Down to earth

We are merely fighting for fair rights on Friday nights,” said Shah Rukh Khan at a press conference over the Hindi film industry-multiplex faceoff. The battle is big enough to bring together two of the industry’s most powerful stars,who are open about not being too hot on each other. Aamir and Shah Rukh Khan,who both own major production companies,jointly appealed for the industry’s cause.

The great chain of being that was the Bollywood producers-distributors-exhibitor system is under great stress. The film industry has blocked all big releases unless they get 50 per cent of multiplex revenues,because,in Shah Rukh Khan’s words,“we need to repair the delivery pipeline”. Of course,Shah Rukh’s silver tongue apart,it is not clear that either lobby is entirely justified. Producers argue that multiplexes must learn to trim their own bloat,but currently,multiplexes run up huge costs on just maintaining their systems,and make the bulk of their money from café sales rather than ticket prices. What’s more,in a 50-50 partnership,the producer gets to coast on the early days of release when the buzz is highest (no matter how the film ultimately performs).

Tensions between the film industry and the multiplexes have been building for a while,though they have come to a head in this bleak economic weather,when occupancy levels at movie halls have fallen drastically. The multiplex lobby (now a formidable 65 per cent of the exhibitor network) is consolidating,and entering production and distribution businesses themselves. Another point of contention is the way multiplexes squeeze the life out of a movie with multiple and simultaneous screenings through the day,which producers feel shortens the movie’s shelf life (upon which a lot rides,including TV rights and DVD rights,not to mention the aura of the film’s success). So till this blows over,a movie-starved nation will have to content itself with drama in real life,like the Khans’ chemistry.