INDIAN FILM INDUSTRY

By:

A.USHA

No:215110035

MBA-I Year

Introduction

The Indian Film Industry has been one of the oldest segments of the Indian entertainment industry. The Indian Cinema consists of films produced across India, including the cinematic culture of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Mumbai, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Indian films came to be followed throughout South Asia and the Middle East. As cinema as a medium gained popularity in the country as many as 1,000 films in various languages of India were produced annually. Expatriates in countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States continued to give rise to international audiences for Indian films of various languages especially Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali and Hindi.

1896 was a significant year for Indian entertainment as it witnessed the arrival of cinema in India. While discussing about the history of Indian cinema the first name that springs up is that of the Lumiere Brothers who demonstrated the art of cinema to the subcontinent. Bombay was the first Indian city that screened Cinematography, six short films by the Lumiere Brothers. The success of these films led to the screening of more foreign films, for instance, Vitagraph by James B. Stewart and Moto-Photoscope by Ted Hughes. In other words introduction of cinema in India took place with the aid of the colonisers.

In the 20th century, Indian cinema, along with the American and Chinese film industries, became a global enterprise. Enhanced technology paved the way for upgradation from established cinematic norms of delivering product, radically altering the manner in which content reached the target audience. Indian cinema found markets in over 90 countries where films from India are screened. The country also participated in international film festivals, especially Satyajit Ray (Bengali), Adoor Gopalakrishnan (Malayalam). Indian filmmakers such as Shekhar Kapur, Mira Nair, Deepa Mehta etc. found success overseas. The Indian government extended film delegations to foreign countries such as the United States of America and Japan while the country's Film Producers Guild sent similar missions through Europe.

The Indian diaspora consists of millions of Indians overseas for which films are made available both through mediums such as DVDs and by screening of films in their country of residence wherever commercially feasible. These earnings, accounting for some 12% of the revenue generated by a mainstream film, contribute substantially to the overall revenue of Indian cinema, the net worth of which was found to be 1.3 billion US Dollars in 2000. Music in Indian cinema is another substantial revenue generator, with the music rights alone accounting for 4–5% of the net revenues generated by a film in India.

India is the world's largest producer of films. In 2009, India produced a total of 2961 films on celluloid, that include a staggering figure of 1288 feature films. The provision of 100% foreign direct investment has made the Indian film market attractive for foreign enterprises such as 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures, and Warner Bros. Prominent Indian enterprises such as Zee, UTV, Adlabs and Sun Network's Sun Pictures also participated in producing and

distributing films. Tax incentives to multiplexes have aided the multiplex boom in India. By 2003 as many as 30 film production companies had been listed in the National Stock Exchange of India, making the commercial presence of the medium felt.

Emergence of films in India

Following the screening of the Lumière moving pictures in London (1895) cinema became a sensation across Europe and by July 1896 the Lumière films had been in show in Bombay (now Mumbai). The first short films in India were directed by Hiralal Sen, starting with The Flower of Persia (1898). The first full-length motion picture in India was produced by Dadasaheb Phalke, a scholar on India's languages and culture, who brought together elements from Sanskrit epics to produce his Raja Harishchandra (1913), a silent film in Marathi. (Interestingly, the female roles in the film were played by male actors.) The first Indian chain of cinema theaters was owned by the Calcutta entrepreneur Jamshedji Framji Madan, who oversaw production of 10 films annually and distributed them throughout the Indian subcontinent.

During the early twentieth century cinema as a medium gained popularity across India's population and its many economic sections. Tickets were made affordable to the common man at a low price and for the financially capable additional comforts meant additional admission ticket price. Audiences thronged to cinema halls as this affordable medium of entertainment was available for as low as an anna (4 paisa) in Bombay. The content of Indian commercial cinema was increasingly tailored to appeal to these masses. Young Indian producers began to incorporate elements of India's social life and culture into cinema. Others brought with them ideas from across the world. This was also the time when global audiences and markets became aware of India's film industry.

The First Film Studios in India, Mumbai

In the 1920s the pioneering stage of Indian cinema was over and many talented people entered this field. All sorts of genres were attempted, such as, comedy, historical films, action and social subjects. In a way it provided the foretaste of the shape Indian cinema would take in the future. There was a greater focus to the cinematographic industry and it attained a more satisfactory technical level.The studio dominated the scene until the 1940s and 1950s. One of the legendary ones was the Kohinoor Film Company in Bombay. It was founded in 1918 by Dwarkadas N Sampat, a professional showman of repute. In the same year he made a film, Sati Ansuya. He also made a Gandhian film using the allegorical mythological subject, Bhakta Vidur. The Kohinoor launched the majority of the actors of the silent screens, like the graceful Sulochana (Ruby Myers), Gohar, Zebunissa and Zubeida. From the beginning the influence of Hollywood on the Indian film industry was evident. The characteristics of the first studios, such as, a full team covering all the aspects of filmmaking from acting, technical expertise to distribution resembled that of Hollywood. The employees of these studios at Bombay and Kolhapur were more or less permanent ones.

They were remunerated on a monthly basis. Bu 1921, twenty-one such units existed in India, though initially most of them were quite small.

Indian Cinema Starts Talking

Ardeshir Irani released Alam Ara, the first Indian talking film, on 14 March 1931. Following the inception of 'talkies' in India some film stars were highly sought after and earned comfortable incomes through acting. As sound technology advanced the 1930s saw the rise of music in Indian cinema with musicals such as Indra Sabha and Devi Devyani marking the beginning of song-and-dance in India's films. Studios emerged across major cities such as Chennai, Kolkata, and Mumbai as film making became an established craft by 1935, exemplified by the success of Devdas, which had managed to enthrall audiences nationwide. Bombay Talkies came up in 1934 and Prabhat Studios in Pune had begun production of films meant for the Marathi language audience. Filmmaker R. S. D. Choudhury produced Wrath (1930), banned by the British Raj in India as it depicted actors as Indian leaders, an expression censored during the days of the Indian independence movement.

The Indian Masala film—a slang used for commercial films with song, dance, romance etc.—came up following the second world war. South Indian cinema gained prominence throughout India with the release of S.S. Vasan's Chandralekha. During the 1940s cinema in South India accounted for nearly half of India's cinema halls and cinema came to be viewed as an instrument of cultural revival. The partition of India following its independence divided the nation's assets and a number of studios went to the newly formed Pakistan. The strife of partition would become an enduring subject for film making during the decades that followed.

Following independence the cinema of India was inquired by the S.K. Patil Commission. S.K. Patil, head of the commission, viewed cinema in India as a 'combination of art, industry, and showmanship' while noting its commercial value. Patil further recommended setting up of a Film Finance Corporation under the Ministry of Finance. This advice was later taken up in 1960 and the institution came into being to provide financial support to talented filmmakers throughout India. The Indian government had established a Films Division by 1949 which eventually became one of the largest documentary film producers in the world with an annual production of over 200 short documentaries, each released in 18 languages with 9000 prints for permanent film theatres across the country.

The New Indian Cinema

The New Indian Cinema is more of a movement, which is the mainspring of a renewal of aesthetics and vitality of themes in Indian cinema. It is also the reason that presently the Indian cinema is known to the outside world. However there are exceptions like Satyajit Ray, who was probably the only symbol of the Indian cinema to the outside India till the arrival of the New Cinema.

Some of the leading directors from this movement include Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Shaji, john Abraham from Kerala; Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Goutam Ghose, U. Chakraborty from Bengal; Balu Mahendru and K. Hariharan from Tamil Nadu; B. Bapu, Bongu Narsinga Rao from Andhra Pradesh; MS Sathyu, Girish Karnad, BV Karnath, Girish Kasaravalli from Karnataka and others. The New Cinema sprang from the fact that there was an aesthetic vacuum in the films of 1960s and 70s. The influence of the new cinema was widely felt on the regional films as well. Hence the directors and actors of `new cinema` can be easily sorted out on the basis of regions.

The aspiration of this new wave of filmmakers was to refuse to follow the rules of mainstream cinema and to work outside the commercial structures of Mumbai and other regional cinemas. Their beginnings are situated around 1970s. Their attempts to go beyond the mainstream movies were not completely new. From time to time such attempts have been made by the likes of Guru Dutt, Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen and Ritwik Ghatak. For a long time these three Bengali directors were ignored by the Hindi film industry. But they were probably the main inspiration for the New Indian Cinema directors. A link, for example, has been traced between the works of Ghatak to that of Mani Kaul and Kumar Shahani.

Filmmaking in Marathi, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada as well as Oriya, Assamese and Manipuri were also affected by this new movement. All these led to the emergence of a new breed of directors known as the "auteur" directors all over the country. One might easily say that the New Cinema is a reflection of various objectives. These include the desire to adopt a linear narrative and a perspective, which is largely humanist and realistic in its manner of presentation.

Other factors include a careful psychological portrayal of the characters and basically an anti-establishment view of the social and political systems of the society. Sometimes these films came as a shock with the majority of the Indian audience because of their explicit sexuality, the avoidance of songs and dance unless absolutely necessary and several other exceptions made them unpalatable to the then audience. Such movies were often clubbed under the label of `art films.` the likes of Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Smita Patil, Shabana Azmi, Deepti Naval, Mammooty, Mohanlal and others were associated with art films.

However with time the concept of parallel or art cinema has undergone a major change. In the 21st century there is no demarcation between the arts of commercial films. Even mainstream films avoid songs and dances if the script does not require it. But the primary reason behind the cessation of such a demarcation is the audience`s readiness to accept good films without any discrimination.

Indian Commercial Cinema

From the 1960s onwards when Technicolor became affordable and a regular feature of Indian films, cinema itself had become the primary source of entertainment for the urban masses, whose numbers were daily increasing in leaps and bounds. With changing times television had become an integral part of every household and the cinema halls mushroomed almost

everywhere. To a certain extent, it was also a vehicle for educating and modernizing the customs and practices of these masses which had outright serious social themes. There were huge investments in the film industry and the scenario altered more in the 21st century when the corporate houses started investing in the Indian film industry.

A new trend began in the 1970s when the producers and audience became the decision makers as far as the form and content of escapist films were concerned. But there were directors, producers and actors who wanted to make ‘quality’ films as well. At one point of time Indian cinema got divided into two generations ”the hard-core commercial movies and parallel cinema. This phenomenon, however, is however losing its ground. The difference between the two has been bridged as the audience today is only looking for good films.1970s witnessed the making of some of the biggest films and the rise of the finest stars in Bollywood. During these crucial years, the definitive evolution of Hindi commercial cinema was taking place towards the star system, escapist films, successful formulae and these features were adopted with some variations by all regional commercial cinemas as well. It is in commercial cinema that we see most vividly the `Indianness` of Indian cinema. In terms of the exploration of complex and multifaceted human experiences, depth of psychological motivation and social vision, popular films may be found wanting. However, in terms of popular response and how popular imagination is shaped, they are highly significant. With their unique combination of fantasy, action, song, dance and spectacle, Indian commercial films constitute a distinctively Indian form of mass entertainment. Indian commercial films are basically morality plays, where good triumphs over evil, and the social order, disrupted by the actions of immoral and villainous people, is restored by the power of goodness. Entertainment and moral edification are combined in a way that has direct appeal to the vast masses of moviegoers and the idea of evil is central in Indian commercial filmy discourse.

