Kalapi Nagada, the owner of Cinekorn Entertainment talks about his company vision and more...
Cinekorn owner Kalapi Nagada
What is the philosophy of Cinekorn Entertainment?
At Cinekorn we believe in continuously offering a wide, innovative and unique range of content that keeps the audiences on the toes. We believe that thriving on innovative content is the key to a successful distribution house and thus we have forayed on such content. The dubbed market of bringing the south films to the north and the western Hollywood film in dubbed version to the north of the country was the key innovation and the success which complimented the philosophy at Cinekorn.
Could you please describe the diverse range of current activities at Cinekorn?
Cinekorn Entertainment is completely focused on production, distribution and allied media entertainment business. It is our dream as a company to not just look at distribution but also look at the production of quality cinema in Bollywood. Today Cinekorn has an outstanding library of more than 200 South Indian hit films mainly consisting of new releases dubbed in Hindi & other North Indian Languages over 60 + titles in Marathi language and over 100 titles in Hollywood library are the key diverse libraries to offer.
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Since its inception what is the number of films produced distributed and exhibited by Cinekorn?
Since its inception, Cinekorn Entertainment has opened its wings to distribution, production, Digital exploitation, Satellite syndication etc. I am proud to say we are successfully growing in multiple % and have over crossed the ball park numbers of around 200 south dub regional syndication, 60 Marathi, 30 Bollywood, 100 Hollywood, 10 Theatrical Distributions, 2 Produced and 5 successful YouTube channels. The crown jewels of distribution in the year were Padmavat, Tiger Zinda Hai, Satyame Jayate, Race 3 and many more. We are soon expanding the business to other regions like Bhojpuri, Gujrathi & Punjabi satellite syndication. We will be soon announcing production of content for Digital & Theatrical medium.
Apart from production and distribution of films what is the new range of activities at Cinekorn?
Cinekorn has been creating special content for engaging new age platforms with more than 50,000 audio tracks & 30,000 videos for digital platforms as it also focusses on exploring various spheres within the Entertainment industry while catering to an audience of more than 1 million across the globe. Having ventured into exhibition of movies, Cinekorn has acquired 7 screens and plan to acquire more than 50 screens across India by the end of 2019. Cinekorn thus aims to produce, distribute and exhibit movies across all platforms, giving the company a complete 360-degree focus on expanding in the Entertainment industry.
Bollywood filmmakers feel that of recent, the highly hyped Hollywood films have eaten into the Bollywood films box office pie. What is your take on it?
After the digitalization that multiplexes brought about, producers started releasing Hollywood films in India on the same date as the rest of the world. The advent of multiplexes in small towns too has been a game-changer. But there are more recent factors, where Hollywood films are not simply translated into the local language for Indian audiences, but have their dialogues written and voices cast like an entirely new film. A lot of attention has been paid to the localization efforts. Distribution decisions—such as which theatre will play English and Hindi versions and corresponding show timings—are also crucial, especially because more and more people are getting their information on movies online. The language isn’t a barrier now, with content making all the difference. There is more acceptance and people are looking for great content overall. The good part is the overall box-office pie has grown, so while Bollywood’s contribution to it might have reduced because Hollywood has upped its game, Hindi films are also growing at an equal pace. It’s a great time for the Indian entertainment industry where both Hollywood and Bollywood have their own audiences.
Contemporary filmmakers have successfully blended artistic and mainstream commercial cinema and it has definitely paid well in the recent films. How far do you think this healthy trend will continue?
Content is the only key to success etc etc is now a proven fact to us. However, the Contemporary filmmakers have now taken one step ahead by blending artistic & mainstream cinema. We are forgetting one factor of their success, and that would be the platform on which they are released. That plays a crucial role as well. Digital exploitation over Netflix, Amazon, and other OTT platforms is perfect example to see the actual potential of the content exploitation. The digital technology is dominated with no age criteria and will grow limitless. Hence the healthy trend of such diverse content shall only continue to grow endless.
We see some of these short films and web series are mounted on a large scale. How far has the new medium of OTT platforms and originals made a dent on Bollywood films BO collections?
For multilingual magnum opus Movies, theatres still prove to be the platform of display. The visual and audio experience provided by cinema halls continues to be apt for showcasing content which is larger than life and has a multidimensional appeal. However, the limitation on the number of screens in the domestic market has filmmakers resorting to the online medium to aim for a wider release. While many are hopping onto the OTT bandwagon, many consumers still look forward to the theatre going experience, which is very much a group or a family activity for Indians as opposed to the individualistic experience that OTT platforms provide. As content creators, it is essential for an individual or an entity to be in sync with these changes and produce content according to the consumer’s demands and preferences. Observing and adapting content is essential to bifurcate means of entertainment be it films, web series or short films.
What do you feel are the steps required to increase the footfalls and attract audiences to cinema halls?
Audiences want to go to the theatres only to watch a spectacle. It’s a great time to be a producer because all kinds of films are being watched on various platforms. There was a time when people would make a film and it would end up in a can, but that’s not going to happen anymore. The availability of multiple platforms is a game changer in the sense that your film will see the light of day. More venues to watch indie films need to be created. The ticket prices need to be kept low to attract people to the theatres. It’s better for a film to release than for it to not be seen at all.
Finally, what is your analysis of Bollywood films released this year and what is the trend to look out for?
Padmaavat was the first big blockbuster of 2018, there after smaller budget films like Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety, Baaghi 2, Raazi, the most recent Stree & Satyameve Jayate surprisingly were super hits and did great business at the box office. Sanju, as expected, was a blockbuster and even Dhadak though had fresh new faces introduced in Bollywood did extremely well than expected. Many big films plunged inspite of big star cast did not rake in as much collection as expected.
So the trend clearly is, as long as the content is good and entertaining, films irrespective of whether they have a big star cast or no they will be accepted by the audiences and do well at the box office. Also Producers and distributors will be more open in investing small budget films with good & entertaining content which give higher returns. So overall the trend is making small town concept and content films.
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