Aamir Khan is Jhingalala for Tata Sky

Khan has been in the news these days, heavily promoting his latest production, Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na, which is also his nephew, Imran Khan’s debut film. Recently, he has started endorsing Samsung and Parle Monaco. He has been the Titan brand ambassador for a while now.

 

Tata Sky is a joint venture between the Tata Group, STAR TV. In this venture TATA owns 80% and STAR TV owns a 20% stake. Tata Sky was incorporated in 2004 but was launched only in 2006. The company uses the Sky brand owned by British Sky Broadcasting.

Tata Sky, has roped in Aamir Khan as its brand ambassador. Bollywood star Aamir Khan has entered into a long-term contract with Tata Sky. Aamir Khan will be used extensively for communicating the benefits of Tata Sky to the Indian consumer. It is definitely a strategic move as the rival dish TV has signed Shah Rukh Khan. Tata Sky would use Khan to take the brand forward. He is not the first brand ambassador for the 21-month old DTH service provider. Hrithik Roshan was used during the Cricket World Cup in 2007 for select campaigns and other film stars like Kiron Kher and Paresh Rawal were also used for some campaigns which basically testimonial ads.

 

Khan will feature in all the Tata Sky ads in print, TV, outdoor and radio with the popular Tata Sky tag line Isko laga dala, to life jhingalala.

 

Rediffusion DY&R is the company’s creative agency.

Hrithik Roshan is Magic for M2-Magic Moments

M2-Magic Moments Vodka, a Radico Khaitan Ltd. brand, has recently launched its seven flavors for Indian market. The flavors are raspberry, ginger, lime, lemon grass, green apple, chocolate and orange.

 

The new brand is targeted at youth. The M2-Magic Moments Vodka has unique packaging which draw consumer attention. The bottles have graphics directly printed on to them, and Radico Khaitan has invested in the latest packaging decoration technology currently being used in Europe.

 

M2-Magic Moments  Vodka promises everything that a person’s life should have – enjoyment, fun, zest and zing. It’s a product which stands for excitement in life.

 

Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan has been signed on as the brand ambassador for M2 – Magic Moments vodka. The energy and stylish modern appeal of Hrithik fits well with the international, young, energetic Magic Moments vodka brand and the experience that it promises its consumers.

 

Emergence of Multiplex in India

In 1979, world’s first multiplex ‘Eaton Center’ in Toronto, Canada was opened for the general public. The Eaton Center has 18-screen movie theater complex. Eaton’s movie centers, which were a craze during the 1980s and 1990s, faded slowly and closed finally in March 2001.

 

In 1997 PVR established, first multiplex in India – PVR Anupam at Saket, New Delhi. The PVR Anupam changed the Indian movie exhibition landscape. Movie exhibition till mid nineties was dominated by Cinema halls – the traditionally single screen halls. Cinema halls witnessed a surge of customers mostly during the festive season and on weekends. The emergence of multiplexes changed the movie exhibition business in India. Today, all eyes in the entertainment industry have turned towards multiplexes, as they generate a larger share of revenue though they accommodate less number of seats per theater.

 

The emergence of new multiplexes has reduced the audience for traditional cinemas, thereby prompting some of them to transform themselves into multiplexes. The multiplex business is not only prompting traditional cinema theater owners to convert their property into multiplex but in recent times has also attracted many international players to venture into the business. No wonder the multiplex business is so lucrative that foreign entertainment giants like Time Warner, South Korean multiplex operator Megabox, and Australia’s Hoyts are in talks with real estate developers such as the DLF group, the Raheja Group and Sobha Developers to set up chains of multiplexes across the country. We should not forget that roughly a dozen Indian players have entered in the business in small or big way.

 

New players are trying to enter this sector and the existing players are busy expanding their horizons. In recent times the multiplex has gone beyond the metros to redefine entertainment in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities like Lucknow, Indore, Nasik, Aurangabad, Kanpur, Amritsar. The good news for most of the movie exhibitors is that at present roughly 70 percent of the total box office collections in the country come from non metros.

 

These multiplex has multiple screen movie theater complex which also offers lifestyle shopping. It offers brand new experience of watching movies. Today multiplex are considered not just a part of the entertainment, it is an opportunity for family outing which include movies, shopping, eating out, gaming parlors, buying books, buying groceries, etc. Most of the multiplexes malls in India have common structure, which I believe is structure of the ideal multiplex. Ideal multiplex malls have a four to five floors with various leisure and recreation options for customers. The top floor has multiplex and rest of the floors offer facilities like shopping, eating out, gaming parlors, book shops, groceries, etc. The structure of the multiplex mall explores the consumer psychology, where customers who come with the intention of watching a movie are made to pass all the floors in the shopping mall. It increases the possibility of their making some impulsive purchases. I don’t know about other but I end up buying something every time I go to watch movies. Moreover, the multiplexes do not allow outside food and beverages into the movie theaters which offer them opportunities to sale of their own products at a premium.

 

The decade old Indian multiplex industry has definitely changed the movie exhibition industry in India. The multiplex industry, in India, is still in an early growth stage, and is way behind the size and scale reached in the developed countries.

Shah Rukh Khan The King of Endorsements

In 1993, Shah Rukh Khan first appeared in three ads for tea brand Brahmaputra. The ads heralded the arrival of Shah Rukh Khan as a brand endorser of some stature. The very next year, he ended up endorsing three more brands – Hero Puch, Cinthol and Mayur Suitings. The series of his hits not only established him as a super star of film industry but also positioned him as a bankable endorser.

In 1996 he was signed by cola giant Pepsi, which can be seen as the turning point of his endorsement career. Shah Rukh Khan since then, has endorsed Bagpiper, Hyundai Santro and i10, Top Ramen noodles, Jeanne Arthes, Clinic All Clear shampoo, Emami-Sona Chandi Chyawanprash, Lux, Omega, Airtel, Nokia, sunfeast, Compaq, Home Trade, Videocon to name a few.
The superstar Shah Rukh Khan has 34 brand endorsement deals for year 2008 which is down from 37 endorsement brand in year 2007. I believe that other celebrity like Hrithik Roshan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan and Akshay kumar have not shown great interest in the endorsement market. In the given scenario it is important to understand what makes him the most popular celebrity brand endorser around?

Shah Rukh Khan has been around for a long time, and has become a bankable name. He is the only one who has proved to be consistent for last fifteen years (since the release of his first movie in 1992). In recent past we have seen that the actors like Hrithik Roshan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan and Akshay kumar are also consistent and bankable name of the Indian film industry but they are not the corporate world darling. In my views corporate world not only look for these two factors there are something more than this. The other important factors are – corporate friendliness, image of celebrity, brand personality of celebrity.

Marketers claim that Shah Rukh Khan’s appeal cuts across age, gender, and class, and blends the characteristics that mirror multiple identities – the ordinary middle class guy who went on to became the King. The king is a traditional and family loving Indian.

The biggest plus about the actor Shah Rukh Khan is that he holds self-made man image. The common Indian man associates with him and aspires to become Shah Rukh Khan. In last few years Akshay kumar has also attained status of self-made man which is challenge to the king. The other plus about Shah Rukh Khan is his image of down-to-earth, approachable person and his ability of straddling the classes and the masses. He is not niche actor like Aamir, and not even a down market actor like Govinda. In this parameter also Akshay kumar has taken a lead. This new image of the Bollywood star Akshay kumar can be a threat to the Shah Rukh Khan’s endorsement kingdom.