Indian commercial films are, as already noted, basically melodramas, and the idea of evil plays a central role in melodramas. As many commentators on melodrama have pointed out, the polarization between good and bad, the clash between moral and immoral, the antagonism between what is whole-some and what evil is an inescapably dominant ingredient of melodrama. Melodramas by definition deal with characters who are easily recognizable, often stereotypical, and who incarnate the forces of good and evil. Evil is a vital ingredient because melodramas seek to establish the authority of a moral universe. By vanquishing the villain, and the evil he or she embodies, melodramas seek to reassert the moral authority of a world that for a while threatened to fall prey to the dark forces of evil. When we examine Indian popular films this becomes very clear.

This concept of evil, so central to Indian commercial cinema, has been evolving over the years in response to diverse social, cultural and political forces. This is readily illustrated in three of the most well known commercial films: Kismet (1943), Awaara (1951) and Sholay (1975).

Indian Art Cinema

Indian art movies differ sharply from popular films. They are realistic, often ethnographic, and they seek to capture important aspects of Indian reality. By and large, they avoid glamour and glitz and use cinema as an artistic medium capable of exploring important areas of Indian experience. They are usually low budget and are shown at international film festivals. The Indian art movies, understandably, do not attract the huge audiences that the popular films do. Often many regional films made, which do not receive pan-Indian exposure. In terms of the commitment to serious cinema, to making cinema a significant medium of artistic communication, to eschewing the vulgarities and crudities often associated with Indian popular cinema, artistic filmmakers differ significantly from their counterparts in popular cinema.

When one talks of art movies in India the first name that comes up is Satyajit Ray. This is because he was primarily responsible for fashioning this genre and gaining international recognition for it. His film Pather Panchali, made in 1955, was the first such film. In a poll conducted in 1992 by the magazine Sight and Sound, Pather Panchali was voted one of the ten greatest films of all time. These films offer a striking contrast to Indian popular films. They use understatement effectively, something totally absent in popular films. There is a visual lyricism and a deep humanism that sophisticated cinema lovers the world over find intensely satisfying. Satyajit Ray made a number of significant films in the same moulds that have won international acclaim. His work provides a sense of the preoccupations of artistic cinema and how they differ from popular cinema. Satyajit Ray is generally regarded as India’s greatest filmmaker and, along with Jean Renoir and Vittorio de Sica, he is rated among the great masters of humanist cinema.

A number of highly gifted Indian film directors are associated with the artistic cinema like Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Vijaya Mehta, Buddhaheb Dasgupta, Ritwik Ghatak, Govind Nihalani, Shyam Benegal, Mrinal Sen, Ketan Mehta, Kumar Shahani, Mani Kaul, Aparna Sen, Aravindan, Gautam Ghose, Shaji Karun. All, from their distinctive vantage points, seek to cinematise important areas of Indian reality. Adoor Gopalakrishnan`s film, Rat Trap (1981) has won many prestigious awards and in his film Face to Face (1984), Gopalakrishnan explores the theme of self and modernization, this time taking a different angle. Once again the style of the film follows the neo-realistic tradition.

Genres and styles

Genres of Indian Commercial Cinema There are a number of significant genres associated with Indian commercial cinema, there are a number of significant themes and subjects that find repeated expression. Romantic love, male friendship, motherhood, renunciation, fate, respect for tradition, social injustice are some of the most compelling among them. As with the genres so with the themes - a distinctively culture-specific approach is adopted, giving these Indian commercial films a characteristically Indian outlook. So when examining what is

unique about Indian commercial cinema we need to pay particular attention to questions of theme and genre.

1. Mythological Film Genre Mythological films constitute a very important segment of Indian commercial cinema. They have their roots in the ancient past in that they deal with characters and events taken from the distant past, very often as inscribed in the epics and scriptures. They depict the actions and interactions of gods, demons and superhuman powers. But they are not merely historical, they portray the interface between the past and the present.Apart from the Hindi film industry Telugu films based on mythology were also made in the earlier eras. Sita Kalyanam, Bhisma Pratigna and others were quite popular with the audiences. Debaki Bose`s Seeta was one of the early mythological films in India.

2. Devotional Film Genre One of the best films in this genre is Sant Tukaram (1936) directed by V. Damle and S. Fatehlal, which became the first Indian film to win an award at the Venice film festival. It is about a poet-saint who lived in the seventeenth century and who holds the villagers enthralled by his songs of devotion. His wife is somewhat perturbed by his behaviour, and urges him to become more practical and attend to family matters. Tukaram has also to contend with an envious priest and aspiring saint, Salamalo, who hatches various plots against him. Divine intervention results in the saving of Tukaram and the villagers from various catastrophes. As time passes, great leaders come from long distances to sit at the feet of the poet-saint. He is offered wealth and other material blandishments; he rejects them. When the time comes for Saint Tukaram to leave, a divine vehicle is sent for him and he invites his wife to join him. She says she is quite happy with her home and children and she decides to stay on earth. Through a series of intrigues against the low-caste village poet by the high caste temple performer Salamalo, the story is transformed into a memorable film with devotion at the centre.

3. Genre Of Social Drama This genre figured prominently right from the beginning of Indian commercial cinema. What is distinctive about the social dramas is the way that social issues are treated with a characteristically Indian flavour cinematically. Achut Kanya, made in 1936, is an early exploration of an important social issue that had been highlighted by leaders such as Gandhi and Nehru. The film deals with the love between a Brahmin boy and an untouchable girl. Through this tragic film the filmmakers call attention to the problem of untouchability. Films on similar themes were also made later. Bimal Roy`s Sujata is one film that stands out amongst these. This is also true of recent films in this genre

4. The Romantic Genre Romance and eroticism have always featured strongly in Indian commercial cinema. As with most traditions of cinema in the East and the West, romantic films are extremely popular in India and have been so from the very beginning of Indian cinema. Here again, one sees very clearly the shaping hand of culture. Unlike in Western films, overt sexuality is prohibited in Indian films; so much is conveyed through suggestion, innuendo, coded signs and symbols. Songs and dances play a crucial role; eroticism and sexuality often are being closely linked with

song and dance numbers. In these romantic films, the sentiments expressed and the ways of expression is rooted in traditional culture. Indian film historians observe that in order to understand the true meaning of Indian romantic films we need to reconnect them with tradition. Indian cinema comprises of a long list of films that fall into this genre. Another landmark film that cannot be missed is Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge.

5. Patriotic Film Genre Patriotism is a common emotion that binds India, a multi lingual country. From the very beginning there had been films that were made with national sentiments. Early patriotic films include Kismet, Shaheed, Vigathakumaran, Balan, Kunjali Marakkar, Purab aur Paschim and others. Recent films include Kalapaani, Lagaan, Legend of Bhagat Singh, Swadesh, Lakshya and several other films.

6. Animation in Indian Cinema The trend of animation films has become very popular in India. With corporate sectors ready to invest such films are now being made by the leading production houses in India. Well known stars are also lending their voices for the animation. On the other hand several Hollywood films are being dubbed in Hindi for the audience. Films like Hanuman, Ramayana and others are quite popular with the audience.

7. Action and Thriller Genre The action films came largely into vogue in 1970s and 80s with the rise of the concept of angry young man. Bollywood actors, such as, Dharmendra, Vinod Khanna and of course, Amitabh Bachchan were the popular action icons. Down south it was Rajnikanth who set the trend and Kamal Hassan followed. Sholay, Zanjeer, Shahenshah, Agneepath, Ramana, Don, Run (Tamil), Indian, Company, Satya, Sivaji: the Boss, Billa, Ek Haseena Thi, Dasavatharam, Dhoom, Race, Dus and several others. Some of the popular action stars of all times are Amitabh Bachchan, Rajnikanth, Suresh Gopi, Ajay Devgan, Akshay Kumar, Sunny Deol, Kamal Hassan and the list goes on.

8. Comic Genre In Indian cinema, comedy as a genre took a while to carve a niche. While Hindi cinema in the earlier times typically concentrated on mythology, melodrama and stunts, it was the utter need to laugh in order to relax, paved the way for the comic genre in. Comedy in movies was then merely for comic relief. Comedy genre truly developed in 1930s, when the comic duo of Ghory and Dixit coupled to restore an Indian version of Laurel and Hardy. That was just the beginning and soon, comedies became a staple in Bollywood movies. Bollywood started producing movies with comedy as central theme at regular intervals. Artists like Johny Walker, Mehmood, Tuntun, Mukri, Rabi Ghosh, Santosh Dutta, etc. gradually earned a name for themselves. In the hands of Manmohan Desai the traits of comedy in Hindi films got a shot and his Amar Akbar Anthony became a true representation of an ideal comedy. The 70s witnessed the comedies by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Chatterjee. Comedy is still popular. The comic genre has perhaps gained its fuller shape in the recent times with the Munna Bhai MBBS and its sequel, Lage Raho Munnabhai. For the greater interest to forget the tears, agony, pain and fears comedy in movies is therefore indeed important.

9. Horror Genre The horror films in India are still at the nascent stage. However there are several films that have helped in establishing the horror films as a genre in Indian cinema. Directors like Bimal Roy, Ram Gopal Varma, Priyadarshan and others have successfully explored the horror genre.

Parallel cinema Parallel Cinema, also known as Art Cinema or the Indian New Wave, is a specific movement in Indian cinema, known for its serious content, realism and naturalism, with a keen eye on the social-political climate of the times. This movement is distinct from mainstream Bollywood cinema and began around the same time as the French New Wave and Japanese New Wave. The movement was initially led by Bengali cinema and then gained prominence in the other film industries of India. Some of the films in this movement have garnered commercial success, successfully stradling art and commercial cinema. The most famous Indian "neo-realist" was the Bengali filmmaker Satyajit Ray, Ray's most famous films were The Apu Trilogy, consisting of Pather Panchali (1955), Aparajito (1956) and The World of Apu (1959). The three films won major prizes at the Cannes, Berlin and Venice Film Festivals, and are frequently listed among the greatest films of all time.

As one seeks to identify the distinguishing features of Indian cinema, one needs to keep in mind the main characteristics of its two main branches - the popular and the art movies. Both relate to the Indian reality and consciousness, but in very different ways. The techniques of popular cinema are largely shaped by traditional narrative, whereas those of the artistic cinema are Western in nature, largely neo-realistic. However, in terms of the experiences explored, the artistic films are much closer to Indian reality than the popular films, which are mostly fantasies. Various issues that are central to a deep understanding of contemporary Indian society find expression in artistic cinema.

From the very inception of this genre there was a difference between art and commercial cinema. However with changing times this gap has been bridged. The themes of art movies have witnessed a change. The earlier trends in Indian art movies were more specifically related to the Indian audience while the recent incline is towards a global concept. Quite ideally therefore Indian art cinema has gradually emerged itself as a reflection of the happenings in the society. Today, Art movies in India no longer differ from the mainstream films. The audiences today look out for good films rather than popular or serious films. Hence while a multi-starrer Indian movie bombs at the box office, a film like Aamir is much appreciated by the cine goers. The need for better subjects, the desire to watch something more feasible on screen and the boredom that has set in with the regular candy floss drama are some of the reason for this apparent change in the preferences of the audience. If this trend stays the so called Indian art movies will definitely witness a boom in the near future.

