There was something very interesting that you said about how producers need to exercise a more strict control over what goes into a film?
I want to make several points about why I feel the movie business is suffering. I think the content is the biggest culprit. Indian cinema is going through a lot of upheavals after Covid. We have seen a lot of changes in football because of OTT. So now we are required to increase the footfall.
How will that happen?
Firstly we want to work on theatres,that will be ticket price, food price and the ambience of the Theatre. Then there is the problem of theatre content going to OTT too quickly. The content that is being given in the South in four weeks to five weeks on OTT ,is being given in eight weeks in Bollywood .We need audiences to get a message from our cinema industry : that a film in the movie theatre won’t be seen on OTT for a long time. Like Aamir Khanji’s Sitaare Zameen Par which won’t be seen on OTT anytime soon. We are losing 50% of our audience to the OTT platforms.
This is where content comes in?
We are not able to give the audience what they want. Look at Aamir Khan’s Sitaare Zameen Par. It shows the audience is willing to go into movie theatres, but the content has to be worth the while for the audience to make that effort to go into theatre.
Do you feel that the producer, you are one of the leading producers in the South, do you feel that the producer needs to be more active, more proactive in the making of a film?
Yes. Definitely Yes. A lot have left the business. If you make ten films and eight films are hits but two are flops, the producer is finished. All the others associated with a film, the stars, the technicians, the marketing team have nothing to lose. It is the producer, me, who has everything to lose.I am the one pays everyone, run after the combination date of the actors.
So what’s the solution?
If a producer sits properly and makes a project viable, controls the wastage.One is the remuneration. Remuneration must be based on demand and supply. Control the star prices,control the release cost. Control the wastage. That is the producer’s responsibility. For example, if a film is being made in Rs. 200 crores, in that situation, the non-theatrical market is also over. How will Rs. 200 crores recover?
So-called superstars are not able to bring in Friday audiences any longer?
Yes. That’s what I am saying. If you say that the theater is not full on Friday, then no star. There is no value for the star now. Content is the star. Content is the value. Content is the star. Content on Friday. For example, Aamirji is there. His Sitaare Zameen Par ib Day 1 is Rs. 8 crores. Day 2 is Rs. 20 crores. Because of the content. Content has connected with the audience. There are not even 3-4 films a year that the audience likes, they like.
Was Game Changer an eye-opener for you?
That was not up to the mark, the opening.
Is that the kind of cinema you would like to avoid making?
No, no, no, I will do all kinds of films. Jo jo bhi star hai, jo bhi director hai, jo mera wave nahi, abhi unke saath nahin(whoever is not on my wave length I won’t work with them). Ramcharan ke saath nahi Hero ke saath mera koi problem nahin. Director ke saath mera wavelength banta hai, wo director se mai kaam karna.
Other producers should understand this?
No sir, they are not understanding the gravity of the situation. I am trying to at least save single theatres in Telugu states. Single screens kam ho gaye na, audience ka kya hota, multiplex mein 500-600 rupees laga ki kaun se dekhega, middle class people, lower middle class. Aaj apna population mein, 6-7% audience is coming to multiplex theatres, apna Indian population Because they can’t afford it, plain and simple. Telugu states mein kya hai, at least for Telangana, I am working in a Telangana state, how will footfalls increase? One more point. YouTube mein, we are giving out false numbers about hits and views. All the thousands and ,millions of views are cancelled in a day. So, producer is just paying money for nothing.
The herd mentality?
Ek producer kare bol toh doosra, doosra kare bol toh teesra. Originality, reality number nahi malum. Content reach nahi ho rahe hain, trailer reach nahi ho rahe hain, gaana reach nahi ho rahe hain. Yes, it couldn’t get anywhere.
Do you see the road ahead as favourable?
Sabko reality mein aana.