The fact that Shah Rukh Khan has been so overexposed by advertising leaves little room for credibility among consumers. I can’t imagine Shah Rukh Khan driving Huandi Santro or i10 but the fact that the Shah Rukh Khan’s fans still associate him with the products is doing wonders for him.

Amitabh Bachchan – The Biggest Celebrity Endorser of All Time

The celebrities are super achievers like Amitabh Bachchan, Sachin Tendulkar, Shah Rukh Khan. The celebrity has a life cycle. Among all Indian celebrities, Amitabh Bachchan is an exception. He is beyond the normal life cycle of a celebrity in terms of endorsements. Amitabh Bachchan is popular with possibly all demographic, psychographic, geographic. He commands respect across the length and breadth of India, cutting across the barriers of age, income, region and language. Today he is not only one of the successful actors but also one of the most successful endorses. Having said this I must talk about the fact that during the first two-and-a-half decades of his acting career when he was called the one-man Hindi film industry never endorsed any product.

Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan (Amitabh Harivansh Srivastav), born on October 11, 1942 in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh is one of the most prominent Indian film actors of Bollywood. Amitabh Bachchan is known for his deep, baritone voice. He before entering the film industry applied for a job with All India Radio for the post of a news announcer, for which he was rejected – probably a destiny’s call. The actor also did Playback Singing for many Indian movies. The actor has also endorsed many brands and is one of the leading celebrity endorsers for Indian corporate world.

Birth of Endorser Amitabh Bachchan
In year 2000 Amitabh Bachchan, anchored Kaun Banega Crorepati (popularly known as KBC ) which positioned him into the league of the most expensive endorsers. The phenomenal success of KBC helped marketers realize that Amitabh Bachchan single-point attention-grabber. He is one Indian celebrity who could not only command attention but also lend his credibility status to the brands. He has been brand ambassador of products across industry and categories including Pepsi, Mirinda, ICICI Bank, Parker Pens, Reid & Taylor, Maruti Versa, Cadbury’s, Nerolac, Hajmola, Navratna tail, Emani Boroplus, Eveready, Dabur, Sahara city Home, D’damas, Binnani.
Amitabh Bachchan, before success of KBC had probably endorsed just one brand in mid nineties which was a corporate branding exercise for BPL. The campaign managed to position BPL as an aspirational Indian brand. After success of KBC he has endorsed brands in product categories as diverse as banking, soft drinks, batteries, paints, chocolates, automobiles, writing instruments, apparel, diet supplements, personal care and real estate.

Challenge for Endorser Amitabh Bachchan
It is believed that if the endorser is associated with many brands, exclusivity can no longer be associated with the celebrity. The audience gets confused when the same celebrity plugs many brands and hence the endorsement value gets eroded. In recent times, Amitabh Bachchan endorsement list has come down but he still endorses brands in double digits. And in my view most of his brands he endorses are doing good. I believe, if it was not Amitabh Bachchan the marketers would have been struggling with the ideas. Marketers can position Amitabh Bachchan as an action hero; an energizing personality; a jovial character; an advisor; a spokesperson; Mr. dependable and not to miss a passionate endorser – there is lot in Amitabh Bachchan which is unexplored. Having said this strongly advocate that marketers needs to use the celebrity power of Amitabh Bachchan judiciously.

Celebrity endorsement – Cricketer’s loss is Bollywood’s gain

Bollywood Rising

The cricket celebrity brand endorsement is declining. The number of brands endorsed by Sachin Tendulkar has dropped from ten to six over a period of five years, Rahul Dravid endorsement list has come down to six from twelve and Sourav Ganguly is endorsing barely has a couple of brands today. The only exceptions among cricket celebrity are MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh, who have grown their endorsements year-on-year. at the same time the film industry has gain importance in recent years. The silver screen celebrities like Shah Rukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Saif Ali Khan, Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar, Sanjay Dutt, Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham are few of the celebrity who has gained prominence in recent years.

Shah Rukh Khan’s endorsements have gone up from 6 to 18 in the same period, Hrithik Roshan’s have increased from 1 to 11 and Saif Ali Khan’s deals have doubled from 4 in 2003 to 8 now. Amitabh Bachchan, who has gone down the power list in the last two years, has managed 10 endorsements deals. Other Bollywood stars like Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar, Sanjay Dutt, Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham have between 3 and 7 deals in their pockets.

Cricketers were the favorites of PepsiCo till last year has signed up movie stars including Deepika Padukone, Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif.

Among women celebrities Kareena Kapoor endorsement count has gone up from two to five, while the number of brands Katrina Kaif, Kajol, Priyanka Chopra and Bipasha Basu endorse has risen from almost nil to about six to seven each. The new celebrity such as Deepika Padukone and Vidya Balan are endorsing three to four brands each. The new celebrities are in demand and they are expected to sign a few more. The best part about the silver screen is that the senior actors like Hema Malini and Juhi Chawla have multiple endorsement deals.

Film insurance in India

In December 1998, after signing the deal for Taal with Mukta Arts Pvt. Ltd, United India Insurance had approached a few London and Tokyo based insurance companies to re-insure the film. The re-insurer refused to re-insure Indian films, citing the complete lack of accountability in film production in India. The re-insure were looking for a commercially viable project, backed by detailed reports regarding the risks involved, the financing of the project and completion schedule etc. However, the issue of financing was found to be the biggest stumbling block for the development of the film insurance industry in India. The hesitance of the foreign insurance companies was completely justified as the Indian film industry was completely unorganized. Those were the days when the distributors, music companies and financiers were the major sources of funds for the film industry. The other prominent source of financing were financiers such as diamond merchants, brokers, builders and other cash rich businessmen, charged very high interest rates, generally in the range of 36-48% per annum. The cheapest source of financing for the film industry was underworld mafia.

The problem ended In December 2000, a Joint Institutional Committee on Financing Entertainment Industry submitted an interim report that laid down certain norms for offering financial assistance to the film industry.

The Cine Mukta Policy
In the history of Indian Film Industry, Mukta Arts Pvt. Ltd produced Taal was the first Hindi film to be insured. United India Insurance drafted the policy from scratch and honored producer-director Subhash Ghai with naming the policy The Cine Mukta Policy. The film insurance can not be standardized it is dynamic. The structure of the film insurance mostly depends on the film. A production house can take part insurance or can also insure entire film.

The insurance premium also depends on various factors. A film where large sets had to be put up, the policy would be heavy on insurance for properties and sets, a film shot in a single room/bungalow etc., insurance on the properties and sets could be completely avoided. A film where the actors performed dangerous stunts, extra insurance had to be taken. The insuring companies do not cover pre and post-production problems, box office results and the loss of profits.

Aishwarya Rai Effect
In June 2000, Aishwarya Rai met with an accident. The accident costed United India Insurance, a sum of only INR 1.6 million but it attracted substantial media coverage as it was the first instance of the Hindi film industry availing the benefits of film insurance. The film insurance was the in thing for the film Industry. United India Insurance, piggyback on the Aishwarya Rai Effect by July 2001, had insured around 8-10 films, for sums varying from INR 25 million to INR 220 million. The insured films included YashRaj Films – Mohabbatein, Aamir Khan Productions – Lagaan, Farhan Akhtar – Dil Chahta Hai, Karan Johar – Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham and Dreamz Unlimited’s – Asoka.

