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Included in the discussion are Vishal Ramchandani, CEO of Excel Entertainment, Vipul Amritlal Shah of Sunshine Pictures, Jackky Bhagnani of Pooja Films and South Indian filmmaker Dil Raju.
If we talk about his work, he has worked in Don franchise, The Kerala Story and Coolie No. Have made successful films like 1.
Meanwhile, Dil Raju's upcoming films include Akshay Kumar starrer SVC60 and Salman Khan-Nayanthara starrer SVC63.
Have the challenges in making films increased in the current times?
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Vishal Ramchandani, CEO of Excel Entertainment, believes, "This is an exciting time to make films. He says that the perception that OTT platforms have taken away the audience from theaters has been proven wrong to a large extent."
He says, "We have seen that films of different genres, budgets and languages have found audiences in theatres. However, the challenge now is that you have to be more confident in your story and content than ever before, and cannot rely only on pre-sales. After all, if the audience finds a film worth watching, they will definitely come to watch it."
Meanwhile, filmmaker Vipul Amritlal Shah believes, "Making films has always been a difficult task because there is no fixed formula to know what the audience will like, hence one has to constantly search for better stories."
He says, "For us, especially at Sunshine Pictures, this challenge is even bigger because we do not make films of any one genre, but work on new subjects and genres."
Referring to OTT platforms, he says, "With the growth of these platforms, audiences have more options for entertainment than ever before, so now they have to find stories with which the audience can relate."
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Film producer Dil Raju says, "Making a film was never easy but in the present times the challenges are more."
He says, "The budget of films has increased, the audience has many options in the form of OTT and other entertainment mediums. In such a situation, bringing people to theaters for more than two hours has become the biggest challenge. For this, the content of the film should be so strong that it can draw the audience to the theater and keep them engaged till the end."
Actor and producer Jackky Bhagnani says, "The audience's preferences are constantly changing. There is also budget pressure, the cost of marketing has increased significantly."
He says, "The challenge as a producer is not just to make a good film, but also to choose the right story, present it in the right way, keep costs under control and ensure that the film reaches its audience."
What is the basic structure of the business model of a production house?
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On this question, the CEO of Excel Entertainment says, "The main business is based on content creation."
This includes feature films and long web series. He says, "Our target is to make about three feature films and two series every year, so that there is a balance between films and series."
He says, "We are also expanding into new areas. We have launched our own music label, are working on intellectual properties (IP), merchandising and new media opportunities, as well as exploring international collaborations. Our aim is to be a creative company that creates powerful stories and delivers them to audiences around the world. One of our biggest recent successes has been 'Mirzapur: The Movie' Is."
On this question, Vipul Shah says, "He does a lot of preparation and research before starting a film."
He says, "It is very important that we have all the data and plans right. We test various financial models and when we are confident that all the data and models are correct, only then we start making the film."
In the conversation, he further explains, "Making a film is a collective effort. From the spot boy to the producer, director, actor and writer, every person plays an important role and only when the entire team works as a unit, a good film can be made."
Dil Raju explains, "The basic business model of the production company Sri Venkateswara Creations is based on selecting the right story and the right director, strictly controlling the budget, presenting the film in a better way and ensuring its right release. After this, earning is done through theatre, OTT, satellite, music and other rights."
He said, "We have also made films in Tamil and Hindi languages. Although data and spreadsheets help in planning, the final decision is always based on the "soul" of the story, the director's vision and the belief that the audience will connect with it.
Jackky Bhagnani says, "The biggest strength of his production company Pooja Films has always been to identify good stories and bring them on screen. But with time the film business has changed, so now the way of working is also changing."
He says, "Now production houses are more cautious about the budget, they select new projects thoughtfully. He says that now production houses also pay attention to creating new IP (intellectual property)."
Apart from cinema earnings, what are the other sources of income today?
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When we asked this question to Vishal Ramchandani, he said, "Apart from the earnings from cinemas, the main sources of income of films today are digital/OTT streaming rights, satellite TV rights, music rights,"
He explains, "There are also increasing opportunities for merchandising, brand partnerships and commercial exploitation of IP in various ways. Ultimately, the goal is to create IP that can monetize across different platforms, formats and markets."
Whereas Vipul Shah says, "There are many sources of income but they generally keep them in five categories."
He explains that, "Apart from this, there are many other rights, such as rights to broadcast in ships, airlines, cable networks and hotels."
