Talking Business

A CASE OF TOO MANY PRINTS?
Exhibitors of Hum Saath Saath Hain, who released the film with much anticipation and excitement last week, are anxiously watching the second week’s collections. After the lukewarm opening response it got in the first three days, collections have picked up ever since at quite a few theatres, with the female audience patronising it to a great extent.

But the trade pundits are confused by the cold welcome the film’s got, especially with the record number of prints the Rajshris released in the market. In states like West Bengal, the film is believed to have got a very mixed response, with the film being played at theatres a stone’s throw away from each other. Two such theatres are Jyoti and Hind in Calcutta, apart from the Maneka and Priya.

According to a leading West Bengal distributor, the strategy of flooding the market with prints has totally misfired. Mumbai distributor, Vinay Choksey, says releasing an extraordinary number of prints can work only with action-oriented films. "It is definitely not suited for a family-oriented film," Choksey feels.

Reportedly, the Rajshris have now decided to hold back the additional number of prints they were planning to introduce in the second week, and are even considering withdrawing the film from some theatres, in case the film starts picking up. In fact, the film is believed to be already picking up at some places. In Thane for instance, exhibitor Pradeep Singh is quite enthused with the second week’s response. At Vasai’s KT Vision, one of Singh’s favourite theatres, there has been an overwhelming response to the film in the second week. "I expect the film to continue for the next 20-25 weeks, provided the Rajshris curtail the number of prints," says Singh. In Mumbai, exhibitor DY Pattani has been keeping a guarded silence. The film has been released in three theatres in one area, Shaan, Pinky and Chandan, the last two being controlled by him. Russ Balaporia, who controls Basant Cinema also has no complaints about the film, and admits to being thoroughly satisfied with the response.

So is Rajesh Thadani who is these days stationed at New Era cinema, where the ladies and the family audience are believed to be patronising the film strongly in its second week. According to Rajesh, renovating the theatre hasn’t been futile. "I am getting an excellent feedback for the new look of the theatre," he says.

CAUTION OVERSEAS
The overseas distributors of the film, the Lullas are closely watching the response, what with the kind of price they have paid for the overseas rights, apart from the number of prints released (121 in the overseas territory to be precise). Most overseas distributors are of the opinion that even if the film does excellent business abroad, it is unlikely to recover the price the Lullas have paid.

A section of overseas distributors opine the Lullas have spoiled the market by offering uncalled-for prices. "They are definitely able to source that kind of finance with partners like Bharat Shah, but such prices can be fatal in the long run," said a distributor on condition of anonymity.

The Lullas will also be releasing the Sunny Deol starrer Dillagi, for which they are believed to have paid a price ranging between Rs 3 crore to 4 crore.

Meanwhile, the other overseas distributors prefer to lie low. A recent entrant in the overseas business, Prem Mehtani, who released Hello Brother, has decided not to buy any more films, after the setback he received with it. Reportedly, Mehtani who is believed to have paid more than Rs 3 crore for the film, was disillusioned with the response.

According to Mohan Chhabria, who has been an active buyer in the overseas market, it is better to play safe instead of paying a fortune for a film and losing all of it in one go. "I see no point in getting carried away and paying incredible prices for a film, just to cut off the rest of the competitors in the race," Lulla recently said. Apparently, Lulla was very keen to bag Dillagi earlier, but it was the price that proved to be a major deterrent.

THE POST-DIWALI SPOILS
While on Dillagi, the film is believed to be still unsold for the Bihar and West Bengal territory, and the producers may be left with the only option of releasing it on commission. The price being currently quoted for both territories (estimated at Rs 75 lakh for Bengal and Rs 50 lakh for Bihar) is unacceptable to any distributor, especially now that the film is being released post-Diwali.

The other distributors are eagerly awaiting the film since the two weeks after Diwali are said to be good for business, except that this time it is a Sunny Deol starrer sans action.

In Mumbai, Nester D’Souza of Metro Cinema has already started showing the trailers of the film, both on the video-monitor in the lobby and the screen. According to D’Souza, the trailers have fetched an excellent response. D’Souza also has no regrets that the film could not be released in Diwali, with Taal fetching excellent collections during the Diwali week. "But it would have made a big difference had Dillagi been released for Diwali," he adds.

A MUTED DIWALI
Distributor Ramesh Sippy feels this year’s Diwali was far from bright for the trade. The general recession and inflation have reduced the spending power of the people, which has affected theatrical response to films, he says. Sippy released the Mithun starrer, Maa Kasam, which in normal circumstances wouldn’t have got much of a response, considering Mithun starrers are hardly sought after these days. This time, even the Diwali audience stayed away.

Manisha Deshpande