The credit for pioneering the film insurance business in India goes to the producer-director Subhash Ghai. He was the first Indian filmmaker to insure his film Taal. The landmark film Taal was insured for a sum of INR 110 million with United India Insurance in 1998. The move was welcomed by both media and film personalities as opening of a new chapter in the Indian film industry.

Dasavatharam: India’s most ambitious film

The release of Kamal Haasan’s magnum opus Dasavatharam was probably the most awaited event after Rajinikanth’s Sivaji – The Boss. The release is also important as Kamal Haasan has no release since August 2006. Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu, Haasan’s last released in August 2006 was a huge hit.

Dasavatharam is India’s most ambitious film in terms of budget and scrip. The film was released on June 13 2008. Ravichandran decided on the project in 1996. It took a lot of time to get the film together. Almost after twelve years it was released world-wide on June 13, 2008 in the Tamil language, with a simultaneous dubbed version released in Telugu. The film is set to be dubbed into Hindi and released later in the year.

Role

In the movie Haasan appears in ten different roles, breaking the record for an actor’s portrayal of the most different characters. The movie also has Asin in a dual role and Mallika Sherawat, who plays lead role. Kamal Haasan has played ten different roles in Dashavatharam – US President George Bush, Balaraman, a brahmin, a tall Afghan, a Lankan Tamil, an old lady, a doctor, a police officer, a Japanese, and a Daler Mehndi look-alike.

Music

Himesh Reshammiya has composed the film’s soundtrack, and Devi Sri Prasad has given the background score. The soundtrack to Dasavathaaram was released on April 25, 2008, which became the largest audio launch for a film in the world. Prominent film personalities across the world including Jackie Chan, Amitabh Bachchan, Mammooty, Vijay and Madhavan attended the function

Distribution

In the recent past, most big-budget films be it Hindi, or any other regional film, producers have adopted a revenue model where the investments are typically recovered before the release of the film. The producer of the movie, Ravichandran, took the different route and decided to distribute the film himself. He has ensured that the film is released in as many screens as possible. The film overall will have 1,300 prints which will include the Hindi version as well. Tamil Nadu alone had 275 prints with Kerala and Karnataka accounting for 85 and 80 prints respectively. The Telugu version of Dasavatharam had as many as 260 prints. Around 1,100 prints will be released domestically while the rest will go abroad in countries like UK, US, Europe and Singapore.

Revenue
In terms of money that came Ravichandran’s way before the release of the film, it was Rs 2 crore from Sony-BMG for selling the music rights and another Rs 4.5 crore for Kalaignar TV for the satellite rights. That adds up to just Rs 6.5 crore. The Ravichandran has distributed movie himself and is confident that the movie will do business worth Rs. 300 crores.
Reviews

Dasavatharam has been declared as the Blockbuster of the year due to its huge and mega opening worldwide in Indian film history. The film is anticipated to rake in close to Rs. 100 crore as its theatrical revenue at the end of this week, as Chennai theatre owners state that the bookings for the next 10 days are house-full. If compared to Rajnikant’s Sivaji the film grossed over 25 crore in its first one week. Given the current figures, Kamal Hassan is currently one up.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com, www.dasavatharam.info, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Reliance Big Entertainment and Amitabh Bachchan

The $1 billion deal between Reliance Big Entertainment and the production firms of Hollywood
stars Nicolas Cage, Jim Carrey, George Clooney, Tom Hanks and Brad Pitt and film-makers Chris Columbus and Jay Roach to make films was the beginning of the Anil Ambani’s journey towards transforming his company into global filmmaker. It seems the hunger of Anil Ambani is getting bigger by the day.

Reliance Big Entertainment, just after negotiation with Hollywood bigwig Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks where Anil has planned to infuse about $600 million he also convinced the legendary Amitabh Bachchan.

The deal could be worth $200m-$300m (final figure is not yet known) and would include film production, television series, reality shows, internet and mobile content besides live shows. Reliance Big Entertainment will look after managing marketing and the distribution of projects, and the Bachchans – Amitabh, Jaya, Abhishek and Aishwarya would come up with the creative inputs and would be handling the entertainment aspect of the project.

The joint venture will use brand Bachchans in films, production, TV series, internet, reality shows and mobile content. The other directors who have been signed up to direct films for the joint venture are Balakrishnan, Sujoy Ghosh, Rohan Sippy and Dr Chandraprakash Dwivedi. No wonder the deal is in line with Reliance Big Entertainment strategy to tie up with the leading Indian and international creative talent, to build a new-age, future-ready global media and Entertainment Company.

The creative genius – Bachchans and the business genius – Anil will create magic and take entertainment to a different level. The joint venture and our strategy to tie up with Indian and international creative talent will help the company build a new-age global entertainment conglomerate.

Saregama to produce films

The film industry is growing and undoubtedly is the sunrise industry of India. The corporates are venturing into the film industry in various verticals viz. multiplex, film production, film distributions and those who already have presence is expanding their horizon like PVR are venturing into film production, film distribution a migration from film exhibition Reliance Big Entertainment is consolidating its position not only in Bollywood but also in Hollywood.

Latest in the offering is the music distribution company Saregama venturing again into film production. Saregama India Ltd, the entertainment arm of the Rs 13500 crore RPG Group, would invest up to Rs.150 crore in film production and other businesses over the next two years in producing seven movies. RPG has plans to pick up a minority stake in one of the event management companies in India. The event management vertical will help Saregama popularize its movies and the characters in the movies post release.

Saregama India for its film production venture has tied up with Rituparno Ghosh to direct Bengali movies. Apart from theatrical releases the company will also bring out CDs and DVDs of the movies.

Hoping that this is yet another new beginning of the Indian corporates venturing into film industry. The other corporate houses evaluating the option of either venturing or expanding the horizon in industry are Reliance Industries, A V Birla Group, and Tata’s.

Multiplexes: the latest craze

The journey of multiplex which was started in 1997 with inauguration of first multiplex Priya Village Roadshow (PVR) Saket in New Delhi is currently at crossroads roughly a dozen players have entered in the business in small or big way. New players are trying to enter this sector and the existing players are busy expanding their horizons. The multiplex has gone beyond the metros to redefine entertainment in Tier 1 and 2 cities like Lucknow, Indore, Nasik, Aurangabad, Kanpur, Amritsar. The good news is at present roughly 70 percent of the total box office collections in the country come from non metros.
Understanding Multiplex Business
In last few years, strong economic growth, fall in interest rates, increase in real estate price, and increase in consumption levels, are constantly fueling multiplex boom in India. Moreover, multiplex operators are attracting movie enthusiasts, by combining movie viewing with food courts, branded food and apparel outlets and gaming that provided high quality viewing experience.

The multiplexes are often characterized by a good ambience, comfortable seating, air-conditioning, modern infrastructure. The multiplex has various halls with different seating capacities ranging between 200 to 500. This allowed the Multiplex operator to choose a theater depending upon the movie’s potential which help them utilize higher capacity utilization. Multiplex also help utilize show timing based on the screening duration, the number of shows could be maximized. Moreover, depending on the movie’s performance, the exhibitors had the option of moving it to theatres with different seating capacities and show timing. The multiple movie options also offer moviegoers the opportunity to see the movie of their choice.

