is different from the way this industry follow. May be i’m confused and u’ll defintly scold me again to change my opinion. But sir if given an opportunity to make a film i’ll promote the writers not the actors. It’s just because even now we all know Shakespear and not the actors who worked for him.
Also when i said the writer should know the market, then i meant with few films which are my all time fav…. but they are flops. The films like Swadesh, Black and recently Luck By Chance. These three films were simply great but…commercially unsuccessful and being commercially unsuccessful it means no producer would dare to touch the script of that kind. Now what if these film makers would have controlled the budget and made it a commercial success too. Then at least we would have seen more movie like these by now.
May be again i have written a silly comment and if i have then i deserve ur remarks on it. thank you!!
@ Abhijeet- relax yaar, no hard feelings @ all, especially when you have admitted you are a kid.Let me tell you that there are no hard rules when it comes to film making, but yes one needs to respect certain truth’s & work with some principles in mind.Myself and some of the others like Kenny are not against your thoughts on writers to be given more share of voice when it comes to credit or discredit for a movie, its just that we are sharing what we know with you and tell you what’s right/wrong.
Now let me tell you that the whole world knows Salim-Javed the writers played a big role in making Big B known as the angry young man.So you are wrong when you say no one knows who made him the angry young man.Also Black was commercially successful too unlike LBC or Swades, so again you are not completely right over here.Its good to know that you will promote your writer when you make a movie, all the best for that.
we need to be more careful when we write. or may be we shouldn’t write at all. and by we, i mean you.
Sethumadhavan,
For someone who keeps commenting on PFC everyday, your insider knowledge of the actual process( & pain undergone in) of completion of the projects that you mention(in bold) is abysmally low.
In 2) you admit that story+Screenplay are imp and ask why Gulal and Luck By Chance didn’t do well?
About Gulal-did you know that AK had to snip 45 mins to be able to release it? (That’s how bloated the screenplay was)
Have you read AK’s interviews(on Gulal) from the early 2000’s? Do some spade work. You will be astonished. You will think AK was talking about a different film. AK has himself admitted that the film and the priorities of the people attached with the film ‘changed’ over the years.(Where does Jesse Randhawa disappear?)
For AK it was no mean feat that his labour of love got completed/ finally released.
Luck By Chance was made from an unabashedly Feminist point of view. The film ends with Konkona Sen Sharma’s character declaring that she’s beyond caring if Farhan Akhtar came back to her or not. Is that ‘wise’ screenplay writing?
Wouldn’t Zoya AKhtar have gotten more approval from the loyal(non-metro) endorsers of Rajashee films if there was some mindless pati-parmeshwar grovelling in the end? Have you given that a thought? All that bra-burning to what end?
in 3)- you mention Delhi-6. Did you know that Mehra+kamlesh Pandey were running amok in the the gallis of Delhi without the semblance of a completed script? More spade work for you.
Your overall quest for a formula for success is juvenile.Overall, the article is v medicore and smarts from the same lack of sincerity and pseudo intellectualizing that plagues the indian film industry.
In other words, you could become a film maker yourself! congratulations!
@ Ranjeet- Thanks for the detailed comment.
Points 1,2 & 3 have been mentioned by me as different schools of thought on what makes a movie successful.
Yes I’m aware that Gulaal went through all that you mentioned.So are you trying to say
that the final product had a bad story +screenplay?
Regarind LBC I’m surprised you could even make such a comment the way you did.So you think the movie failed due to the ending & that it should have catered to Rajshree Film endorsers?
Man, you seem to be certainly having strange illusions.
Yes I know about what happened with Delhi-6, but where did I mention that it had a great script.I mentioned it in the context of a popular director’s movie.
And about your parting note- sorry you didnt like the post- but I certainly dont think there’s anything in your comment that makes you much more knowledgeable than the rest of us here.