With films failing to attract audiences into cinema halls and exhibitors struggling to keep their businesses afloat, the Indian film industry has been facing challenging times. Post  Covid, large chunk of viewers have shifted to OTT platforms exacerbating the challenges of filmmakers struggling to finds content that resonates with film goers.

A panel discussion held on the topic, ‘Decline in the Theatrical Industry and Sparse Cinema Distribution’, at the ongoing WAVES Summit in Mumbai centered around issues like how to bring audiences to watch films in cinema halls in a vast country like India with diverse cultures, languages, food and cuisines and climate zones.

Shibasish Sarkar, group CEO, Reliance Entertainment and president, Producers Guild of India, said the industry need to collectively come together to develop its business model and film makers need to identify their consumers and cater their content for these consumers. He said even though the filmmakers have been trying to make rooted content the biggest challenge is to identify facilities available to create rooted content.

As an example, he said the Andheri area in Mumbai West could have 25 cinema screens but 50 km away, Panvel in Navi Mumbai will only have a single screen.

This, he said, is a cat and mouse situation. “It is not only the responsibility of producers and exhibitors but we have to think of it as an ecosystem and we have to work with support of support of the government's. As producers we have to make content which is connected to the audience and not necessarily star driven always. The story has to appeal to the audiences.”

Sarkar underlined that a business model has to be created to bring cinema close to the audience.

“We have to build a business model with the right ticket pricing. The state government’s gives subsidies and grants to cinema halls to create, recreate and invest in cinema halls. The exhibitors have to create a business model with the help of government.”

“Just like the government provides ST Bus depots spread across the length and breadth of the country it needs to give space to set up cinema halls, provide support or funds to exhibitors or producers. Similarly, the producers too need to build stories to bring audience to cinema halls” said Sarkar as he underlined that that  is the collective responsibility of everyone in the business to gather cohesive tangible support both from within the industry as well as from the government to bring out a business model that also survives.

”The government is not going to do the business for the industry. The industry will only survive on its own business model.”

Secondly, he said we have to accept that fact that there has been a shift of the audience from cinema to OTT. The ecosystem of the industry is playing its role in storytelling.

Speaking on the issue of Piracy, which results in loss of substantial revenue, Sarkar said Piracy is global problem and asked if it was possible to make a business model out of it. He said, since it is part of the ecosystem, it could be converted into a business model as otherwise it is not work. “In a country like India, a low cost revenue model is the ideal way to create a business model.”

Giving an example he said during Covid, when cinema halls were shutting down globally, France started spending on rebuilding its cinema’s. “Such examples across the globe can be brought to the attention of authorities to ensure that the next decade is better for the film industry.”.

He added that Cinema as an industry is over a century old and will continue to stay. The responsibility lies on content creators to generate stories that will excite audiences to keep coming back to theaters

In a different perspective Devang Sampat, MD and CEO, Cinepolis, India observed that that with only 16% occupancy in cinema halls in India we are talking about opening more cinemas. “With 16percent occupancy none of the stakeholders will be happy. The role of distribution comes into play here as distribution is about how we reach out to people and tell them why they should come to watch the film,” he said.   

The discussion also highlighted reinventing the dated distribution system which requires new and ‘clever’ programming.