Multiplexes offer several economic like better occupancy ratio, greater number of shows. They make more revenues in the first week of release by showing movie on more screens and reduces the number of shows with decreasing demand. The other multiplex advantage comes out of sharing facilities such as the basic amenities, F&B and manpower.

The multiplex model was built around a primary anchor – movies, though the revenue flow also happens through several income-generating channels other than box-office collections. The other revenue generation channels are food and beverage, product launch rentals and various other promotions by companies. In the recent past luxury multiplexes have come up with new experiences like partying in the theaters while the movie is running.

Multiplex owners, try and increase their income and reduce the expenses to increase their profitability. On the one hand the primary sources of multiplex income are: Patron’s spending viz. ticket sale, F&B, and parking, Advertisement Income, Management fee and Revenue sharing. On the other hand the prominent components of expenses are: Cost incurred for the working of a multiplex are: Distributor Share, F&B Cost, Lease Rentals, Other Operating costs, and Entertainment Tax. The multiplex owners are working on different business models to increase their reach and profitability. Business models are:

Ownership Model: In the case of fully owned model the multiplex owner buys the land and constructs a multiplex or buys a part of a shopping mall and sets up the multiplex within. In the ownership model, capital cost is high but the multiplex operator benefits from escalating real-estate prices. This model works where lease rentals are very high and capital costs are low as the escalating realty prices could force higher rentals adding to fixed costs.

Leased property model: In Leased property model, an operator invests in only fit-outs and not in the whole property and pays a fixed rent to the mall owner. This model is more prominent in areas where mall development is slow but the property location is ideal for movie exhibition. In the lease model multiplex operator has mostly variable expenses but company shells out more money on rent, thus decrease profitability. Majority of the multiplexes are coming up in leased properties, they can expand at a faster rate with less capital requirement and break even faster.

Theater management model: In this model the multiplex operator provides management services to the third party operator. In this form of business both the parties work on revenues sharing or fixed fees for property management or a combination of both.

The Major Players
Multiplex, in India is witnessing unprecedented growth. A few big corporate house have already entered the business and others are planning to venture in the business through acquire existing players. However, industry experts rule out any consolidation in the industry. They believe market is still in the growth stage and there are enough opportunities for the existing players. In current scenario competition is heating up among the existing players. Adlabs, PVR, IOX, Fun, Fame , DT Cinema, Satyam Cineplexes have chalked out big expansion plans to increase the number of screens in the next few years to get better share of movie revenues.

PVR Limited is the oldest player in the multiplex business in India. Ajjay Bijli, Managing Director of PVR Limited, after bringing the multiplex concept to India, has created the largest multiplex chain in the country. The company currently operates 24 cinemas with 95 screens across 14 cities, and expects to have another 50 multiplexes operational by end of 2008. They are developing five multiplexes in association with Prestige Group at Bangalore, Kochi, Hyderabad and Mangalore.
PVR works across spectrum from PVR Premiere which is designed for the urban elite, with ticket prices ranging from Rs 150-750 to the PVR Talkies which is low-cost multiplex in towns such as Aurangabad and Latur, where tickets are priced at Rs 40. The various multiple formats that straddle across income segments enable them capitalise on increasing footfalls and revenue. What makes PVR special is that it has been profitable right since inception.

INOX (Indian Oxygen) Leisure Ltd was a diversification venture of the INOX Group, a 100% subsidiary of Gujarat Flurochemicals Ltd. INOX has 24 multiplexes with a total of 84 screens in 18 cities – Pune, Vadodara, Kolkata, Mumbai, Goa, Bangalore, Jaipur and others. They have plans to expand into other cities like Chennai, Hyderabad, etc. by the financial year 2008. Inox has one of the highest ticket prices per seat in the country and, yet, has one of the best occupancy rates in the industry. No wonder Inox is the most profitable player in multiplexes business.

Adlabs Films Limited is India’s leading motion picture processing laboratory, set up the country’s first IMAX Dome Theater in Mumbai. Adlabs has 163 screens spread over 61 cities in India besides an international network of 220 screens spread in the East, mid-West and some parts of the United States. They are actively looking at expanding its business in countries like the U.K, Australia Malaysia, Nepal, Mauritius, and Singapore.
Adlabs Cinemas has launched 6D cinema experience at Agra, which is designed to cutting-edge visual and audio effects allowing audience simultaneous experience of sight, smell, sound, touch and motion.

Fame a part of Shringar Group which runs single screens and multiplexes. Fame has 14 properties and 48 screens operational. It plans to take the total screen count to 75 by 2008. They have plans to have presence in 60 sites with 250 screens by financial year 2011.

Fun Multiplex has uniquely positioned their cinema properties as epicenters of new economy suburbs in each city. Fun Multiplex offers the finest entertainment experience provider, enabling superior cinema viewing and real time leisure experiences to its patrons by combining the best in technology, comfort, leisure and hospitality.
Fun Multiplex holds a leading position in the Indian multiplex market. It operates 53 cinema screens in 13 cities and sixteen locations – Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Guwahati, Delhi, Ghaziabad, Lucknow, Agra, Jaipur, Bangalore, Panipat and Gulbarga. The company was planning to construct 35 multiplexes with 140 screens and these were expected to begin operations by the financial year 2008. In addition, the company has planned to acquire additional screens and increase its screen count to 1500 by 2011.

Satyam Cineplexes, another popular chain, is part of the Superior Group. Satyam Cineplexes is planning to infuse around Rs 250 crore to set up 104 multiplexes across the country. The 104 screens planned by Satyam will be in cities like Indore, Ludhiana, Dehradun, Kolkata, Rohtak, among others. Satyam is targeting tier II cities in the country instead of having more screens in the metros. This is mainly because of the high real estate prices in the metros.

CineMax, the Kanakia Group theatre, is one of the largest exhibition theatre chains in India operating 19 multiplexes with 56 screens. CineMax has strong presence in Mumbai and they are planning to expand nationwide rapidly. CineMax offers premium services with recliner seats, massage chairs, any time tickets machines, luxurious and expensive interiors and the best of customer service. CineMax to enhance the customer experience started a call center hub at Mumbai called “Noline” to provide information about screenings at its theaters, enable telebookings, etc.

DT Cinemas, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the DLF Group, operates multiplexes in Delhi, Ludhiana and Jalandhar and Gurgaon. DLF planning to set up another 120 malls in different parts of the country, and DT Cinemas would be the chief attraction in most of these malls. Today DT Cinemas has seven operational multiplexes with 22 screen and they have plans to invest Rs 1,250 crore to open 500 screens in the next 4-5 five years. DT Cinemas has presence in NCR Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Chandigarh and apart from the north Indian cities, DT Cinemas also plans to set up multiplexes in Hyderabad, Chennai, Kochi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Goa and Kolkata.

Apart from the existing multiplex chain the industry veterans like Mukesh Ambani is also venturing in this sector. Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail and Yashraj Films may float a 74:26 JV to set up multiplexes, run entertainment channels and produce content for television channels. The will use the upcoming malls of Reliance Retail nationwide to set up multiplexes. Wave cinemas, yet another multiplex chain promoted by the Chadha group, had multiplexes in Lucknow, Noida and Kaushambi has aggressive expansion plans.