Film Music

Music in Indian cinema is a substantial revenue generator, with the music rights alone accounting for 4–5% of the net revenues generated by a film in India. The major film music companies of India are Saregama, Sony Music etc. Commercially, film music accounts for

48% India's net music sales. A film in India may have many choreographed songs spread throughout its length.

The demands of a multicultural, increasingly globalized Indian audience often led to a mixing of various local and international musical traditions. Local dance and music nevertheless remain a time tested and recurring theme in India and have made their way outside of India's borders with its diaspora. Playback singers such as Lata Mangeshkar drew large crowds with national and international film music stage shows. The end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 21st saw extensive interaction between artists from India and the western world. Artists from Indian diaspora blended the traditions of their heritage to those of their country to give rise rise to popular contemporary music.

Changes Of Audio Visual Medium

By the year 1982 television has become an indispensable commodity of the drawing rooms of an Indian household. Its popularity kept on increasing and with it came the changes in the audio visual medium in India. By1993 Doordarshan, the national channel, diversified in a big way and daily programmes were shown in Hindi, English and sometimes in Urdu. Regional movies were shown on weekends and so where the popular and critically acclaimed Hindi films.

There were further changes in the audiovisual medium when the satellite packages were introduced with the Star TV. This time the Indians could also watch international films and programmes. These modifications were largely responsible for the changes in the Indian audience as well. Along with it came Zee TV, CNN, Sony and others. Every channel has movie sections where films were broadcasted all day long. The audience, now, has the freedom to choose from a variety of films.

The Indian cinema was now challenged to deliver more interesting and innovative themes to lure the audience out of their lairs and make them reach the cinema halls. The popularity of the films also made it possible for the film industry to reach out to more number of people. Apart from television there were VCDs to watch movies. The video cassettes were easily available in the markets. There was now no problem in watching Guru Dutt`s Pyaasa or Raj Kapoor`s Shree 420 as and when desired. Certain serious changes were yet to come. The popularity of television had an impact on children too. They were glued to the cartoon channels and loved the Walt Disney characters. This led to the making of animation films in India as well. It also popularized the animation films that were made elsewhere. The changes in the audio visual medium revolutionized the thought process of the Indians. They no more wanted to be restricted with mythological films, historical sagas or the romantic genres. They were ready to accept more realistic films and were ready for the experimental cinema

Thus a new era was set to begin on the silver screen with anti heroes and heroines, love stories without happy endings and slowly the thin line between art and commercial cinema disappeared

Influences

There have generally been six major influences that have shaped the conventions of Indian popular cinema. The first was the ancient Indian epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana which have exerted a profound influence on the thought and imagination of Indian popular cinema, particularly in its narratives. Examples of this influence include the techniques of a side story, back-story and story within a story. Indian popular films often have plots which branch off into sub-plots; such narrative dispersals can clearly be seen in the 1993 films Khalnayak and Gardish.

The second influence was the impact of ancient Sanskrit drama, with its highly stylized nature and emphasis on spectacle, where music, dance and gesture combined "to create a vibrant artistic unit with dance and mime being central to the dramatic experience." The Rasa method of performance, dating back to ancient Sanskrit drama, is one of the fundamental features that differentiate Indian cinema from that of the Western world. In the Rasa method, empathetic "emotions are conveyed by the performer and thus felt by the audience," in contrast to the Western Stanislavski method where the actor must become "a living, breathing embodiment of a character" rather than "simply conveying emotion." The rasa method of performance is clearly apparent in the performances of popular Hindi film actors like Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan, nationally-acclaimed Hindi films like Rang De Basanti (2006), and internationally-acclaimed Bengali films directed by Satyajit Ray.

The third influence was the traditional folk theatre of India, which became popular from around the 10th century with the decline of Sanskrit theatre. These regional traditions include the Yatra of Bengal, the Ramlila of Uttar Pradesh, and the Terukkuttu of Tamil Nadu.

The fourth influence was Parsi theatre, which "blended realism and fantasy, music and dance, narrative and spectacle, earthy dialogue and ingenuity of stage presentation, integrating them into a dramatic discourse of melodrama. The Parsi plays contained crude humour, melodious songs and music, sensationalism and dazzling stagecraft." All of these influences are clearly evident in the masala film genre that was popularized by Manmohan Desai's films in the 1970s and early 1980s, particularly in Coolie (1983), and to an extent in more recent critically-acclaimed films such as Rang De Basanti.

The fifth influence was Hollywood, where musicals were popular from the 1920s to the 1950s, though Indian filmmakers departed from their Hollywood counterparts in several ways. In addition, "whereas Hollywood filmmakers strove to conceal the constructed nature of their work so that the realistic narrative was wholly dominant, Indian filmmakers made no attempt to conceal the fact that what was shown on the screen was a creation, an illusion, a fiction. However, they demonstrated how this creation intersected with people's day to day lives in complex and interesting ways."

The final influence was Western musical television, particularly MTV, which has had an increasing influence since the 1990s, as can be seen in the pace, camera angles, dance sequences and music of recent Indian films.

Current Affairs

India has the world's biggest movie industry in terms of the number of movies produced 1000 movies annually, mostly in the Hindi language. Tamil, Telegu, Bengali and Malayalam are the languages in which most of the non-Hindi films are made). Today, the technology of film-making in India is perhaps the best among all developing countries though the films themselves remain mostly repetitive in storyline and content. Superior movies, in thematic and creative terms, are made in many developing countries with less sophisticated technologies.

Star System: The financing pattern, centred on distributors, is suspected to have changed since the 1960s when the studio system collapsed and 'freelance' performers emerged. This gave rise to the 'star system' in which actors and actresses ceased to have long-term contractual obligations towards any studio or film production. Rather, they began to operate as freelancers commanding fees in proportion to the box office performance of their recent films. This increased costs of film production since the more successful actors and actresses hogged major proportions of the producers' budget. In the changed system, distributors would pay 50 per cent of the film-making cost leaving it to the producer to get the rest from other sources. 

The 'other' sources are: – conventional moneylenders (who lend at an interest rate of 36-40 per cent annually);– non-conventional but corporate resources,– promissory note system (locally called 'hundi' system): this is the most widely prevalent source, and– underworld money: about 5 per cent of the movies are suspected to be financed by these sources.

Film production thus became a risky business and the relationship with usurious money-lenders strengthened over the years. As at the start of 2001, a reasonable budget film in Hindi could cost US$1.75 million. A low budget Hindi film can be made for even as low as Rs. 15 million. A big budget Hindi movie can cost in excess of US$30 million. The 'bigness' of the budget is attributable mainly to the high fees paid to 'stars', celebrated music directors, high-end technologies and expensive travel costs to shoot in exotic locations worldwide. At the time of writing, it is believed that 'stars' like Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan are paid Rs. 20 million (US$440,000) per film. In contrast, script writers and film editors remain poorly paid.

India has a National Film Development Corporation (NFDC)  which finances some films. A few film makers, who would find it hard to obtain finance from the regular sources, have

been financed by the NFDC. However, NFDC cannot be considered to play a central role in the film industry because it finances too few films which, too, are not of the type that has made the Indian film industry so vibrant. It however goes to the NFDC's credit that, without it, some of India's best film makers wouldn't have got a break in the industry. Another shortcoming with the NFDC is that it funds films only at the production stage while ignoring the just-as-important marketing stage.

Globalization of the Indian film industry

Indian Films have gone beyond the geographical boundaries. They have  come out of the epoch of love and fantasy and learnt to work on experimental plots. The effect of globalization of Indian cinema is applicable not only to the Bollywood, but also to the regional film industries of the country. Many Indian films are not only making more money outside the home market  but also attracting foreign producers and directors to the industry. 

The four Indian movies nominated for an Oscar in the foreign language category were Mother India (1957), Salaam Bombay (1988) and Lagaan (2001),Slumdog Millionaire(2009). Oscar was brought to India by the legendary film maker Satyajit Ray in the category of Life time Achievement Award (1992). Ray's first film, Pather Panchali (1955), won eleven international prizes, including Best Human Document at the Cannes film festival. . In 1982, a biographical film on Gandhi won eight Academy Awards, with director Richard Attenborough and Ben Kingsley as Gandhi. This was an international co production between India and UK. Both the production houses were not of an Indian Origin.

 The globalization of Indian Film Industry began in the late 20th century.  The contact between India and western cinema was established l when  Dadasaheb Phalke inspired the making of  "Raja Harishchandra" after he  watched Life of Christ  at Mehta's American-Indian cinema.  In India least 80 percent  films shown in the late 1920s were American, but today 80 percent of Indian (mainly hindi ) movies are released worldwide.  Bollywood movies include western actors like Rachel Shelley in Lagaan, Giselli Monteiro in Love kaj Kal, Barbari Mori in Kite and Chris Pattern in Rang De Basanti.

The globalization effect on the industry has resulted in western production standards,   usage of English in the script or incorporation of  some element of western-style plots. Bollywood has produced hits like Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge and Kal Ho Naa Ho, both dealing with the overseas Indian culture.

Producers these days fund Indian Filmmakers like  Gurinder Chadha (Bride and Prejudice) and Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding). Chadha and Nair both are of Indian origin and made their names in Western Independent Films. A similar filmmaker is Deepa Mehta of Canada, whose films include Fire, Earth and  Water.  Indan festivals,traditions,culture have been acknowledged by people worldwide through the Indian cinema. 

 Movies of the Tamil Super Star Rajni Kant  have a huge market in Japan. Indian films are not just a part of a region but a  part of world cinema today. Therefore film makers now aim at  reaching  out to a wider audience.The cinema has contributed a great deal in globalisation which has proved very beneficial to the the Indian Film Industry.

Future

This is not intended to be a scare story, however. As mentioned above, the overall entertainment industry in India is taking on professional colours and this will change the culture of the film industry too. Some film production companies, such as Mukta Arts, have made public share issues, thus keeping out of the world of murky financing.

The Film Federation of India is actively seeking to make film financing a viable proposition for banks. It is likely that films would also be insured to offset possible losses for banks. The granting of industry status to the film industry will eventually allow overboard financing of films, though this will result in production of fewer films than at present.

Stricter enforcement of copyright law will help the film industry in its fight with cable operators. Foreign entertainment companies, with steady revenue streams, can do good business if they invest in Hindi and other Indian language films. Despite high risks on a per-movie basis, the risk spreads out across a number of movies.

Stages of Film Making

Film is a term that encompasses motion pictures as individual projects, as well as the field in general. The origin of the name comes from the fact that photographic film (also called filmstock) has historically been the primary medium for recording and displaying motion pictures. Many other terms exist - motion pictures, the silver screen, photoplays, the cinema, picture shows, flicks - and commonly movies. Films are produced by recording actual people and objects with cameras, or by creating them using animation techniques and/or special effects. They comprise a series of individual frames, but when these images are shown rapidly in succession, the illusion of motion is given to the viewer. Flickering between frames is not seen due to an effect known as persistence of vision - whereby the eye retains a visual image for a fraction of a second after the source has been removed.

