Is Kollywood moving out of only theatrical distribution?

Meher Khanna - Televisionpoint.com | Chennai
The movie business has always been seen as a risky proposition because of a lack of transparency and organisation. Though Bollywood woke up to market realities years ago, the Kollywood industry is only now slowly awakening from its deep slumber.

One of the main disadvantages the South Indian industry faces is its dependence on theatrical distribution. While alternate media such as DVDs, Internet streaming and downloads are popular everywhere, producers down South are yet to understand the value of releasing movies simultaneously on different platforms.

A fear of dominance by other media and revenue loss in cinema halls, forced the Tamil Film Producers' Council to issue a directive to prevent alternate release of big-budget movies for a maximum period of three years. In comparison, it's corresponding body in Andhra Pradesh has imposed a restriction of only a year.

Speaking to Televisionpoint.com, SC Babu, CEO, AVM Productions, says "A theatre run of 100 to 200 days is a story of the past. A hit can be judged in just four or five days. It makes sense to release DVDs and allow downloads within 8 to 16 weeks of a film's release to realise maximum revenue."

The decree was issued keeping residual income in mind. Big-budget films were released after a few years of the actual release in tier III and IV towns and were a minor source of income. However, most producers these days are opting for simultaneous release across all sections of the market to capture maximum revenue in the shortest span of time.

Moreover, pirated DVDs and VCDs erode whatever minor revenue remains. Already film producers have started feeling the pinch. Out of the 50 Tamil films released this year, only six have been marginal hits. This year is yet to see a single blockbuster.

According to L Suresh, vice-president, Film Federation of India, the success rate of films has historically been only about 10 per cent. "Producers were able to recover about 40 per cent of production cost but had to forfeit the rest. However in tough times, like the present year, while the success rate has been the same losses have piled up to about 90 per cent."

Talks are now on to change the dynamics of film making in the South. The Film Federation is conducting a seminar on October 8 to enlighten movie producers on alternate streams of revenue. Movie rental and internet streaming companies have lined up robust plans to acquire rights of new films and classics. But the going is still tough.