Sustainability
Technology improvements are likely to be at the forefront in driving the growth of the Indian Film Industry into the future. Going Digital would be the mantra for s industry over the next two-three years. It will help multiplex deliver quality content to consumers at a faster pace and at a more economical price. Though multiplex has favorable environment for growth but there are a few negatives working against the growth of the multiplex industry in the country.

Entertainment Tax withdrawal is one of the biggest concerns for the multiplex industry as success of a multiplex business model in terms of financial viability hinges to a great extent on the entertainment tax exemptions being received by them. The other serious concern is risk of timely execution of planned projects. PVR, Fame, INOX, Adlabs in past have faced problem of delay in handover of the completed civic shell by the developer and delays in getting the necessary clearances from the government. The other big concern is movie piracy, which has reduced the theatrical window period. The movie piracy eats film industry revenue by almost 14%. This has encouraged the industry to reduce the theatrical window period and release the film faster on other movie viewing platforms like satellite, DVD. Moreover, Multiplex revenues are seasonal in nature as the production houses prefer to generally release big-budget films during the summer holidays or during the festive season to attract maximum umber of patrons to the cinema halls.

Conclusion

Multiplex, in India, is the new business model for the film exhibition industry. It is transforming movie viewing habits in India. It is set to take over a significant slice of the entertainment market of India. Today multiplexes constitute just 1% of the total number of cinema halls, and 4-5% of the total screens in India. The industry experts believe that it is beginning of the end of single screens in India as the multiplexes with certain advantages such as multi-screen potential, flexibility in operations, scope for other commercial viability will rule movie exhibition business in Indian.

Amitabh Bachchan

Amitabh Bachchan (Amitabh Harivansh Srivastav), born on October 11, 1942 in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh is one of the most prominent Indian film actors of Bollywood. Amitabh Bachchan is known for his deep, baritone voice. He before entering the film industry applied for a job with All India Radio for the post of a news announcer, for which he was rejected – probably a destiny’s call. The actor also did Playback Singing for The Great Gambler, Mr. Natwarlal, Lawaaris, Naseeb, Silsila, Mahaan, Pukar, Sharaabi, Toofan, Jaadugar, Khuda Gawah, Major Saab, Sooryavansham, Aks, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Aankhen, Armaan, Baghban, Dev, Aetbaar, Baabul, Nishabd, Cheeni Kum, Bhoothnath.

Amitabh Bachchan has been a narrator, a playback singer film producer, presenter for numerous programmes, and Television anchor. He was also elected member of the Indian Parliament from 1984 to 1987. The actor Amitabh Bachchan holds the record for the most number of Best Actor nominations at the Filmfare Awards and has won three National Film Awards and twelve Filmfare Awards to date.

Mile stone 1 – Saat Hindustani and Anand

Bachchan made his film debut in 1969 in Saat Hindustani, a film directed by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas. Though the film was not a financial success but Bachchan won his first National Film Award for Best Newcomer. In 1971 was awarded Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for his performance in Anand. In 1973 director Prakash Mehra cast him in the leading role for the film Zanjeer as Inspector Vijay Khanna which established Amitabh as the angry young man of Bollywood. Later Bachchan played the role of Vikram in the film Namak Haraam, a social drama directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and scripted by Biresh Chatterjee addressing themes of friendship. In 1975 he acted in a variety of film genres from the comedy Chupke Chupke, the crime drama Faraar to the romantic drama Mili. However 1975 was the year when he appeared in two landmark films of Hindi cinematic history – Deewar and Sholay.

Mile stone 2 – Sholay and Amar Akbar Anthony

After the phenomenal success of Sholay, Bachchan had consilidated his position in the industry. In between 1976 and 1984 he receive an unprecedented number of Filmfare Best Actor Award Awards and nominations. Sholay cemented Amitabh status as Bollywood’s pre-eminent action hero but he was flexible with roles. He played the romantic lead in Kabhie Kabhie and comic in Amar Akbar Anthony and Chupke Chupke. In 1977 he won the Filmfare Best Actor Award for his performance in Amar Akbar Anthony. 1978 was possibly the most remarkable year of his career and he starred in all four of the highest grossing films of India in that year. In 1979 for the first time, Amitabh was required to use his singing voice for the film Mr. Natwarlal. His performance in the film saw him nominated for both the Filmfare Best Actor Award and the Filmfare Best Male Playback Awards.

Mile stone 3 – Injury during filming Coolie

The fatal injury of 1982 while filming Coolie was the turning point in Amitabh’s film career. Amitabh while shooting for the film had taken the liberty to perform his own stunts. In one of the scene he was required to fall onto a table and then on the ground. However as he jumped towards the table, the corner of the table struck his abdomen. He was operated and remained critically ill in hospital for many months, and at times was close to death. This was the time when world realized Amitabh’s star power.

The film was released in 1983 and partly due to the huge publicity of Amitabh’s accident the film was a great boxoffice success. Amitabh’s illness made him feel weak both mentally and physically and he decided to quit films and venture into politics.

Mile stone 4 – Politics and Retirement

In 1984, Amitabh took a break from acting and briefly entered politics in support of long-time family friend Rajiv Gandhi. He contested Allahabad’s Lok Sabha seat against H. N. Bahuguna, former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and won by highest victory margin in general election history (68.2% of the vote). However, in 1987 he resigned after three years, leaving his term incomplete.

In 1988, Bachchan returned to films after a three year stint in politics and played the title role in Shahenshah, which was a box office success but his subsequent films failed. In 1990 he won his second National Film Award for Agneepath. In 1991 Hum looked like it might reverse this trend, but it did not happened and after the release of Khuda Gawah in 1992, Bachchan went into semi-retirement for five years.

Mile stone 5 – Producer and Actor

Amitabh Bachchan turned producer during his temporary retirement period and setup Amitabh Bachchan Corporation, Ltd. (A.B.C.L.) in 1996 with the vision of becoming a 10 billion rupees premier entertainment company by the year 2000. ABCL’s operations included film production, film distribution, production and marketing of television software, celebrity management, and event management. The first film produced by the company was Tere Mere Sapne which failed to do well at the boxoffice. ABCL produced a few other films viz. Ullasam, Mrityudaata, Major Saab, Aks, Viruddh none of which worked at boxoffice. ABCL was the main sponsor of the 1996 Miss World beauty pageant, Bangalore and lost millions due to the poor management of the event. Bachchan later attempted to revive his acting career and had average success with Bade Miyan Chote Miyan and received positive reviews for Sooryavansham.

Mile Stone 6 – Television career and Return to prominence

In 2000, Amitabh stepped up to host, Kaun Banega Crorepati. The program piggyback on Amitabh’s charisma gained intense success. It strengthened Amitabh and his family financially and morally after the ABCL’s collapse. In 2000, Amitabh regained his prominence when he appeared in Yash Chopra’s box-office super hit, Mohabbatein directed by Aditya Chopra. The films like Ek Rishtaa, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham,Aks, Aankhen, Khakee, Dev, Black, Bunty Aur Babli, Sarkar, Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, Baabul, Eklavya, Nishabd, Cheeni Kum and Shootout at Lokhandwala were few of he film which established him again. As an actor, he continued to exploit a range of characters suiting with his profile, receiving critical acclaim for his performances. His first English language film Rituparno Ghosh’s The Last Lear premiered at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2007 for which he received positive reviews from critics.

