Hindi Cinema: Special, Enthralling and Weird as Well!
Hindi Cinema: Special, Enthralling and Weird as Well!
No one would know if this is a real incident or a fabricated one. In the eighties, an international competition was held in India. The medals were being given to the winners by a senior accomplished actor. An international player enquired with his Indian counterpart who the chief guest was. The international player was quite surprised that an actor was handing over the medals to the winners. ”That is why you have remained backward,” he made a passing remark.
It does not matter if someone calls us backward looking or forward looking. In our country, film stars and superstars have won immense popularity and they would continue to enjoy it in future as well. It is because in India, we do not look at movies as plain movies. In India, a movie is a celebration. Indians celebrate movies on a regular basis. It does not mean that Indians watch movies all the time. However, Indians tend to do something or the other that is in some way or the other related to movies. They, at times, tend to listen to movie songs. At times, they tend to read about their favourite cine stars and now, whenever they have some free time, watch movies on their smartphones as well.
Movies have been having an increasingly intense influence on the society at large. No one is left with any objections about it at all. It has been more than 100 years since the first movie was made in India and it has been more than 12 years since the business of making films is officially considered an Industry by itself. Over all these years, India has become the largest movie producing nation in the world even surpassing America.
The size of the film going audience has been increasing phenomenally not just in India but outside of India too. Hindi movies being shown outside of India are not only attracting Indian audiences but also non-Indian audiences quite effortlessly as well. Read on to have an insight into the world of Indian movies, movies which are special, enthralling and weird as well…
Special
In the month of May 1913, Dadasaheb Phalke’s “Raja Harishchandra” was released. That is why the year 2012 turned out to be the centenary year of Indian film industry. It would enthral, surprise anyone witnessing the growth and progress of Indian film industry over these 100 years. The business of movie making has become a growing industry in India. Along with Hindi cinema which is known as Bollywood, films made in Tamil, Telegu, Malayalam and Kannada are also thriving and growing as well. There are more than 1000 films being made each year in India. In the year 2012, the total earnings of Indian film industry were in excess of rupees 1120 million.
It has been predicted that the earnings would reach an astronomical figure of 1.93 billion by the end of year 2017. The Indian film industry grew by more than 23% in the year 2012. With every passing year, the percentage increase over the previous year is higher and higher. Hindi movie collections are way beyond 100 crores hovering in the range of 250-300 crores. It has been predicted that Aamir Khan’s spectacular “Dhoom 3” is likely to make in excess of 400 crores at the box office. Salman Khan whose movies which make few hundred crores at the box office, feels that while the Hindi film industry is doing business worth several hundred crores, Aamir khan’s movies making few hundred crores are no brainer.
Indian population is increasing. Along with that the size of the movie audience is increasing at an alarming rate as well. Movie theatres are increasing in numbers. Therefore, movies will keep breaking records in future, says Salman Khan. If one were to pay attention to the business some films in the recent months have done, anyone would believe Salman’s words.
While Hindi movies are doing this stupendous business, Rajanikanth who is regarded as a superhero of not just Tamil films but Indian films per se all over the world is ready to release his much awaited film “Kochhadaiyan” in the month of January. Rajani Sir will easily break all the box office records made by Indian films so far with this one, grapevine is saying that. Overall, the business of film making is prospering beyond comprehension. The growth is so phenomenal that American studios, Warner brothers and Disney have taken initiative to co-produce films in India.
While the box office collections have grown to few hundred crores, the film budgets have grown exponentially as well. The budgets of some big movies now hover in the range of Rs. 80 to 120 crores. While making Hrithik’s “Krissh 3” the budget crossed Rs. 115 crores. Rajanikanth’s “Kocchadaiyan” is expected to be made with a budget in excess of Rs. 100 crores. Such high budget movies also collect a sum to match its budget at the box office. There is an equation that is being set for this in the film industry. Besides that, risk averse low budget films are also being made with a budget of 3.5 to 5 crores.
In the year 1999, the business of Indian films was officially recognized as an Industry. After that the investment in the business of films has grown multi folds. Big companies have set up their production houses. The speed of making films has also increased. Theatres, more so multiplexes have mushroomed in much larger number. While the phenomenon of globalization is taking place in India, the smaller cities are growing at an alarming rate as well. The collection from the second tier cities decides the fate of many films. Therefore, stories set in such second tier cities have gained more popularity in recent times.
While all these changes are taking place, a tussle between single screen theatres and multiplexes has begun. The new cinema theatres are mostly multiplexes. In comparison to that the single screen theatres are becoming obsolete. Of the total number of cinema theatres in India, 87% are multiplexes whereas only 13% are single screen theatres. In the year 2012, a total of 97 single screen theatres closed shutters for business. One can definitely be able to contemplate days to come in future.
Audience from even the tier two cities does not hesitate to buy a ticket worth few hundreds. The ticket rates seem to vary depending on the popularity and demand for a particular movie. Multiplex companies are willing to keep a rate of Rs. 600 per ticket for a movie as popular as “Dhoom 3.” They seem to be confident that the rate of the ticket will not deter the audience from coming to theatres to watch that film.
The progress and the expanse of the film business have begun to benefit the fiscal situation of our country. As a result, more employment opportunities are being made available. Thousand set of hands are needed to make a film. It includes people from spot boys to technicians. While more and more films are being made, the wages are increasing as well. As a result, the tax that the government is earning has also increased.
To be continued…..