BOLLYWOOD IN ITSY-BITSY MODE

IIPM set to beat economic slowdown

Small has been beautiful for Bollywood in 2008 and as far as 2009 goes, the jam on Bollywood’s slice is all set to match the flavour

Like India Inc., the slowdown sentiment has bitten tinsel town - a place where suited buited corporate types have become the norm rather than an exception. “2009 is likely to see fewer movies and I think actors will see less but more interesting work,” says filmmaker Pritish Nandy, firing the first salvo.

So will 2009 have more small budget movies? “Yes,” if ex-editor of Screen and Filmfare, Rauf Ahmed is to be believed. Says the veteran, “In 2008, movies with a small or moderate budget worked well. We’ll see more of the same this year.” Movies (with budgets upto Rs.12 crore) like Mithya, Aamir, Welcome to Sajjanpur, Jaane Tu..., A Wednesday, Rock on, Fashion, Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, et al made fabulous moolah at the box office. “Jaane Tu is the biggest example of modest budget films working in 2008 and the trend will continue,” offers Shubhoshekhar Bhattacharjee, CEO, Planman Motion Pictures. Movies like Luck By Chance (from Big Pictures and Excel Entertainment) and Dev D (from UTV’s stable ) will be the first few movies in this genre to test the waters in 2009.

In boom time, the major focus is on top lines and attracting big numbers. But in a slowdown, people start focusing on the bottom line because that’s what helps to keep you going when the going gets tough. The risk in a small budget movie is less since a smaller investment is at stake comparatively. Even if the movie does average business, costs are easily recovered. Plus a greater focus on script at least ensures that the multiplex crowd is attracted. “You know that you don’t have a Shahrukh or Akshay to save you, so you work harder on the script,” argues Imtiaz Ali, the maker of Jab We Met. Producer Vipul Shah adds, “This year, the script will be the barometer of the film, not the star cast.” Sanjay Mehta, arguably the biggest film distributor in Delhi adds another dimension, “Multiplexes need small films as they have multiple screens and multiple shows in a single day. One obviously does not have a big film releasing each of the 52 weeks of the year to keep all shows running.”

But some disagree, arguing that big budget movies like Ghajini (which has broken all industry records, raking in over Rs.200 crore) are the face of Bollywood. They are not wrong. In fact, mega bucks and mega starers like Ghajini and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi continue to conquer every movie-goer inhibition viz. terror attacks or tight pockets. But sample this: at least 15 movies (taking a conservative estimate) were released in 2008 with budgets ranging from Rs.20 crore to Rs.50-60 crore. Only three of them (Ghajini, Rab ne and Singh is King) became a rage at Box Office. Movies like Love Story 2050, Drona, Yuvraj, Tashan, God Tussi Great Ho were disasters. Race and Jodha Akbar did well, but they were nowhere near Ghajini or Rab Ne in terms of collections, leaving just the big three (above) balancing the Bollywood balance sheet for big flicks in 2008.

This is not to say that big budget movies won’t be made in 2009. But since liquidity is a concern, they’ll be made with a lot more caution. Movies with swanky Rs.50 crore budgets will certainly not be the popular choice for film makers; if made, every effort will go into keeping spends under control. Nandy agrees, “The industry has to rethink and get into a viable mode. Everyone needs to behave responsibly and make movies at reasonable costs.” Small indeed promises to be beautiful on 70mm screen this year!

Pallavi Srivastava

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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