Family and Friends

Bachchan is married to Jaya Bhaduri also an actress. They have two children, Shweta Nanda,and Abhishek Bachchan, who is also an actor in Bollywood and is married to Aishwarya Rai. He sees great friends in Anil Ambani and Amar Singh.

Amar Singh helped him during a financial crisis due to the failure of his company ABCL. Anil Ambani’s Reliance Big Entertainment and Amitabh Bachchan got into the deal which could be worth $200m-$300m (final figure is not yet known). The new venture would look after film production, television series, reality shows, internet and mobile content besides live shows.

Plagiarism in Bollywood – Ethics of Bollywood

A few writers and musicians in bollywood have been known for plagiarism. They copy ideas, plot, tunes from sources close at hand from other Indian films or Hollywood or other Western movies. This has lead to constant criticism towards the film industry. The Indian classic like The Burning Train released in 1980 was inspired by Shinkansen Daibakuha; 1988 release Khoon Bhari Maang was inspired by Return to Eden. The movie which made Shahrukh Khan the Hero, Baazigar was inspired by A Kiss Before Dying. There are many more such movies here I present a list of movies produced post 2000 which are inspired by the Hollywood or other Western movies or we can say a list of movies alleged to contain plagiarism:

2000
Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega was inspired by While You Were Sleeping
Dhaai Akshar Prem Ke was inspired by A Walk in the Clouds
Kahin Pyaar Na Ho Jaaye was inspired by The Wedding Singer

2001
Ajnabee was inspired by Consenting Adults
Kyo Kii… Main Jhuth Nahin Bolta was inspired by Liar Liar

2002
Humraaz was inspired by A Perfect Murder
Kaante was inspired by Reservoir Dogs
Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin was I nspired by Analyze This
Chor Machaaye Shor was inspired by Blue Streak
Deewangee was inspired by Primal Fear
Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai was inspired by My Best Friend’s Wedding
Raaz was inspired by What Lies Beneath

2003
Ek Chhoti Si Love Story was inspired by A Short Film About Love
Footpath was inspired by State of Grace
Inteha was inspired by Fear
Jism was inspired by Body Heat
Qayamat was inspired by City Under Threat and The Rock
Saaya was inspired by Dragonfly

2004
Aitraaz was inspired by Disclosure
Hum Tum was inspired by When Harry Met Sally
Mujhse Shaadi Karogi was inspired by Anger Management
Phir Milenge was inspired byPhiladelphia
Paap was inspired by Witness

2005
Black was inspired by The Miracle Worker
Sarkar was inspired by The Godfather
Ek Ajnabee was inspired by Man on Fire
Zeher was inspired by Out of Time
Main Aisa Hi Hoon was inspired by I am Sam
Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya? was inspired by Cactus Flower
Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena was inspired by Confidence
Garam Masala was inspired by Boeing Boeing
Bunty Aur Babli was inspired by Bonnie & Clyde
Chocolate: Deep Dark Secrets was inspired by The Usual Suspects
Deewane Huye Pagal was inspired by There’s Something About Mary

2006
Naksha was inspired by The Rundown
Zinda was inspired by Oldboy
Phir Hera Pheri was inspired by Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
I See You was inspired by Just Like Heaven
Tathastu was inspired by John Q
Malamaal Weekly was inspired by Waking Ned
Aap Ki Khatir was inspired by The Wedding Date
Taxi No. 9211 was inspired by Changing Lanes
The Killer was inspired by Collateral

2007
Awarapan was inspired by A Bittersweet Life
Bheja Fry was inspired by Diner de cons
Naqaab was inspired by Dot the I
Fool n Final was inspired by Snatch
Partner was inspired by Hitch
The Train was inspired by Derailed
Welcome was inspired by Mickey Blue Eyes
Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal was inspired by Green Street

Kamal Haasan

Kamal Haasan is an actor, producer, director, screenwriter, lyricist, playback singer and choreographer has won a total of 172 awards which is more than any other actor in the world living or dead. He was named as “kalaignani” – an idol of art, by M. Karunanidhi for his classical work towards Tamil cinema. The kalaignani was born on November 7, 1954 is the youngest of four children born in to an Iyengar family to Rajalakshmi and Srinivasan.

Early career: 1960s – 1970s

Kamal Haasan began his career as a child artist at age of six. In the 1960s, he made his screen debut with film Kalathur Kannamma, produced by AVM production and directed by by A. Bhimsingh, and won his first National Award for Best Child Artist. He acted as a child actor in five other Tamil films in the subsequent few years.

In 1972, after completing his education, Kamal Haasan returned to films and played supporting roles to more estblished actors. In 1974, Naan Avanillai final establishing him as a lead actor and in the same year he received a regional Filmfare Award for his role in the Malayalam movie Kanyakumari. The next four years, he won six regional Best Actor Filmfare Awards, including four consecutive Best Tamil Actor Awards.

Kamal Haasan in most of his late 1970s films, was usually the hero, with Rajinikanth as the villain. He reached stardom in 1979 with multiple classics and mass blockbusters. A huge factor behind Kamal’s success is his versatility.

Growth career: 1980s – 1990s

In 1981, Kamal Haasan’ acted in 100th film Raja Paarvai, which also marked his debut in film production. The portrayal of a blind session violinist earned him a Filmfare Award. In 1981, he incidentally ventured into direction. This was his first attempt at direction, which came through an unfortunate turn of events with the demise of director T.N. Baalu during the filming of Sankarlal. Kamal Haasan’s next acting role, in Ek Duuje Ke Liye, became his first Hindi-language film. In 1985, his performance in Saagar, won him both the Filmfare Best Actor Award as well as the Best Supporting Actor Award, making him the first actor to win both awards for a single film in the award’s history.

In 1987, Mani Rathnam’ directed him for Nayagan, commonly referred to The Godfather of Tamil cinema. The film helped Kamal Haasan bag a Indian National Award. The film was nominated by India as its entry for the Best Foreign Language Film for the Academy Awards in 1987. in 1990, Kamal Hassan received India’s fourth highest civilian honour, the Padma Shri for his services to Indian cinema.

Unlike the eighties, Kamal Haasan films in the nineties lost sheen and were unsuccessful, barring Thevar Magan, Michael Madhana Kamarajan, and Avvai Shanmugi. The 1990s saw Kamal Haasan breaking out of the romantic hero mould to explore some more gritty, unconventional roles. In 1996, he acted in the police cop story, Kuruthipunal, which met with a strong critical reception. The success in Kuruthipunal, was followed by Indian which helped him bag him third National Film Award for Best Actor. Kamal Haasan’s second attempt at direction came through another unfortunate turn of events when the original director Shantanu Sheroey failed to do a good job while filming Chachi 420 in 1997.

New century – A new beginning

In 2000, Kamal Haasan filmed his second directorial venture, Hey Ram. He also donned roles of the writer, the lyricist, the choreogrpaher and the producer for the movie Hey Ram. The decade also saw his third directorial venture, Virumaandi. In 2006, Kamal Haasan’s long delayed project, Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu became a blockbuster at the box office. Kamal Haasan latest release, Dasavatharam has got positive response of audiences. He is set to direct his fourth directorial venture under the production of Walt Disney Pictures. The film tentatively titled Marmayogi, is believed to be set in the 7th century and feature several leading stars in the lead roles alongside Haasan. The film was announced with a higher budget than Dasavatharam.