Film is considered by many to be an important art form; films entertain, educate, enlighten and inspire audiences. The visual elements of cinema need no translation, giving the motion picture a universal power of communication. Any film can become a worldwide attraction, especially with the addition of dubbing or subtitles that translate the dialogue. Films are also artifacts created by specific cultures, which reflect those cultures, and, in turn, affect them. Hence, the filmmaking production cycle consists of five main stages:

1. Development 2. Preproduction3. Production 4. Post-production5. Distribution

An entire production cycle typically has three parts. The first part consists of development. The second part comprises preproduction and production. The third part, consists of post-production and distribution.

Editing of Films

"The director prepares the menu, brings the ingredients, and knows what he wants the final dishes to look and taste like, the editor is the cook... ." Hrishikesh Mukherjee

Film Editing is a distinct art form, which contours the film. It is an art of story telling. Editing of Hindi Films is a long practiced art of conveying the story of the film by connecting shots together to form a film. Editing process includes the act of connecting two or more shots together to form a sequence, and subsequently the sequences are connected to form a complete movie. Editing is often referred to as the "invisible art". Film editing in India is an art that is often used in diverse ways. Proper editing of films can create sensually stimulating medleys. The editing laboratory is considered to be the operation theatre of experimental cinema in India.

Editing however is the combined act of art by both the editor and director. The understanding between the both persons can create a perfect end product. The editor creates the mosaic of a film which is finally contoured by the creativity of the director.. Bimal Roy, Shyam Benegal, Satyajit Ray, Govind Nihalani, Gulzar are some people who have planned and thought out their films carefully to make their editor`s work much simplified. When the director shoots everything relevant to the theme of the film, the editor has these huge quantities of material to filter through. In these cases, the editor partially does the work of the scriptwriter. He develops one particular theme after viewing the entire material, puts it down on a paper and develops the chronology and drama eventually. Finally, the film is the complete co ordination of the work of the writer-director-editor.

The process of editing ensures smoothness of narration and continuity in a film and is considered as an ongoing process which offers that extra zing to the art form.

Production Houses in India

The following are the film production companies in India

Adlabs - Motion picture processing laboratory in Mumbai Arjoe Entertainment - Bengali movie production house BR Films - Film & TV Serial production house owned by BR Chopra Balaji Telefilms - Telefilms producer Channel Eight - Production of TV programs & soap operas Cine Care - Manufacturer of mosfet amplifiers Cinedreams - Film and TV career promotion agency Deep Emotions - Music publisher Earthcare Films - Environment, conservation and wildlife life films producer

Film Republic - Film production company Films Division - Film production and distribution IIFA Awards - International Indian Film Academy Awards JS Films - Corporate and advertising films production KAS Movie Makers - Producers of feature films, commercials, documentaries & TV

serials

Kailash Pictures - Television commercials and documentaries production Kerala State Chalachitra Academy - Home page of International Film Festival of

Kerala Locations Asia - Film production services Media Artists - Advertising, documentary and promotional films producer Mindscreen Film Institute, Chennai - Courses in cinematography, screenwriting and

film making Mukta Arts - Film production company of Subhash Ghai Neptune Enterprises - Distributor of films Parwani Studios - Offers film shooting floors RDB Organization - Film production house Rajshri - Leading entertainment conglomerate with interests in films & music Rajtaru Videosonic - Developer of digital special-effects, animation & graphics Ramoji Film City - Film production facilities & services Real Image Media Technologies - Film production, editing, effects and composting Rosetta Stone Media - Producer of corporate films, documentaries etc Sanjay Goradia Production - Plays and theatre drama production SpotFilms - Television and documentary films producer Suresh Productions - Telugu film production company Vinod Chopra - Hindi film producer Vivek Agnihotri Creates - Films and music videos production house World Wide Channel - Hindi films publicity and marketing Yashraj Films - Film production company of Yash Chopra Zabardast Films - Ad film production, location and casting services provider

NDFC Films

National Film Development Corporation of India is like an apex body , the central agency which has been established for the greater intention to encourage good cinema movement in India. Although the main goal of NFDC is to plan, promote and organize an integrated development of Indian film industry, yet the idea of fostering excellence in Indian cinema is also an important motto of the organization. Quite ideally, over the years NFDC has offered an array of services, indispensable to the growth of Indian cinema. The NFDC has funded and produced over 300 films. NFDC Films, in various Indian languages, have been widely acclaimed and have won many national and international awards. During a period of time, this body produced serious and offbeat films, which, as a rule focused on an accent on social injustice. This single theme was conveyed to the audience without the popular components of the mainstream films. The

environment would be different, but the content and the conclusion of the story was the same. Over the time, these films also had their own group of "stars" who belonged to either the alumni of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) or the National School of Drama (NSD). Alike the stars in the mainstream films, they were frequently seen playing the same roles under different names.

NFDC films followed a rule that submitting a detailed script was always compulsory. The script was passed on and recommended for financing by a script committee. These films were then known as serious, parallel, or literate films and were only circulated and shown in the film festivals in India and foreign countries. Some of these films also won honorable awards in the nation and abroad too. However, a majority of the Indian audience did not get an opportunity to see the best and outstanding films among the lot of NFDC films. This healthy cinema culture mostly remained beneath the heaps of the NFDC.

The process of scriptwriting of these films was done mostly by the director of the film and had some storybook work as their base. A writer, who had little background of filmmaking but had literary skills, also was engaged for the final checkout. The director, as the technical expert and of course the maker, would participate in the writing process.

Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC)

Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a regulatory body under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. Central Board of Film Certification is popularly called as Censor Board. The Censor Board of India basically censors and reviews movies, television programmes, television advertisements or any sort of promotional materials. All films meant for public exhibition, irrespective of their length, whether in cinema halls or video or CD or DVD version are subjected to censorship. Censorship of movies is considered as necessary as a movie might motivate thought process of the audiences. A film reflects various ideas and the same has a strong impact on the minds of the viewers and can affect emotions. Thus, it is a true fact that a movie has enough potential for good as it has for evil. It is also said to have an equal capability for encouraging good behaviour or violence. Thus, censorship is not only desirable but also necessary.

Central Board of Film Certification has divided itself into `Examining and Revising Committees` to provide a two-tier system for certification of films in the event of the applicant or the Chairman himself not being satisfied with the decision of the Examining Committee. The certification rules of this board are also applicable to foreign films that are imported into India, or any dubbed films, and video films. However, in cases of dubbed films, the Censor Board does not have any fresh censorship for the visuals in general cases. Moreover, the films which are made specifically for Doordarshan, the certification of the Censor Board is not applicable, since Doordarshan has its own system of examining films.

The Cinematograph Act, 1952, presides over the censorship of films. The Cinematograph (Certification) Rules were promulgated in the year 1983. The guidelines were issued on December 6, 1991 under Section 5B of the Cinematograph Act. According to this section, "a film shall not be certified for public exhibition, if, in the opinion of the authority competent to

grant the certificate, the film or any part of it is against the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the States, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality or involves defamation or contempt of court or is likely to incite the commission of any offence".

Detailed Guidelines for Certification of Films are as follows -

Anti social activities such as violence are not glorified or justified; the modus operandi of criminals, other visuals or words likely to incite the

commission of any offence are not depicted; scenes showing involvement of children in violence as victims or perpetrators or as

forced witnesses to violence, or showing children as being subjected to any form of child abuse are not presented

Showing abuse or ridicule of physically and mentally handicapped persons; and showing cruelty to, or abuse of animals, is not presented needlessly.

pointless or avoidable scenes of violence, cruelty and horror, scenes of violence primarily intended to provide entertainment and such scenes as may have the effect of de-sensitising or de-humanising people are not shown;

scenes which have the effect of justifying or glorifying drinking are not shown; scenes tending to encourage, justify or glamorise drug addiction are not shown; scenes tending to encourage, justify or glamorise consumption of tobacco or smoking

are not shown; human sensibilities are not offended by vulgarity, obscenity or depravity; such dual meaning words as obviously cater to baser instincts are not allowed; scenes degrading or denigrating women in any manner are not presented; scenes involving sexual violence against women like attempt to rape, rape or any form

of molestation or scenes of a similar nature are avoided, and if any such incidence is relevant to the theme, they shall be reduced to the minimum and no details are shown;

scenes showing sexual perversions shall be avoided and if such matters are germane to the theme they shall be reduced to the minimum and no details are shown;

visuals or words contemptuous of racial, religious or other groups are not presented; visuals or words which promote communal, obscurantist, anti-scientific and anti-

national attitude are not presented; the sovereignty and integrity of India is not called in question; the security of the State is not jeopardized or endangered; friendly relations with foreign States are not strained; public order is not endangered and; Visuals or words involving defamation of an individual or a body of individuals, or

contempt of court are not presented.

Current Trends in the Film Production

Over the last three years the communications and entertainment industry has grown to $885.2 billion in sales, catapulting it into the fourth-largest economic sector in the United States, according to Veronis Suhler Stevenson (VSS) research.1 Solid growth at the box office,

increased spending on TV programming, in-flight entertainment and new video game rollouts have driven revenue gains.

Feature Films

Film industry dynamics have changed significantly over the last few decades, with studios turning into major media conglomerates focused on the financial bottom line. According to a report jointly published by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and KPMG, the current value of the Indian film industry is US$ 2.11 billion and shall grow at 9.1% till 2013.

In December 2000, a Joint Institutional Committee on Financing Entertainment Industry headed by the Department of Banking-Ministry of Finance, had Industrial Finance Corporation of India and Industrial Development Bank of India as its members was created. It submitted an interim report that laid down certain norms for offering financial assistance to the film industry:1. Institutions should extend finances only to corporate entities.2. Besides negatives, music rights, satellite TV rights and overseas rights must also be considered as security.3. Insurance companies must extend insurance cover for films and develop more products for the industry.4. When financing a single film, the duration of advance may be restricted to between 6 and 18 months.5. Banks and FIs should work together with producers to evolve standards for financing and insuring films.6. Creating a film industry-rating agency by pooling people from banks/FIs, eminent filmmakers and experts in the media sector to judge a filmmaker's credentials.

There is an ever-increasing international presence in the Indian film industry. Reliance ADA Group has entered into a production deal with DreamWorks Studios promoted by Steven Spielberg to produce films with an initial funding of US$ 825 million for the first three years. Walt Disney has partnered with Yash Raj Films to make animated movies, the Warner Group is funding the Sippys’ film projects, Viacom has a joint venture with the TV 18 group to form Viacom-18, and Sony Pictures Entertainment has co-produced with Sanjay Leela Bansali Films.

4p’s- Product Price Placing Promotion

Price aside, the other three are all vital elements of a film marketing campaign. It is possible to add in publicity to a film marketing campaign although this is technically a part of promotion which is not the direct result of a financial deal made by the studio, although money may change hands...