He says, "Nowadays they are usually sold together as a package and their commercial price is much lower than before."
Dil Raju explains that, "Apart from theater and digital/OTT rights, sometimes earning is also earned from dubbing rights in Hindi or other languages."
For big films, theatrical earnings are still considered the most important emotionally and commercially, but these other sources of earnings play an important role in recovering the cost of the film and balancing the overall business.
On this, Jackky Bhagnani says, "The film business is not limited to theater earnings only. Apart from OTT, satellite and other rights, there are also earning opportunities through brand integration, merchandising and incentives related to filming, which depend on the location of the film and the policies there."
What are the big challenges facing the Hindi film industry?
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On this question, Vishal Ramchandani says, "The Hindi film industry is not facing any major problem but is going through a change. The choice of the audience is changing very fast and the business of film making will also have to change in the same way."
He says, "We have to be more disciplined with budget, more ambitious with stories and better understand what makes a film worth watching in theatres."
Vipul Shah says, "Filmmakers need to improve many things. Especially in the ratio of investment and returns."
He says, "The Kerala Story is one of those films that made the most money relative to its cost. Of course, I think Hanuman Ansh (if it surpasses it) can do even better. But before Hanuman Ansh came out, The Kerala Story was actually the number one film in terms of return on investment."
Dil Raju says, "The problems of Hindi film industry are similar to other film industries to some extent."
He says, "As per our understanding, and because we have made some Hindi films in the past like Jersey and Hit, the problems of the Hindi film industry are somewhat similar to other film industries, but here they are more clearly visible."
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He believes that, "With films arriving on OTT too soon, the audience's eagerness to go to theaters reduces. Apart from this, many times the films do not fully live up to the expectations of the family or large audience."
He says, "Now the content should be the real star. If a film does not fill theaters on Fridays, then it is difficult to make the film successful on the basis of star power alone. The preferences of the audience have also changed. They now want such films on which they find it worthwhile to spend their time and money."
On this question, Jackky Bhagnani says, "The biggest challenge facing the Hindi film industry is that we are failing to understand what the audience really wants to see. We have started focusing too much on the scale, star power and promotion of the films, and many times in the process the story gets left behind."
He believes that, "In the present times, the audience has an abundance of great content on different platforms. Therefore, more than ever before, they decide which movie to go to the theater and watch."
He says, "The film industry needs to return to strong stories, originality and emotional connect with the audience. At the same time, it will also have to be more disciplined with budgets."
He says, "The Hindi film industry will have to stop making films just keeping the box office in mind and will have to make films that give the audience a reason to come to the theatres."
What kind of steps should be taken to improve the condition of producers?
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On this, Vishal Ramchandani says, "First of all, filmmakers should get more access to institutional financing, so that they can be more free to take thoughtful creative risks."
He says, "Second, we need to expand the cinema infrastructure in the country on a large scale, especially in areas where there is a shortage of theatres. There is immense potential to increase the number of cinema viewers in India, provided cinemas become more accessible to the people."
He further says in the conversation, "Third, the theater-based business model for producers should be made more sustainable. This also includes rationalizing and controlling the expenses related to the release of films."
Vipul Shah says, "As producers, we have to come together and resolve the issues related to the industry. If there is no collective strength behind big decisions, it will not be a good situation for the industry. Secondly, the OTT release period for films should be extended."
"Secondly, the OTT release window for producers should be increased. It should be at least 16 weeks instead of the current eight weeks. This will be a huge benefit to the film industry. Otherwise, it will be difficult for small and medium budget films to survive in the long run."
Dil Raju says, "It is important to control the budget and shooting days of films; profit-sharing model should be promoted wherever possible. Unnecessary expenditure and wastage of budget has to be strictly controlled, so that even if a film is not a big hit, it remains financially sustainable."
He says, "The maximum focus should be on such stories which can bring the audience to the theatres. Along with this, the films should get a chance to run for a longer time in the theaters before coming on OTT, so that the number of viewers in the theaters can increase."
On this, Jackky Bhagnani says, "Big budget is not always a guarantee of a better film. The scale of a film should be in accordance with its story and potential audience. The story has to be given importance before the star."
He says, "A star can bring the audience to the theaters in the first weekend, but what makes a film successful in the long run is its content and the positive word of mouth about it."
He further explains in the conversation, "Apart from this, it is important to create such a supportive environment in which the entire burden of failure of a film does not fall solely on the producer."
Published by Collective Newsroom for the BBC.
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