Hollywood Inspiration

Kamal Haasan’s remakes are usually inspired by Hollywood originals, but the story and screenplay are customized for Indian Audiences viz. Nayagan was inspired by Godfather, Avvai Shanmugi and Chachi 420 were inspired by Mrs. Doubtfire, Anbe Sivam was inspired by Planes, Trains & Automobiles, Sathi Leelavathi was inspired by She-Devil, and Magalir Mattum was inspired by Nine to Five.

Awards

Kamal Haasan is a three-time winner of the National Film Award for Best Actor for the films Nayagan, Moondram Pirai and Indian. He also won the national award for Best Child Actor for his performance in Kalathur Kannamma. Six of his movies have been sent as India’s official entry to the Oscars. He has won the Filmfare awards 18 times. He was awarded the Padmashri in 1990. He has won a total of 172 awards which is more than any other actor in the world living or dead. He was named as “kalaignani” – an idol of art, by M. Karunanidhi for his classical work towards Tamil cinema. In 2007, he was conferred with “Living Legend” in the film business by FICCI, India.

Source: http://www.chakpak.com, and http://www.imdb.com, http://www.screenindia.com, http://www.apunkachoice.com,

Bollywood

The beginning of journey
July 7 1896, the Lumiere Brothers’ Chinematographe unveiled six soundless short films at Watson Hotel, Esplanade Mansion, Bombay. This was the first rendezvou of celluloid in camera with the Indian audience. It was followed by Harishchandra Bhatvadekar two short films exhibition in 1899. The other vetran film makers of the time were – Hiralal Sen, F.B. Thanawalla, J.F. Madan, Abdullah Esoofally, N.G. Chitre and R.G. Torney. May 18, 1912 the film maker N.G. Chitre and R.G. Torney released a silent feature film Pundalik which was half British in its make.

Dhundiraj Govind Phalke (Dada Saheb Phalke) produced India’s first fully indigenous silent feature film Raja Harishchandra with titles in Hindi and English. The film was realeased on May 3 1913 at the Coronation Cinema, Bombay. The twenties witnessed emergence of many new companies and film makers viz. Dhiren Ganguly, Baburao Painter, Suchet Singh, Chandulal Shah, Ardershir Israni, and V. Santharam.

Bollywood got the voice

The first Indian talkie Alam Ara produced by the Imperial film company and directed by Ardershir Irani. Alam Ara was released on March 14, 1931 at the Majestic Cinema in Bombay. The year 1931 also marked the beginning of the talking ear in Bengali (Jumai Shasthi), Telugu (Bhakta Prahlad) and Tamil (Kalidass). The thirties also witnessed the release of the first talkie films in Marathi (Ayodhiyecha Raja) in 1932, Gujarathi (Narasinh Mehta) in 1932, Kannada (Dhurvkumar) in 1934, Oriya (Sita Bibaha) in 1934, Assamese (Joymati) in 1935, Punjabi (Sheila) in 1935, and Malayalam (Balan) in 1938. in 1937 Ardeshir Irani attempted colour picture Kisan Kanya bur color picture became reality only in sixties.

In the 30’s three major film centres developed which were based in Bombay (Mumbai), Calcutta (Kolkata) and Madras (Chennai). Of these centres, Bombay became the centre of the Hindi-Urdu film, while the other cinemas began to be regarded as local or regional films. The thirties also witnessed emergence of three big banners – Prabhat, Bombay Talkies, and New Theatres. These theaters took the lead in making serious but entertaining films. The studio system thrived in Bombay until the late 40s. The independent producer, identified potential of the star as the critical box-office factor, and began to chase them for their movies. The stars also realized their value and hiked their prices to unheard of levels. The changed trend continued to the present Indian film industry.

The fourties saw the emergence of the ‘playback singing’. With emergence of playback singing music became an important ingredient in Indian cinema. The playback singers like Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle, Muhammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar dominated the Hindi film industry for decades. This was the historic decade for cinematography all over India. Some memorable films were produced during the forties such as Shantharam’s Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani, Mehboob’s Roti, Chetan Anand’s Neecha Nagar, Uday Shanker’s Kalpana, Abbas’s Dharti Ke Lal, Sohrab Modi’s Sikander, Pukar and Prithvi Vallabh, J.B.H. Wadia’s Court Dancer, S.S. Vasan’s Chandralekha, Vijay Bhatt’s Bharat Milap and Ram Rajya, Rajkapoor’s Barsaat and Aag.

Shaheed (1948), Barsaat (1949), Mahal (1949), Andaz (1949), Kismet (1943), Sikander (1941), Pukar (1939), Achut Kanya ( 1936), Devdas (1935), Toofan Mail (1934), Alam Ara (1931).

Golden Age of Bollywood
The fifties was the era of neorealism, which was evident in some distinguished films like Bimal Roy’s Do Bigha Zamin, Devadas and Madhumati, Rajkapoor’s Boot Polish, Shri-420 and Jagte Raho, V. Shantharam’s Do Aankhen Barah Haath and Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje, Mehbood’s Mother India. The importance of 1950s in history of bollywood can’t be ignored. This was the dacade of growth and recognition. The first International Film Festival of India held in early 1952 at Bombay which was followed by the Satyajit Ray’s classic Pather Panchali in 1955. The Pather Panchali bagged the Cannes award for best human document followed by an unprecedented crop of foreign and national awards. The decade also witnessed transition to colour and the consequent preference for escapist entertainment and greater reliance on stars brought about a complete change in the film industry. In 1959, Guru Dutt makes India’s first cinemascope film, Kaagaz Ke Phool. The transition to colour and the consequent preference for escapist entertainment and greater reliance on stars brought about a complete change in the film industry.

The sixties began with a bang with the release of K. Asif’s Mughal-E-Azam which set a record at the box-office. It was followed by notable productions which include romantic musical and melodramas of a better quality. But over all the sixties was a decade of mediocre films made mostly to please the distributors and to some extent, meet the demands of the box office. The 50s and 60s are regarded as the “Golden Age” of Indian cinema, in terms of films, stars, music and lyrics. This era saw the emergence of director/producers such as Raj Kapoor, Guru Dutt, Mehboob Khan, BR Chopra and Bimal Roy; great actors like Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand – the holy trinity; and film musicians like Shanker-Jaikishen, Naushad, S D Burman. During the same time a new group of film makers emerged on the Hindi cinema. Notable amongst them are Basu Chatterji, Rajinder Singh Bedi, Mani Kaul, Kumar Shahani, Avtar Kaul, Basu Bhattacharya, M.S. Sathyu, Shyam Benegal, and Kanthilal Rathod. In Calcutta, following the trend set by Ray, Ghatak and Sen, Tapan Sinha and Tarun Majumdar also made some note worthy films. Among actors Rajesh Khanna becomes new boxoffice god with Aradhana.

