Recession-proof Bollywood

Entertainment is not a luxury It is a necessityrdquo says film exhibitor and distributor Akshaye Rathi Rathi Group of Cinemas ldquoAfter slogging hard for a day or a week all of us deserve a break Cinema is the cheapest form of entertainment available in our country Certain cinema halls in the country have tickets priced as low as Rs 20rdquo he says This is perhaps one of the reasons why Bollywood despite being a part of the Indian economy is defying the slowdown While most industries are experiencing a considerable fall in their growth Bollywood is making more movies with each passing year the budgets on films have been increased and the number of films reaching the Rs 100 crore mark has also risenu00a0 Illustration Amit Bandre The volume of revenues that comes from cinema is just one per cent compared to the overall Gross Domestic Product of the nation So while the other sectors agricultural and industrial form a large section of the GDP Bollywood which is a tiny part in the economy will obviously face a less significant impact But at the same time Bollywood impacts Indians emotionally which is the key in keeping it ahead at all times Watching movies is almost a ritual which is second to cricket ldquoBollywood is a great unifying factorrdquo says actorproducerdirector Arbaaz Khan whose films Dabangg 2010 and Dabangg 2 2012 both earned over Rs 100 crores ldquoIn a country of immense diversity of languages culture attire food religions or castes Bollywood brings everyone together and helps them forget all their woesrdquo says Khan Shah Rukh Khan starrer Chennai Express has earned more than Rs 200 croreu00a0 Need for speed Indiarsquos Hindi film industry which completed 100 years this May now churns out 800 to 1000 movies every year The industry was estimated to be worth Rs 1224 billion about 22 billion in 2012 according to the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry In 2014 it is expected to reach Rs 12110 crore It is growing at a rapid pace between seven and 10 per cent every year even in times of economic slowdown ldquoPeople want to be entertained regardless In a sense Irsquod like to believe that our industry is somewhat recessionproof though not entirely While content is supreme a filmrsquos cost is also what makes or breaks itrdquo says Tanuj Garg CEO Balaji Motion Picturesu00a0Ever since Ghajini 2008 became the first film to cross the R100 crore mark many Bollywood films in the last three years have reached the magic figure 3 idiots Dabangg Rowdy Rathore Singham Barfi and more recently Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani Aashiqui 2 and Chennai Express have made sure that money is continuously placed in the Bollywood coffers Post Wanted which resurrected the masala films genre got the single screens back in vogue ldquoWhile the multiplexes may be adding to the revenues of the industry the single screens are where majority of Indians still go todayrdquo says Rathi Even as some states declared Bhaag Milkha Bhaag as tax free it entered the Rs 100 crore club with ease International affairs The emergence of international studios in the country is another factor why Bollywood has become a more stable industry There was a time when builders diamond merchants and other businessmen pumped money into the industry to make films The money earned from these films was then pumped into other businesses Today studios such as Disney UTV Viacom18 Fox International and many others solely work on the principle of making movies releasing them and making more movies ldquoThe money which is earned from films is pumped in back there There is no wastage of resourcesrdquo says Rathi Ajit Andhare COO Viacom18 Motion Pictures says ldquoThere is a development cycle The internal business environment is key As a profitable studio you continue to build a slate of productions and releases for the future and this in turn leads to the progress and growth of the studio and Bollywood at largerdquo he saysu00a0The growth can also be seen in the manner the studios have increased productions in the last three years Disney UTV one of the leading studios of Bollywood this year alone has produced 11 films as opposed to nine in 2012 six in 2011 and eight in 2010 approximate figures since they also produce regional cinema Similarly other studios such as Viacom18 Motion Pictures Fox Studios Eros and Balaji Motion Pictures have 11 four nine and three releases this year Garg states ldquoI am not sure about the increase but there has been no decrease either Leading studios need to maintain a pipeline of products to enjoy trade benefits economies of scale and absorb their huge running costs Raanjhanaarsquos rustic appeal set the cash registers ringing u00a0 Escape from reality When Sooraj Barjatyarsquos Hum Aapke Hain Kaun 1994 released in 500 screens across the country it was considered to be one of the biggest openers in terms of the screens it had acquired Dabangg 2 last year and Chennai Express two weeks back opened in as many as 3500 screens estimating a growth of over 300 per cent in 20 years Similarly the number of screens for the medium budget films have also increased from 600 to 1200 in the last couple of years Vikram Malhotra who has recently launched his venture Abundantia Entertainment feels it is the content that is driving Bollywood ldquoContent is now appealing to all segments of society The lead pair of Shraddha Kapoor and Aditya Roy Kapoor lent a fresh charm to Aashiqui 2 Besides the 12 big tent pole releases every year which drive the big money the other 40 weeks which are pulling in the audience are a parameter of how Bollywood has grown If the movies werenrsquot compelling enough the population wouldnrsquot keep coming back to the theatresrdquo he says Rathi explains that today entertainment does not mean masala films alone ldquoAny film which tells a story entertainingly is appreciated by the audience For instance I recently had Bhaag Milkha Bhaag running to full houses at my cinemas in Nagpur and Raipurrdquo he adds The other instances could be Vicky Donor Kahaani Special 26 and Raanjhanaa which were made on a medium budget and proved to be profitable for its makersu00a0While Bollywood seems to be sitting pretty at the moment the slowdown in the economic system is eventually going to affect Bollywood in some manner or the otheru00a0 Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukonersquos pairing was one of the reasons for the success of Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani Bhushan Kumar head honcho TSeries believes that the initial impact has been seen in the number of foreign shoots that have considerably reduced ldquoWhile film business is not affected as such shooting in foreign locations has become expensive I am shooting two of my movies abroad and my budgets have increased nowrdquo says Kumar But looking at the positive side this also seems to be good news for India since more Indian locations will now be scouted and more business would be provided to local hotels restaurants and so onu00a0Another reason why Bollywood is defying the slowdown is due to the psychological thinking of the consumer ldquoIt is very difficult to compromise on behaviourled activitiesrdquo says Andhare Malhotra states ldquoThe consumption patterns of the people in metros as well as A and B towns are such that they love spending on leisure activities They love going to malls where most of these cinema halls are situated While they may cut down on fuel and eating out they will not cut down on watching movies because it is the best form of recreationrdquo Avinash Sethi a financial consultant and a regular moviewatcher says ldquoIt is easier to cut down on restaurants and clubs but movies are part of us You cannot stop going to a multiplex because onions are being sold at R80 It is the best escape from realityrdquo Small wonder then that Bollywood is even escaping the economic turmoilu00a0 Top 10 Bollywood grossersu00a0in the fastest time 3 idiots Rs 20247 cr 9 days Ek Tha Tiger Rs 19878 cr 5 days Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani R18857 cr 7 days Chennai Express Rs 15670 cr 4 days Dabangg 2 Rs15500 cr 6 days Bodyguard Rs 1s 4886 cr 7 days Dabangg Rs 13888 cr 10 days Rowdy Rathore Rs 13325 cr 11 days Jab Tak Hai Jaan Rs 12085 cr 11 days Ready Rs 11978 cr 14 days 849 movies launched in 2013 so far 5 films in Rs 100 crore club Chennai Express released in 3500 screens Hindi film industry pegged at Rs 12000 crore