ProductA film needs to be clearly identifiable in its marketing — genre, stars, story, special effects, style all need to be presented to the audience so they can select the film on the basis of content

Placing

A film has to have the right release date — Christmas for a Christmas movie etc. Its release date will also depend on what else is being released at the same time Ð films have to fight it out for cinema screens. It would be pointless releasing any big blockbuster movie the same weekend as MIB II simply because cinema goers would choose between it and the competition, thus halving the box office takings

Promotion

Promotion for films takes many forms:

Print advertising (posters + ads in newspapers & magazines) Trailers (screened at cinemas + on TV/radio) Internet sites Merchandising — the list is endless books, t-shirts, food,

soundtrack CDs, computer games, toys, cars, mobile phones, anything that can be associated with the brand of the movie

Publicity

The publicity department of a studio will expend a great deal of time and money trying to gain maximum benefit from the following forms of publicity:

Star Interviews — in print and broadcast media 'Making Of' documentaries add to the hype Gala Premieres — who's wearing what frock Reviews and profiles —Empire front cover anyone? News stories - who did what on set and what records has this

movie broken?

Movie Marketing Strategies

The theatrical trailer is often the first chance to promote a movie to its target audience. Starting up to a year before the release of a major studio movie, distributors run movie trailers that are meticulously edited and audience-tested. The idea is to give moviegoers a taste of the laughs, special effects and plot twists of the studio's upcoming releases, while

leaving them wanting more. It's an art form that's usually handled by special trailer production houses.

About the same time that the first trailers hit the theaters, the movie studio will unveil an official Web site for the film. Typical movie Web sites allow visitors to view multiple versions of the trailer, watch behind-the-scenes interviews and mini-documentaries, read plot synopses, download cell-phone ringtones and desktop wallpaper, play games, chat in forums and even pre-order tickets. The official movie Web site is only the beginning of a much larger Internet marketing campaign.

As the release date of the film draws closer, movie marketers try to get early favorable press coverage in newspapers, magazines and on entertainment TV shows. The main movie publicity tactic is something called a press junket. At a press junket, journalists, entertainment reporters and movie critics are flown out to a special location for a day or weekend of interviews with the stars and creators of the film. The actors, directors and screenwriters sit in separate rooms and the reporters are brought in one by one to ask their questions.

Press junkets are highly controlled environments where interviews are often attended by a publicist, who make sure interviews never veer from positive topics [source: Rosenbaum]. If you've ever seen a TV interview with an actor sitting in front of a poster of their movie, that's from a press junket.

Weeks before the movie opens nationwide, the promotions department starts an all-out publicity blitz. The idea is to bombard the public with so many images and promos for the movie that it becomes a "can't miss" event. Movie marketers will plaster the sides of buses with huge ads, place billboards all around the city, run tons of teaser trailers on TV, place full-page ads in major newspapers and magazines, and the movie's stars will show up on all of the major talk shows.

The Internet is proving to be a prime spot for these publicity blitzes. Promoters can place rich, interactive ads on the Web sites most trafficked by their target audience. They can also release behind-the-scenes clips, bloopers and other viral videos on video-sharing sites like YouTube. Or they can release different media clips and let the fans create their own trailers.

Another popular strategy is to use highly visible product tie-ins and corporate partnerships. In the weeks leading up to the release of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," images of the green Grinch appeared on packages of Oreos, boxes of Froot Loops and cans of Sprite. Even the United States Postal Service got into the act, stamping letters with special "Happy Who-lidays!" messages [source: Finnigan]. For marketing children's movies, the Holy Grail is getting  promotional goodies in McDonald's Happy Meals.

One final movie marketing strategy is the publicity stunt, an orchestrated media event where someone does something incredibly silly, dangerous or spectacular to draw further attention to the opening of the movie. An example is when the promoters of "The Simpsons Movie" transformed dozens of nationwide 7-Eleven convenience stores into replica's of Springfield's own Kwik-E Mart [source: Keegan].

Unfortunately, movie promotion is not an exact science. Read about some common problems with movie marketing in the next section.

Problems Associated with Movie Marketing

The trickiest part of movie marketing is that every movie is different. Every film is its own standalone product with its own potential market segment. Just because your last kid's movie was a huge hit doesn't mean that audiences will come in droves to the next one. There's no formula for success, so marketers must be creative to grab the public's attention.

Moviemaking is an inherently risky business. Movie marketers try to alleviate some of that risk by heavily promoting expensive films. Unfortunately, in the process, they make the films even more expensive by adding on a huge marketing budget. There's always a chance that the marketing campaign will stink just as bad as the movie, and suddenly the studio has thrown away twice the amount of money. For example, Oliver Stone's epic "Alexander" cost $155 million to make and $60 million to market domestically and only took in $167 million worldwide [sources: Box Office Mojo and Waxman].

The problem is that most big-budget movies are marketed to the widest audience possible. Ads are placed on every TV network and stuck in every newspaper and magazine. There's no focus. Chances are that with every blockbuster movie marketing campaign, millions of dollars are lost on people who would never see the movie, no matter how good it is.

One solution is the idea of the nichebuster, a smaller movie marketed heavily to a highly specific audience segment, say skateboarding fans or religious groups [source: Schonfeld]. One of the proponents of this idea is 20th Century Fox, which recently launched a division called FoxFaith that will produce and market movies to a Christian, family-oriented audience. This is called demographic marketing rather than selling movies according to traditional genres like action, romantic comedy, thriller, et cetera [source: Movie Marketing Update].

A final problem is that moviegoers are more media savvy than ever. While children are highly susceptible to advertising, many adults recognize the publicity blitz for what it is: publicity. Some moviegoers are starting to complain about the sheer magnitude of hype that surrounds major studio releases.

This is another reason why the Internet is proving to be a powerful marketing tool. If studios play their cards right, they can capitalize on social networks, viral video sites and other online communities to sell their movies for them. The Net Generation moviegoer is much more likely to trust his chat buddy's opinion than some talking head on Entertainment Television.

Film Promotions

Film promotion is the practice of promotion specifically in the film industry. As with all business it is an important part of any release because of the inherent high financial risk; film studios will invest in expensive marketing campaigns to maximize revenue early in the release cycle. Marketing budgets tend to equal anywhere between half or three times the production budget. Publicity is generally handled by the distributor and exhibitors.

Techniques

In theaters

Trailers are a mainstay of film promotion, because they are delivered directly to movie-goers. They screen in theatres before movie showings. Generally they tell the story of the movie in a highly condensed fashion compressing maximum appeal into two and half minutes.

Film posters

Slideshows - stills, trivia, and trivia games from the film, shown between movie showtimes.

Standups (freestanding paperboard life-size images of figures from the film)

Cardboard 3D displays, sometimes producing sound[1]

Television and radio

Hollywood movie distributors spend about $4 billion a year to buy paid advertising (30-second TV commercials, newspaper ads, etc.) and over half that total is placed on broadcast and cable TV, which are the main vehicles for advertising movies to audiences. TV is effective because it is an audio-visual medium – like film – and can deliver a vast audience quickly, which is crucial because films typically don’t linger in theaters more than 4–6 weeks, according to Marketing to Moviegoers: Second Edition.

Product placement: paid active or passive insertion (as on-set posters, and action figures) of film brand in drama or sitcom shows, or as passing mentions in dialogue. For example, 20th Century Fox commissioned an I, Robot-themed motorcycle, featured on two episodes (2:17, 2:18) of American Chopper.[2] The film Memoirs of a Geisha was placed throughout an episode of the T.V. show Medium.[3]

Extended placement: full episodes of television talkshows (Oprah), entertainment news programs (ET), or network news programs (20/20), devoted to compensated exposure of the film, stars, clips, director, etc.

o In addition, interviews with actors and directors which are filmed en masse at a hotel with local and national entertainment reporters which are featured on local news shows, programs on cable networks, and series such as Byron Allen's series of entertainment series like Entertainment Studios.

Production and paid broadcast of behind-the-scenes documentary-style shows, the type of which are mainly produced for HBO, Showtime and Starz.

Advance trailers, longer previews, or behind-the-scenes footage on rental videos and DVDs.

Internet

Creation of standalone studio-sponsored per-film websites such as "example-the-movie.com".

Viral marketing: free distribution of trailers on movie-oriented websites and video user-generated-content websites, and rapid dissemination of links to this content by email and blogs. Includes alleged leakage of supposed "rushes" and "early trailers" of film scenes.[citation needed]

Print

Paid advertisement in newspapers, magazines, and inserts in books.

Cross-promotion of original book or novelization, including special printings, or new cover jackets ("Now a major motion picture.")

Comic special editions or special episodes

Merchandising

Paid co-branding (Eragon in American Chopper-two episodes), or co-advertising (BMW and James Bond films[4]) of a product with the film.

Promotional giveaways: branded drink cups, toys, or food combinations, at fast food chains.

Promotional tour

Film actors, directors, and producers appear for television, radio, and print media interviews, sometimes showing a clip from the film or an outtake. Interviews are conducted in person or remotely. During film production, these can take place on set. After film release, key personnel make appearances in major market cities, or participate remotely via "satellite" or telephone.

Audience research

There are seven distinct types of research conducted by film distributors in connection with domestic theatrical releases, according to "Marketing to Moviegoers: Second Edition." Such audience research can cost $1 million per film, especially when scores of TV advertisements are tested and re-tested. The bulk of research is done by major studios for the roughly 170 major releases they mount each year that are supported by tens of millions of advertising buys for each film. Independent film distributors, which typically spend less than $10 million in media buys per film, don’t have the budget or breadth of advertising materials to analyze, so they spend little or nothing on pre-release audience research. When audience research is conducted for domestic theatrical release, it involves these areas:

Positioning studies versus other films that will premiere at the same time.

Test screenings of finished or nearly finished films; this is the most well known.

Testing of audience response to advertising materials.

Tracking surveys of audience awareness of a film starting six weeks before premiere.

Exit surveys questioning film goers about their demographic makeup and effectiveness of marketing.

Title testing in an early stage.

Concept testing that would occur in development phase of a film before it is produced.

The film makers have adopted newer techniques from time to time to promote their film. One of the very common forms of marketing is the in-film branding. Mutual in nature, in-film marketing not only helps the product get a mention and visibility in a film to an audience but it also benefits the film to a large extent. Apart from monetary benefit to the production of the film from the brand owners, the commercial ads of these products promote the film throughout. The best example of this promotional technique is the film ‘Ghajini’. Its tie-up with Van Huesen became a huge success and strengthened the promotion of the film. Apart from that, one could find its presence across all mediums, be it TV, print, outdoor, Internet, mall activation or cinema activation.

Moreover, to become the primary choice of the audience on the weekend, the film-makers are trying out more scientific and innovative techniques like the interaction based strategies. The promotion of ‘3 Idiots’ by Aamir Khan’s unique tour across the seven cities of India was an outstanding idea to connect with the people and create curiosity about the film. And with this trend, now even the film stars have become very conscious about marketing. They are now actively involved. There is so much the marketers do when the star gets involved like specials, radio contest, integration and online chat. However one of the major mediums of marketing these days; the digital medium is not being utilized to the best for film promotions in India. There are very few producers and studios which understand the medium well. Moreover, even though the focus is on the consumers now, B2B marketing will never take a backseat. The big banner production houses are still focused on the distributors. Online is more for the consumers and not for the distributors. So, when it comes to them, online takes a backseat.

