All producers
have sold content to OTTs on huge profits,
single screens have lost relevance with the coming of OTTs, opines Ajit
Andhare, Chief Operating Officer of Viacom18 Studios. Seconding this view,
Shariq Patel, Chief Business Officer of Zee Studios, said that since the coming
of this platform, volume of content sold to OTTs has been quite high, that too
on a huge profit, especially during the COVID-19 lockdown. Against this
backdrop, KapilAgarwal, Co-Chairman, CII and Joint Chairman of UFO Moviez
feels, saving single screens is the need of the hour. Film Distributor and
Exhibitor AkshayeRathi agreed. “There is no doubt there is a need for
resurrecting single screens. None of the film exhibitors are earning anything
now.”
These views came up at a virtual ‘In-Conversation’ Session on
‘Future of Cinema in India: Opportunities & Challenges’. The session was
moderated by film producer Siddharth Roy Kapur, who is Managing Director, Roy
Kapur Films and Co-Chairman, CII National Committee on Media &
Entertainment.
‘OTT a comfort zone for Producers’
Speaking about the recent spike in OTT content and viewership,
Andhare explained: “We are witnessing a renaissance in terms of story-telling
on OTT platforms. Proportion of revenue contribution from single screens has
gone down with presence of more OTT content for home consumption. OTT
subscriptions are going through the roof.”
What is it that
drives content producers to OTTs? “Producers and distributors make no loss on
the OTT platform. All those who have sold their content on OTT have made
profits, ranging from 10 to 100%”.
Patel agrees: “Every
film is a success in OTT, an alluring position for producers. There is no race,
or tag of flops.”
‘OTTs cannot match
the aura of the Big Screen’
Film distributor
AkshayeRathi however highlighted the shortcomings of the new digital medium.
“OTTs offer convenience, but not experience. They cannot create the euphoria
that a big screen brings.” He pointed out that there are many people who are
waiting for the restart of multiplexes and big screens. “The culture of cinema
is far too deep-rooted in our country. People are waiting to do out-of-home
consumption. We are one blockbuster away from getting the floodgates open. But
there is no doubt that film theatres need a push, especially in the post-COVID
period.”
How to Save the Single Screen
Film theatres do need
a push, but how? How do we save the single screens, on which a big chunk of the
industry continues to rely on for a living?
KapilAgarwal of UFO
Moviez offers some answers: “Getting content to the theatres on the right
terms, ideally on revenue sharing basis, has to begin. Exhibition industry too
has to take responsibility and become more transparent.”
Agarwal called also
for the right type of content for the right audiences. “Appropriate content is
required to fuel single screens. The real India and a big chunk of the audience
are spread over the more than 2,500 small towns. Therefore, the focus of
producers and content creators should not be only on big-city multiplex
viewers. Content should be designed for the consumption of audience in towns
and villages as well. We need more mass-oriented films.”
There is a lot of
latent potential for the single screens. “Once the reopening happens, we will
still be an under-screened industry”. However, he remarked on a positive note
that this change has already begun. “Content owners have started taking the
plunge to cater to the small-town viewers. There is an urgent need for
resurrecting the existing cinema infrastructure, to address these gaps.”
Bharat vs. India?
The session moderator
Siddhharth Roy Kapur raised the question as to whether content now is tilted
more towards ‘India’ or to ‘Bharat’. Andhare responded: “As creative people,
given the focus on multiplexes and OTTs, we are more excited to make ‘India’
stories rather than ‘Bharat’ stories.”
‘We need all Platforms’
Andhare
added that all platforms must exist. “For this, all stakeholders in the film
industry (including multiplex owners and service providers) need to sit
together, understand each other’s pains and work things out together.”
