Box office duds spelling doom for big Bollywood production houses

When the Katrina Kaifstarrer Fitoor tanked earlier this year it came as a big blow to DisneyFor a while now trade circles are buzzing with news of Disney pulling the plug on its Indian arm UTV Motion Pictures At the same time Ekta Kapoorrsquos film production venture Balaji Motion Pictures too has decided to direct its attention to their new digital wing ALT Entertainment and stay focussed on television and the WebThe poor response to Hrithik Roshan and Pooja Hegde in Mohenjo Daro led to Disney allegedly pulling out of UTVTo most industry observers this is a clear sign that the corporate business model has gone kaput Is it a rude shock Many claim to have seen this coming mdash big budgets overpaid stars and inadequate returns over prolonged periods has resulted in skewed balance sheets But for individual producers this could be the new beginningRakesh RoshanBoom bustedFor producer Mukesh Bhatt of Vishesh Films the news has been nothing short of sound of music ldquoOh thank God finallyrdquo he said with childlike glee ldquoWhen the corporates entered the movie business they came with nothing except big money They entirely destroyed the fabric of filmmaking in this country Bollywood was on a high To onlookers like me it was a scene right out of Udta Punjab where everyone was intoxicated by the power of money The love for films was diminishing and movies were becoming a money minting exercise Before MNCs came into the business we donrsquot remember paying stars and their staff such obnoxious sums MNCs created the perception of a booming market but who was making money from it A movie is not a hit till all parties have made profitrdquoMukesh BhattScale is a mythFilm exhibitor Akshaye Rathi however doesnrsquot mirror Mukeshrsquos feelings He laments that the industry has lost monetary support which could lead to films compromising on their scale ldquoWe are losing money banks and that cannot be a good sign for a growing industry The fraternity and its working needs correction and hope this is a trigger for people to introspect Without the MNCs it wonrsquot be remotely possible to make movies on a large scalerdquoMukesh however makes a clever point He says scale doesnrsquot sell content does adding ldquoEven before MNCs came to India we were making Sholay and MughaleAzam SS Rajamouli made Bahubali without help from any MNCrdquoMore than just a cash cowProducerdirector Rakesh Roshan tells us that one of the main reasons for the failure of MNCs is that they were investors mdash no strings attached ldquoSingle producers like me cannot afford to stop at cash inflow We have to know every aspect of filmmaking ndash direction music ability to pick the right talent cinematography and so on The personal touch is necessary Even when the MNCs were coming in I was one of the few people who kept my banner close to me I was never pressurised by them because I didnrsquot feel the need to look around I knew I can manage well by myselfrdquoAkshaye adds ldquoFilmmakers should be more responsible when someone elsersquos money is on the line When a film like Jagga Jasoos is in the making for over three years the studios also want to know if it is worth their moneyrdquoEarn your salaryAkshaye agrees that the return of the solo producer might do the industry some good as they will bring back the ethos and values of the Hindi film industry ldquoThe one thing that needs to change urgently is the high cost of talent Most superstars and big actors are now taking profit shares from films The actors need to be paid visavis the openings they command or the moolah they can earnrdquo he saysCorrective phaseTrade analyst Taran Adarsh calls this phase a lsquocorrectiversquo one ldquoWe hope there will be more inclusive collaborations between solo producers and MNCs The corporates are not going anywhere They will returnrdquo And till then ldquoIt is time for business models to changerdquo quips Emraan HashmiWe agree