Drawbacks

Movie Campaigns lose influence closer to release date

According to this story, the campaign for a new-release movie loses its effectiveness on the intended audience anywhere from three to four weeks prior to opening date. That runs counter to the established mind-set at most movie studios, who flood the media with ads for movies in the last week before it hits screens.

The study measured online ads for movies and how many people were aware of the film who had seen the ads versus those who had not seen the ads. At 28 days prior to opening the number of people aware of the movie was 22.5% higher than those that had not seen the ads. By one week before opening only 5.4% more were aware of the movie who had seen the ads over those that had not. That likely means the media coverage of movies was making up a good amount of the difference.

So does that mean marketers should stop advertising three weeks before the release date? No, but they need to adjust the spending schedule for their movies. If it’s not going to make that much of a difference to spend a ton on paid ads in the last week then don’t, or put that money

to better use elsewhere. If spending were charted on a graph of the last two months leading up to the release then I could see a bell-shaped curve being a useful roadmap, with spending ramping up to the one-month out point and then tapering off after that as returns begin to diminish.

Making Money with Films

Making money with movies is one of the most glamorous and profitable jobs that we can have. Once we have made the movie there are many ways to make money and we can do this in many countries. A movie will have multiple income streams such as, Theatrical performance, DVD sales, video rental, pay per view and VOD (Video on Demand.) It will take a couple years to collect the money from the different avenues. Do not get bummed out by this, it is not uncommon for a popular movie to gross almost a Billion dollars in theatrical performance alone. That does not include the rest of the revenue streams The following are the ways in which one can make money with films.

1. Now that we have completed the film, we will need to get a big movie studio to pay for the "Print and Advertising" budget. Remember: It is not called a movie until we can charge ten dollars per ticket, and we can’t do that until we get it in the theaters. It will cost more to advertise the movie than it did to film it. Assuming that we have the money to advertise it by ourself it should be put in the theaters first. Movies are in the theaters for less time than ever in this day in age, but Americans are spending more time and money on movies even in a troubled economy. The film will need to be in the theater until it is not selling movie tickets.

2. When we are ready to pull it out of the theater, make sure that we have all of the DVD's printed and ready. This is the next step in making money. This is where we will have the ability to cash in on another 6 month window. Put all of the DVD's on the shelves of all music, movie, and video stores. Also we will need to find a foreign agent that will get the merchandise overseas. Over the last few years it has been neck and neck when it comes to which market makes the most money.

3. When the DVD sales start to slow, make sure that we have aligned a deal with the major cable tv executives. This window can pay as much as twenty million dollars for exclusive rights. The exclusivity period is usually around 6 months. HBO has been known to pay that kind of money for the right show or movie.

4. We can have someone make toys and other merchandise of the characters. This is another very common way that people make money. Especially with the G rated movies. Merchandise royalties last forever. As long as people like the theme or the characters we will make money from it. Merchandise can be the most profitable income stream.

5. We will need to be careful of which movie theaters that we put the movie in. Most privately owned theaters are in bankruptcy court and do not pay the production studio on time. In some cases they refuse to pay the company until they have a new movie to release. The theatres cut is around 50% of the total gross. After we go through this

cycle, the next best way to make money in movies is to start a trilogy. As long as people like the first one, they will at least give the others a fair chance.

Growth of Indian Film Industry

Regional Industries

Break-up of 2009 Indian feature films produced in 24 Languages.

Rank Language No. of films

1 Hindi 235

2 Telugu 218

3 Tamil 190

4 Kannada 177

5 Marathi 99

6 Malayalam 94

7 Bengali 84

8 Bhojpuri 64

9 Gujarati 62

10 Oriya 17

11 Punjabi 15

12 English 9

13 Assamese 5

13 Rajasthani 5

15 Konkani 4

16 Santali 2

17 Haryanvi 1

17 Kodava 1

17 Maithili 1

17 Nagpuri 1

17 Nepali 1

17 Rajbanshi 1

17 Sambalpuri 1

17 Mishing 1

Total 1288

Hindi Film Industry, The Bollywood

Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes several regional film industries sorted by language. Bollywood is the largest film producer in India and one of the largest centers of film production in the world.

The Hindi film industry has preferred films that appeal to all segments of the audience (see the discussion in Ganti, 2004, cited in references), and has resisted making films that target narrow audiences. It was believed that aiming for a broad spectrum would maximise box office receipts. However, filmmakers may be moving towards accepting some box-office segmentation, between films that appeal to rural Indians, and films that appeal to urban and overseas audiences.

Raja Harishchandra (1913), by Dadasaheb Phalke, was the first silent feature film made in India. By the 1930s, the industry was producing over 200 films per annum.The first Indian sound film, Ardeshir Irani's Alam Ara (1931), was a major commercial success. There was clearly a huge market for talkies and musicals; Bollywood and all the regional film industries quickly switched to sound filming.

The 1930s and 1940s were tumultuous times: India was buffeted by the Great Depression, World War II, the Indian independence movement, and the violence of the Partition. Most Bollywood films were unabashedly escapist, but there were also a number of filmmakers who tackled tough social issues, or used the struggle for Indian independence as a backdrop for their plots.

In 1937, Ardeshir Irani, of Alam Ara fame, made the first colour film in Hindi, Kisan Kanya. The next year, he made another colour film, Mother India. However, colour did not become a popular feature until the late 1950s. At this time, lavish romantic musicals and melodramas were the staple fare at the cinema.

The 2000s saw a growth in Bollywood's popularity in the world. This led the nation's filmmaking to new heights in terms of quality, cinematography and innovative story lines as well as technical advances in areas such as special effects, animation, etc.Some of the largest

production houses, among them Yash Raj Films and Dharma Productions were the producers of new modern films. The opening up of the overseas market, more Bollywood releases abroad and the explosion of multiplexes in big cities, led to wider box office successes in India and abroad, including Lagaan (2001), Devdas (2002), Koi... Mil Gaya (2003), Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), Veer-Zaara (2004), Rang De Basanti (2006), Lage Raho Munnabhai (2006), Krrish (2006), Dhoom 2 (2006), Om Shanti Om (2007), Chak De India (2007), Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008), Ghajini(2008) and 3 Idiots (2009), delivering a new generation of popular actors (Hrithik Roshan, Abhishek Bachchan) and actresses (Aishwarya Rai, Preity Zinta, Rani Mukerji, Kareena Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra), and keeping the popularity of actors of the previous decade. Among the mainstream films, Lagaan won the Audience Award at the Locarno International Film Festival and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 74th Academy Awards, while Devdas and Rang De Basanti were both nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Bollywood employs people from all parts of India. It attracts thousands of aspiring actors and actresses, all hoping for a break in the industry. Models and beauty contestants, television actors, theatre actors and even common people come to Mumbai with the hope and dream of becoming a star. Just as in Hollywood, very few succeed. Since many Bollywood films are shot abroad, many foreign extras are employed too.

Stardom in the entertainment industry is very fickle, and Bollywood is no exception. The popularity of the stars can rise and fall rapidly. Directors compete to hire the most popular stars of the day, who are believed to guarantee the success of a movie (though this belief is not always supported by box-office results). Hence many stars make the most of their fame, once they become popular, by making several movies simultaneously.

Only a very few non-Indian actors are able to make a mark in Bollywood, though many have tried from time to time. There have been some exceptions, one recent example is the hit film Rang De Basanti, where the lead actress is Alice Patten, an Englishwoman. Kisna, Lagaan, and The Rising: Ballad of Mangal Pandey also featured foreign actors.

Bollywood can be very clannish, and the relatives of film-industry insiders have an edge in getting coveted roles in films or being part of a film's crew. Industry connections are no guarantee of a long career: competition is fierce and if film industry scions do not succeed at the box office, their careers will falter. Some of the biggest stars, such as Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, and Shahrukh Khan have succeeded despite total lack of show business connections.

Finances

Bollywood films are multi-million dollar productions, with the most expensive productions costing up to 100 crores rupees (roughly USD 20 million). Sets, costumes, special effects, and cinematography were less than world-class up until the mid-to-late 1990s, although with some notable exceptions. As Western films and television gain wider distribution in India itself, there is an increasing pressure for Bollywood films to attain the same production levels, particularly in areas such as action and special effects. Recent Bollywood films have employed international technicians to improve in these areas, such as Krrish (2006) which

has action choreographed by Hong Kong based Tony Ching. The increasing accessibility to professional action and special effects, coupled with rising film budgets, has seen an explosion in the action and sci-fi genres.

Sequences shot overseas have proved a real box office draw, so Mumbai film crews are increasingly filming in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, continental Europe and elsewhere. Nowadays, Indian producers are winning more and more funding for big-budget films shot within India as well, such as Lagaan, Devdas and other recent films.

Funding for Bollywood films often comes from private distributors and a few large studios. Indian banks and financial institutions were forbidden from lending money to movie studios. However, this ban has now been lifted. As finances are not regulated, some funding also comes from illegitimate sources, such as the Mumbai underworld. The Mumbai underworld has been known to be involved in the production of several films, and are notorious for their patronisation of several prominent film personalities; On occasion, they have been known to use money and muscle power to get their way in cinematic deals. In January 2000, Mumbai mafia hitmen shot Rakesh Roshan, a film director and father of star Hrithik Roshan. In 2001, the Central Bureau of Investigation seized all prints of the movie Chori Chori Chupke Chupke after the movie was found to be funded by members of the Mumbai underworld.

There are almost 50 films released in 2009 which made very good box office collections. The top twenty grossing films at the Indian Box Office in 2009.

Rank Film Net Gross

1 3 Idiots Rs. 202,40,00,000

2 Love Aaj Kal Rs. 66,35,00,000

3Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani

Rs. 63,18,00,000

4 Wanted Rs. 60,54,00,000

5 All The Best: Fun Begins Rs. 58,39,00,000

6 New York Rs. 57,75,00,000

7 De Dana Dan Rs. 55,25,00,000

8 Kaminey Rs. 51,00,00,000

9 Blue Rs. 46,21,00,000

10 Kambakkht Ishq Rs. 45,70,00,000

11 Wake Up Sid Rs. 42,75,00,000

12 Paa Rs. 39,00,00,000

13 Life Partner Rs. 37,21,00,000

14 Dil Bole Hadippa Rs. 33,00,00,000

15Raaz - The Mystery Continues

Rs. 31,00,50,000

16 London Dreams Rs. 31,00,00,000

17 Do Knot Disturb Rs. 23,50,00,000

18 Kurbaan Rs. 22,00,00,000

19 Luck Rs. 20,34,00,000

20 What's Your Raashee? Rs. 20,00,00,000

Telugu Film Industry, The Tollywood

The cinema of Andhra Pradesh (Telugu: తెలు�గు� సినీపరిశ్రమ), also referred to as Tollywood, is

the Telugu language film industry in India. It holds a record of making the first ever talkie movie in the history of Indian cinema. This film, Bhakta Prahlada, was made in 1931. It is the third largest cinema industry in production value and is first in terms of movies made in a year.