Aradhana (1969), Do Raaste (1969), Khamoshi (1969), Padosan (1968), Ram Aur Shyam (1967), An Evening in Paris (1967), Jewel Thief (1967), Farz (1967), Upkar (1967), Teesri Manzil (1966), Mera Saaya (1966), Waqt (1965), Guide (1965), Jab Jab Phool Khile (1965), Sangam (1964), Haqeeqat (1964), Bandini (1963), Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962), Ganga Jamuna (1961), Junglee (1961), Kanoon (1960), Mughal-e-Azam (1960), Sujata (1959), Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), Madhumati (1958), Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958), Pyaasa (1957), Do Aankhen Barah Haath (1957), Mother India (1957), Chori Chori (1956), Jagte Raho (1956), Kabuliwalla (1956), C.I.D. (1956), Devdas (1955, Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje (1955), Shree 420 (1955), Aar Paar (1954), Do Bigha Zameen (1953) Aan (1952), Baazi (1951), Awaara (1951)

Next three Decades
The seventies started with Pakeezah – a cult classic. Indian film industry, during the decade, got sponsorship from government which allowed Indian parallel cinema to gain strenghth. This gifted Indian film industry a few finest actors of all time viz. Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, Om Puri, Naseerudin Shah. The new wave cinema seems to have reached its peak towards the end of the seventies with film makers like Govind Nihalani, Saeed Mirza, Rabindra Dharmaraj, Sai Paranjpe, Muzafar Ali, and Biplab Roy. The decade also saw the rise of India’s greatest superstar, Amitabh Bachchan – the angry young man. The majority of the films of the decade were action oriented with revenge as the dominating theme.

The eighties belong to working-class audiences, mostly to male audiences. The decade saw largely action movie, disco dancing, and rape-revenge movies. The increasing availability of the audiocassette during this decade led to a revival in film music and the return to popularity of the teen romance. The 80s and 90s also belongs to new generation of younger stars – Madhuri Dixit, Juhi Chawla, Aamir Khan, Salman Khan and Shahrukh Khan – who dominated the bollywood.

The emergence of colour television, videocassettes, and penetration of audiocassette in the 1980s changed the landscape of the bollywood. The audience during this decade mostly preferred watching movies at home. The trend changed once again in the ninties, which saw return of threaters, despite popularity of satellite and cable television. The family audience was coaxed back into the cinemas by a policy of video-holdback and the refurbishment of the cinema halls.

A new wave of film makers from South Indian studios began to release dubbed versions of their films. These films were major commercial successes in the north. At the forefront of these was Mani Ratnam’s Bombay. By the end of the 1990s it was clear that the only films which could compete with Hollywood at home and abroad will survive.

The decade saw emergence of the Shah Rukh Khan who revolutionises negative hero in Baazigar and Darr. He once again sets the trend of urbane, feelsmart movies with Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge. The decade also discovered a new teenage heart-throb – Hrithik Roshan.

Sargam (1979), Gol Maal (1979), Don (1978), Trishul (1978), Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (1978), Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978), Dharam Veer (1977), Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin (1977), Amar Akbar Anthony (1977), Shatranj Ke Khiladi (1977), Kabhi Kabhi (1976), Chitchor (1976), Julie (1975), Chupke Chupke (1975), Aandhi (1975), Sholay (1975), Jai Santoshi Maa (1975), Deewaar (1975), Roti Kapda Aur Makaan (1974), Garam Hawa (1973), Yaadon Ki Baraat (1973), Abhimaan (1973), Zanjeer (1973), Bobby (1973), Jugnu (1973), Shor (1972), Seeta Aur Geeta (1972), Pakeezah (1972), Caravan (1972), Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1971), Kati Patang (1971), Anand (1971), Guddi (1971), Mera Gaon Mera Desh (1971), Purab Aur Paschim (1971), Sachaa Jhutha (1970), Mera Naam Joker (1970), Maine Pyar Kiya (1989), Chandni (1989), Parinda (1989), Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988), Salaam Bombay (1988), Mr. India (1987), Naam (1986), Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985), Saagar (1985), Betaab (1983), Hero (1983), Masoom (1983), Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron (1983), Woh Saat Din (1983), Nikaah (1982), Prem Rog (1982), Satte Pe Satta (1982), Arth (1982), Ek Duuje Ke Liye (1981), Kalyug (1980 film) (1981), Kranti (1981), Naseeb (1981), Umrao Jaan (1981), Qurbani (1980), Biwi No.1 (1999), Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), Soldier (1998), Border (1997), Dil To Pagal Hai (1997), Gupt (1997), Pardes (1997), Raja Hindustani (1996), Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996), Rangeela (1995), Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995), Karan Arjun (1995), Coolie No. 1 (1995), Mohra (1994), Hum Aapke Hain Koun (1994), Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke (1993), Aankhen (1993), Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander (1991), Aaj Ka Arjun (1990), Aashiqui (1990), Dil (1990), Ghayal (1990). Taal (1999), Sarfarosh (1999), Dil Se (1998), Hyderabad Blues (1998), Virasat (1997), Maachis (1996), Khamoshi: The Musical (1996), Bombay (1995), 1942 A Love Story (1994), Roja (1992), Prahaar (1991).

The Indian film Industry

The unorganized Indian film industry got industry status in 2001, which helped it grow faster. The growth in this decade is fueled by the more professionally approach in financing, production and other allied activities. It helped the new age film makers produce films like Dil Chahta Hai, Dhoom, Black, Bunty aur Babli, Rang De Basanti. Some of the largest production houses like Adlabs, UTV Movies, Yash Raj Films, Dharma Productions were the producers of these new modern films which touched new heights in terms of quality cinematography, innovative story lines, and technical quality advances. Moreover the hunger for cinema amongst the expatriate Indians encouraged film producers and distributors to produce and distribute films for them. Consequently, there have been a series of films like Mississippi Masala, Salaam Bombay, Monsoon Wedding, and The Guru. Few of these films did very well internationally and helped Indian cinema connect globally. It not only attracted global audiences but also global film makers, distributors, exhibitors.

The current practice of movie making in India viz. contractual relation, industry regulations, piracy and copy right laws is distinctly different from the global norms. In current scenario it becomes important for the Indian film industry to upgrade their regulations matching the global norms.

Race (2008), Jodhaa Akbar (2008), Om Shanti Om(2007), Welcome (2007), Chak De India(2007), Partner (2007), Bhool Bhulaiyaa(2007), Heyy Babyy (2007), Taare Zameen Par (2007), Guru(2007), Life In A… Metro (2007), Gandhi, My Father(2007), Johnny Gaddaar (2007), Eklavya (2007), Dhoom 2(2006), Lage Raho Munna Bhai(2006), Krrish (2006),Fanaa (2006), Rang De Basanti (2006), Don (2006), Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006), Vivah(2006), Dor (2006), Corporate (2006),Omkara (2006), Khosla Ka Ghosla (2006), Bunty Aur Babli(2005), Salaam Namaste (2005), Black (2005), Iqbal (2005), Parineeta(2005), Sarkar (2005), Veer-Zaara(2004), Main Hoon Na(2004), Mujhse Shaadi Karogi(2004), Dhoom(2004), Murder(2004), Yuva(2004), Lakshya(2004), Dev (2004), Swades (2004), Phir Milenge (2004),Koi… Mil Gaya(2003), Kal Ho Naa Ho(2003), Baghban(2003),Munnabhai M.B.B.S. (2003), Andaaz(2003), Pinjar(2003), Devdas(2002), Raaz(2002), Kaante (2002), Aankhen(2002), Saathiya(2002), Company (2002), Gadar(2001), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham(2001), Lagaan(2001), Chandni Bar(2001), Dil Chahta Hai (2001), Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai(2000), Mohabbatein(2000), Mission Kashmir(2000), Kya Kehna(2000), Hera Pheri (2000), Astitva (2000), Fiza(2000),