Mumbai says ‘no’ to film posters
THE ban on displaying posters in the city by the Brihanmumbai Mahanagar Palika has affected the film trade, which has used thousands of posters to publicise each film before its release. Thanks to the ban, you’re unlikely to see any film posters on street corners, bus stands and walls along the busy roads. The BMC has put up notices in many important places announcing the ban. The ban has not only put many poster pasters out of job but also considerably depleted the business of poster printers. According to trade circles, more than 5,000 posters used to be displayed in Mumbai city and suburbs for every new release.

Hollywood Hangama
FILMS from Hollywood are having a roaring time. All the blockbusters like Dinosaur, Mission Impossible II, Godzilla 2000, Perfect Storm and X-Men have done good business in India not only in their original English versions but also the dubbed versions.

Vinay Choksi, of VIP Pictures, is to release Snip, presented by Bharat Shah. The film is directed by Sunhil Sippy, the grandson of GP Sippy and son of Ajit Sippy. This is for the first time, VIP is releasing an experimental film.

Shringar for art films, too
THE Shroff brothers, Balkrishna and Shyam, of Shringar Films, are the top distributors today not only because they release big budget films like Mission Kashmir but also small budget and artistic films. After Kairee, directed by Amol Palekar, Shringar Films will be releasing Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar on December 1. They are also releasing Shyam Benegal’s Zubeidaa very soon. Incidentally, the Government of Maharashtra has exempted the Ambedkar film from entertainment tax for which it has funded Rs 1.57 crores along with the Government of India’s contribution of Rs 6 crores.

Talking about Shringar Films, the Shroff brothers are 50 per cent partners with Manmohan Shetty in building on the Andheri Link Road a multiplex with five screens which, in all probability, will open next Diwali. The complex is estimated to cost Rs 16 crores.

Raju Chacha due next month
Devgan Enterprises will release Ajay Devgan’s prestigious film, Raju Chacha on December 29. Simultaneously, the distribution office is busy making preparations for the release of Chori Chori Chupke Chupke, also in December.

Exhibitors demand service charge hike
The exhibition trade is facing a crisis. On the one side they have to either pay advance to distributors or run a film on percentage basis. According to them, both are not viable propositions since the run of a film is getting shorter and shorter. There are occasions when the exhibitors have to remove a film after a mere three days’ run when it flops miserably. According to Gunwantrai Desai, the president of the Cinematograph Exhibitors Association, the exhibition trade is on a low key at present as film takings have gone down considerably. Says Desai: "The average occupancy in the cinema houses all over the world has come down from 30 per cent to 40 per cent due to cable piracy of the latest released films and satellite and television channels screening old films round the clock. When the public has choice to see old and new films on the television, why should they go to a theatre to buy tickets? We are also demanding the abolition of entertainment tax so that more people can come to the theatre."

But the benefit will go more to the producers and distributors than the exhibitors. In order to maintain good conditions of theatres with latest equipments and to pay the ever-increasing electricity tariffs and employees’wages, the exhibitors have asked the Government of Maharashtra to increase the service charge from Re 1 to Rs 5 in the case of air-conditioned cinemas and Rs.3 in the case of non-airconditioned theatres. "Otherwise, the theatres will either close down or remain in a dilapidated condition as it is impossible for theatre owners to maintain cinemas," adds Desai.

The Jharkhand tangle
WITH the emergence of the new Jharkhand state, the split in the Bihar film territory is on the cards. When that happens, it will adversely affect the distributors of Bihar who will be left with only Patna as the main centre. Since Jharkhand accounts for a sizeable film business, the sub-distributors from that region will demand separation from the Bihar territory in order to have direct dealings with the producers as was demanded by the Bihar distributors when they were a part of Eastern circuit. The trade buzz is that the separation will help the producers as the Bihar distributors had adopted a high-and-mighty attitude all these years.

MSM Desai

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