The state of Andhra Pradesh has the highest number of cinema halls in India.

The Telugu cinema industry is based in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India. Chennai is used as a hub for both Tamil, Telugu cinema until the early 1990s, due to its importance and significance as yesteryear’s capital of South India Madras State. Still many Telugu cinemas are shot in the traditional studios such as AVM. Now Hyderabad is the mordern hub of telugu film industry, while Chennai remains to be the Home of Tamil film industry. The Telugu film industry produces the most films every year in India, with about 275 films produced in 2008. Popular movies tend to open during the three festive/holiday seasons of the region: Sankranthi, Ugadi, and Dussera. In 2004, total revenue for the Sankranthi season was around Rs. 1.5 billion (US$37 million, as of 17 July 2007) greater than that of the Hindi Film industry. There are a number of television channels especially news channels, highest number of channels in India, unlike seen in other states (such as DD Saptagiri, Maa, Sakshi, Gemini, Eenadu, Zee Telugu, Teja, TV9, TV5, Mahaa, NTV, Studio N, Sitara, TV1, inews, HMTV, Zee 24 Ghantalu, Maa Music, Gemini Music, ETV2, Gemini News, local tv, dg cable, Atv, Gcv, Kushi tv, RK News etc.,) dedicated exclusively to feature programs related to Telugu movies.

Currently, about 150 Telugu films are released every year with approximately 3 productions every week. Just like any other cinema industry, the Telugu film industry produces all genres of cinema. In 2005, the annual turnover reached Rs. 2,550 million ticket sales of 160 crores.

Today Telugu films are distributed to various theatres around the world in countries such as the USA, the UK, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa, and Australia. In the USA, Telugu cinema has a huge revenue in the form of NRI's.

Box office collections

The Telugu film industry accounts for 1% of the gross domestic product of Andhra Pradesh. There is a fair amount of dispersion amongst the Indian film industries. Many successful Telugu films have been remade by the Hindi and Tamil film industries. Tollywood also remakes a fair number of Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, and Kannada movies. Nowadays most Telugu films are subsequently dubbed into Malayalam on release. In the last two years, about 30 Telugu films were simultaneously released in Malayalam. Given below is a table of the box office collections of Telugu Film Industry with figures in millions of Indian Rupees and United States Dollars.

YearTelugu Box Office (in million Rs.)

In USD millions

1980 819 18

1985 1,526 34

1990 3,333 74

1995 7,985 177

2000 14,011 311

2005 23,044 512

Distribution

The state of Andhra Pradesh has more than 3700 cinema theatres, of which 200 are in the city of Hyderabad alone. The Telugu film distribution is divided into 12 areas.

Shift of industry from Madras to Hyderabad

Telugu Cinema was established and developed in Chennai and up to 1970, telugu cinema was completely located in Chennai. ANR was the first person to come to Hyderabad and build a studio. Later on by 1990 the industry was completely shifted to Hyderabad.

Generations in Telugu film industry

From 1949 to 1982, NTR and ANR ruled telugu film industry. NTR entered into films by the film Mana Desam in 1949 and ANR in 1942 with the film Sreerama jananam. These two icons period is first generation period in Telugu industry. Along with them S.V.Ranga Rao,Gummadi,Jagayya. Bhanumathi, Jamuna, Anjali, Savithri also gained popularity.1950's

and 1960s are termed as golden period in telugu film history.Many great cinemas like Missamma, Devadasu, Nartanasala, Malleswari, Pathalabhiravi came in this period. In the 1970s three more heroes Krishna, Shoban Babu and Krishnam Raju gained popularity along with NTR and ANR. Among them Krishna was renowned Super Star of Telugu film. Krishna made a remarkable contribution in taking Telugu cinema techonologically upward. He introduced colour, 70mm, cowboy cinemas to Telugu audiences. In 1978 a revolution, Chiranjeevi debuted with his film Pranam Kareedhu. He ruled Telugu industry in late 1980s and 1990s. Along with him Bala Krishna,Nagarjuna and Venkatesh became popular artists. During these second and third generations, combination of Rao Gopala rao and Allu Ramalingaiah created records and gained popularity. After Chiranjeevi's era , the fourth generation was filled fully with sons and grandsons of previous artists like Mahesh, Prabhas, Jr NTR , Pawan Kalyan, Charan, Arjun etc. The only exception to this is Siddharth and Ravi Teja.

In the year 2009, around 135 films were released in telugu. Some of them which made larger box office collections are:

1. Magadheera

2. Arundathi

3. Kalavaramaaye madilo

4. Baanam

5. Kick6. Aakasamantha7. Arya 28. Billa9. Konchem Ishtam Konchem Kashtam10. Villagelo Vinayakudu

Tamil Film Industry, The Kollywood

Tamil cinema (also referred to as the cinema of Tamil Nadu, the Tamil film industry, or Chennai film industry) is the Chennai–based Tamil language filmmaking industry of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is based in the Kodambakkam district of Chennai, where several Tamil language feature films are produced, which has led to a reference to the district and industry as Kollywood (Tamil: கோ��லிவுட் kōlivūṭ), a portmanteau of the words Kodambakkam and Hollywood. Tamil cinema is known for being India's second largest film industry after Bollywood on first and Tollywood on third, in terms of revenue and worldwide distribution.

Silent movies were produced in Chennai since 1916 and the era of talkies dawned in 1931 with the film Kalidas. By the end of the 1930s, the State of Madras legislature passed the Entertainment Tax Act 1939. Tamil Nadu cinema has had a profound effect on the film making industries of India, with Chennai becoming a hub for the filmmaking industries of other languages, including Telugu cinema, Malayalam cinema, Kannada cinema, Hindi cinema, Sinhalese cinema and Sri Lankan Tamil cinema in the 1900s. Tamil–language films

are further made in other countries. Today, Tamil films are distributed to various theatres around the world such as in Sri Lanka, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, Mauritius, South Africa, Western Europe, North America, and other significant Tamil diaspora regions.

Film studios

1916 marked the birth of Tamil cinema with the first Madras production and South Indian film release Keechaka Vaadham (The Destruction of Keechaka). During the 1920s, silent Tamil-language movies were shot at makeshift locations in and around Chennai, and for technical processing, they were sent to Pune or Calcutta. Later some movies featuring M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar were shot in Pune and Calcutta. In the 1930s AVM set up its makeshift studio in the town of Karaikudi, and during the same decade, full-fledged Movie studios were built in Salem (Modern Theatres Studio) and Coimbatore (Central Studios, Neptune, and Pakshiraja). By the mid 1940s, Chennai became the hub of Studio activity with two more movie Studios built in Chennai, Vijaya Vauhini Studios and Gemini Studios. Later, AVM Studios shifted its operations to Chennai. Thus, with the undivided Madras Presidency being the Capital to most of South India, Chennai became the center for Tamil- and notable Telugu-language movies. Also, most of the pre-independence era drama and stage actors joined the movie industry from the 1940s, and Chennai became the hub for South Indian–language film production and Sri Lankan cinema before independence.

Politics

The Tamil film industry has a long intertwining link with politics, dating from the earliest days of regional cinema, where stories, themes and characters derived from Tamil traditional folk ballads have inspired screenplays and have become vehicles for creating future politicians. The first non congress Chief Minister C. N. Annadurai and the current Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi were directors and script writers. M. G. Ramachandran, who was a commercial film actor, had served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for more than a decade. The current opposition leader J. Jayalalithaa was also an actress. And current members of legislative assembly(MLA) of Tamil Nadu includes Vijayakanth and S.Ve.Sekar.

Distribution and popularity

Tamil films constitute India's most popular films along with Bollywood films. They have one of the widest overseas distribution, with large audience turnout from the Tamil diaspora alongside Hindi films. The Chennai film industry produced the first nationally distributed film across India in 1948 with Chandralekha.

Tamil films have enjoyed consistent popularity among populations in India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, South Africa, Canada and Malaysia. They have recently become popular in Japan (particularly Muthu, directed by K. S. Ravikumar, and Indira, directed by Suhasini Mani Ratnam).

Ayngaran International and BIG Cinemas have emerged as the top distributors for Tamil films in the UK and US markets respectively.

Within India, Aascar Films, Pyramid Saimira, AGS Entertainment, et al handle distribution. The most successful Tamil film ever, K. S. Ravikumar-directed Dasavathaaram, was distributed by Walt Disney Pictures in Canada.

Many Tamil-language films have premiered or have been selected as special presentations at various prestigious film festivals across the world, such as Mani Ratnam's Kannathil Muthamittal, Veyyil and Ameer Sultan's Paruthiveeran. More recently, Kanchivaram, directed by Priyadarshan, was selected to be premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Films like Thevar Magan, Indian and Jeans had been selected by India for Best Foreign Language Film for the Academy Awards. Mani Ratnam's Nayagan (1987) was included in Time magazine's "All-TIME" 100 best movies list.

Tamil films enjoy significant patronage in neighbouring Indian states like Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. In Kerala and Karnataka the films are directly released in Tamil but in Andhra Pradesh they are generally dubbed into Telugu. Many successful Tamil films have been remade by the Hindi and Telugu film industries. It is estimated by the Manorama Yearbook 2000 (a popular almanac) that over 5,000 Tamil films were produced in the 20th century. Tamil films have also been dubbed into other languages, thus reaching a much wider audience.

Tamil language films are produced in other cinema hubs. The film My Magic directed by Singaporean Eric Khoo became Singapore's first film to be nominated for the Palme d'Or at Cannes. There has been a growing presence of English in dialogue and songs in Chennai films. It is not uncommon to see movies that feature dialogue studded with English words and phrases, or even whole sentences. Some movies are also simultaneously made in two or three languages (either using subtitles or several soundtracks). Chennai's film composers have popularised their highly unique, syncretic style of film music across the world. Quite often, Tamil movies feature Madras Tamil, a colloquial version of Tamil spoken in Chennai.

Actors

Tamil cinema was dominated by P. U. Chinnappa and M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar during the 1940s.

From the 1950s through the 1970s, the industry was dominated by M. G. Ramachandran and Sivaji Ganesan.

From the 1980s till date, Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth, have maintained a strong grip on the box office despite the introduction of new technologies and business models.

Business model

There are 3 major roles in the Tamil film value chain viz producer, distributor and exhibitor.

Distribution business model

The distributor purchases theatrical distribution rights from the producer for exhibiting the film in a defined territory. The distributor performs enhanced functions such as:

1. part-financing of film (in case of minimum guarantee / advance based purchase of film rights)

2. localised marketing of film

3. selection of exhibition halls

4. managing the logistics of physical print distribution

There are three popular approaches to transfer of distribution rights via distribution contracts:

1. Minimum Guarantee + Royalty - Here, the producer sells the distribution rights for a defined territory for a minimum lump sum irrespective of the box office performance of the film. Any surplus is shared between the producer and distributor, in a pre-set ratio (typically 1:2) after deducting entertainment tax, show rentals, commission, print costs and publicity costs. Effectively, the distributor becomes a "financier" in the eyes of the market. This is the most common channel available to high budget producers.

2. Commission - Here, the distributor pays the producer the entire box office collection after deducting commission. So, the entire risk of box office performance of the film remains with the producer. This is the most common channel available to low budget producers.

3. Outright Sale - Here, the producer sells all distribution and theatrical rights for a defined territory exclusively to a distributor. Effectively, the distributor becomes a "producer" in the eyes of the market. So, the entire risk of box office performance of the film remains with the distributor.

Exhibition business model

There are four popular approaches to transfer of exhibition rights via exhibition contracts:

1. Theatre Hire - Here, the exhibitor pays the distributor the entire box office collection after deducting entertainment tax and show rentals. So, the entire risk of box office performance of the film remains with the distributor. This is the most common channel for low budget films, casting rank newcomers, with unproven track record.

2. Fixed Hire - Here, the exhibitor pays the distributor a maximum lump sum irrespective of the box office performance of the film. Rental is not chargeable per show. Any surplus after deducting entertainment tax is retained by the exhibitor. Effectively, the exhibitor becomes a "producer" in the eyes of the market. So, the entire risk of box office performance of the film remains with the exhibitor. This is the most common channel for high budget films, casting established front-runners, with proven track record.

3. Minimum Guarantee + Royalty - Here, the exhibitor pays the distributor a minimum lump sum irrespective of the box office performance of the film. Any surplus after

deducting entertainment tax and show rental is shared in a pre-set ratio (typically 2:1) between the exhibitor and distributor. But risk of deficit remains with the exhibitor. This is the most common channel preferred by single screens.

4. Revenue Share - Here, the exhibitor shares with the distributor, in a pre-set ratio (typically 1:2), the entire box office collection of the film after deducting entertainment tax. Rental is not chargeable per show. So, the entire risk of box office performance of the film is shared between the exhibitor and distributor. This is the most common channel preferred by multiplex screens

Domestic exhibitors

There are about 1800 cinema-halls located in Tamil Nadu.

2009 saw numerous films being released both worldwide and domestically. Around 130 films released in the year and some of them which had a world-wide gross are:

1. Vettaikaaran

2. Ayan

3. Padikathavan

4. Kanthaswamy

5. Aadhavan

6. Unnaipol Oruvan

7. Peranmai

8. Kandein Kadhalai

9. Yavarum Nalam

10. Naadodigal

Indian film industry revenues to remain flat in 2009

Following years of rapid growth, the combined revenues of the Indian film industry, including box office and ancillary revenues, are expected to remain flatin 2009at around $2.2bn (Rs109.2bn), according to a joint FICCI-KPMG report.

Long-term prospects remain strong - the report also stated that the industry would grow at a compound annual growth rate of 9.1% to reach $3.4bn (Rs168.6bn) by 2013 - due to factors such as the expansion of multiplex screens, enhanced penetration of home video and an increase in the number of TV channels fuelling demand for film content.

The film industry also grew in 2008 by 13.4% to reach total revenues of $2.2bn (Rs109.3bn).

However, the coming year will be challenging for the industry due to a smaller number of releases as producers struggle to raise fresh capital; lower occupancy rates at multiplexes, and the declining value of cable and satellite rights and other ancillary revenue streams.

'In terms of the number of hit films, 2008 was not as good as 2007 with many of the big releases failing at the box office and IPL [Indian Premier League cricket] matches affecting the occupancy levels at cinema halls,' the report stated.

'A marked improvement was witnessed in the last quarter of 2008 consequently, the domestic box office collections have been estimated to grow by 12% to reach $1.6bn (Rs80.2bn) in 2008.'

The last quarter saw the release of blockbusters featuring Bollywood's major stars such as Ghajini,with Aamir Khan, and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, starring Shah Rukh Khan.

The report also stated that the wider media and entertainment industry faces challenges but is still projected to grow at a CAGR of 12.5% to reach $21bn (Rs1,052bn) by 2013. Last year it grew by 12.4% to reach 11.8bn (Rs584bn).

However this compares to a growth rate of 18%projected for 2008-2012by PricewaterhouseCoopers in a report released at the FICCI Frames convention last year. KPMG also stated that adrevenues, which have been growing at a CAGR of 17.1%for the past three years, are expected to slow to a growth rate of 12.4% over the next five years.

Commenting on the report, KPMG India head of information, communication and entertainment, Rajesh Jain, said: 'Media companies are under pressure to change, innovate and re-examine their existing business models. In the immediate future, media corporates are likely to focus more on operating margins, and assess opportunities for consolidation, while building on core strengths.'

What Happens To The Money Spent On Movie Ticket?

Let us consider a movie ticket costs around $10 per person and let’s say in theater XYZ. Out of this $10, 45% or $4.5 goes straight to theater XYZ, which than spends this $4.5 to pay its staff, bills, maintenance, etc. What about the remaining 55%? Oh, there are many people and department among which this $5.5 is distributed. Let’s see what and who are they.

Marketing and advertising: $2.11

There are two reasons why I have out this owner on top. First, it grabs a major part of the remaining $5.5 and second, it the most important factor affecting the success and failure of the movie. This cost is used to bear the expenses paid for advertising in newspapers, TV promos, internet, radio ads, and posters. A high profile movie probably spends more than $100 million on such activities because they know the importance of advertising.

Production: $1.71

This cost is used to spend on expenses like costumes, sets, staff salaries, insurances, and such countless other stuffs. In short, it covers all the expenses incurred from the start till the end of the movie making process. To avail more profit, it’s important for movie makers to cut down expenses in this category. However, most of them overspends as many scenes in many movies worth millions of dollars and it has to be shot many times to make it a perfect scene.

Movie Distribution: $1.00

Movie distribution is not like distributing goods all over the city. It involves carefulness, secrecy, punctuality, security, etc. And money spent per movie reel is also quite big.

Actors and Actress: $0.68

I cannot say this is the exact amount spent on paying the actors. It totally depends on the type of actor acting and type of movie being made. So the percentage of expenses in this category keeps varying. However, $0.68 is the amount paid in big budget films. If less is spent in this category, the remaining amount is divided in other three categories (not equally but according to the needs).

The price of a movie ticket is fixed by the theater and not the producers. Whatever the cost may be, they get only 45%. Now, if there is any increase in the overheads, they get less profit. Or they have the option to increase the price of the ticket. But increasing ticket price cannot be done frequently.

TV fared better than film industry in 2009

The TV growth story in India continues with the industry, pegged at Rs 24,100 crore in 2008, registering decent figures in 2009 too when the entire entertainment space was bogged down by meltdown and other issues.

‘‘TV did much better than the film industry,’’ said Jehil Thakkar, executive director, KPMG India, which is set to release the entertainment sector report for 2009-10 at Ficci Frames in Mumbai next week. ‘‘With advertising in a slump, though some categories like FMCG held up during the slowdown, TV was impacted. There wasn’t spectacular growth but it did decent numbers,’’ he added. ‘‘TV had a cushion because of subscription revenue.’’ Talking about the trends that will rule the TV space in 2010, Thakkar said there will be a thrust on digitization which is the key to growth; consolidation is inevitable because there are too many players; many channels will retreat into niche areas; and that the regional space is a huge growth area across TV, film and print.

Many TV players like Sun TV is also focusing on the overseas market too because the average revenue per user (ARPU) is higher in markets outside India. If India gives an ARPU of Rs 5 for a DTH player, it's at least $1 abroad.

For the film industry, 2009 was so challenging that it forced the industry to look at the fundamentals. ‘‘Because many films were greenlit during the boom years of 2007-08 at high budgets, when they released in a low revenue meltdown environment, they flopped, impacting growth,’’ said Thakkar. The film industry had begun slowing down in 2008 itself—when it grew 13.4% over 2007 compared to at least 17% growth in three preceding years. In 2009, it grew at single digits, ‘‘film industry saw a flat growth,’’ said Thakkar.

According to KPMG, the film industry has brought its focus back to production costs and is opening up different avenues, including reaching a film to TV and DTH faster, for wider revenues.

SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis, is a strategic planning tool used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business venture. It involves specifying the objective of the business venture or project and identifying the internal and external factors that are favourable and unfavourable to achieving that objective.

The aim of any SWOT analysis is to identify the key internal and external factors that are important to achieving the objective. SWOT analysis groups key pieces of information into two main categories:

- Internal factors - The strengths and weaknesses internal to the organization.

- External factors - The opportunities and threats presented by the external environment.

Areas covered:

- A Brief Profile of the Industry

- SWOT Framework Analysis

- Strengths to Build Upon

- Weaknesses to Overcome

- Opportunities to Exploit

- Threats to Overcome

- Glossary of Terms

Film Industry

Strengths:1. Film Industry is one of the most booming sectors in India due to its vast customer reach. It has a large customer base.2. The growing middle class with higher disposable income has become the strength of the film industry.3. Change in the lifestyle and spending patterns of the Indian masses on entertainment.4. Technological innovations like online distribution channels, web-stores, multi- and mega-plexes are complementing the ongoing revolution and the growth of the sector.

5. Indian film industry is second largest in the world and the largest in terms of the films produced and tickets sold.6. The low cost of production and high revenues ensure a good return on investment for Indian film industry.

Weaknesses:1. The Film production sector in India is highly fragmented. 2. Lack of cohesive production & distribution infrastructure, especially in the case of music industry.

3. The lack of efforts for media penetration in lower socio-economic classes, where the media penetration is low.

Opportunities:1. The concept of crossover movies, such as Bend It Like Beckham has helped open up new doors to the crossover audience and offers immense potential for development.2. The increasing interest of the global investors in the sector.3. The media penetration is poor among the poorer sections of the society, offering opportunities for expansion in the area.4. The nascent stage of the new distribution channels offers an opportunity for development.5. Rapid de-regulation in the Industry6. Rise in the viewership and the advertising expenditure.7. Technological innovations like animations, multiplexes, etc and new distribution channels like mobiles and Internet have opened up the doors of new opportunities in the sector.

Threats:1. Piracy, violation of intellectual property rights pose a major threat to the film making companies.2. Lack of quality content has emerged as a major concern because of the 'Quick- buck' route being followed in the industry.3. With technological innovations taking place so rapidly, the media sector is facing considerable uncertainty about success in the marketplace.

Indian film and TV industry to touch Rs 60k crores in next 5 yrs

NEW DELHI Driven by growing audience and an expanding market for international movies, the Indian film and television industry is expected to reach a size of over Rs 60,000

crore in the next five years, says a report. According to the report -- Economic Contribution of Indian Film and Television Industry -- by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the combined revenues of the industry were over Rs 35,000 crore in 2008-09. It created about 1.8 million jobs, while contributing Rs 28,305 crore to the Indian economy. Releasing the report, Motion Picture Association of America, Chairman Dan Glickman said: "This report demonstrates the importance of the film and television sector to the overall growth and vitality of the Indian economy." He, however, cautioned that the industry will be hurt by the ever increasing piracy unless the government acted to impose stricter laws. The menace of copyright theft jeopardizes a movie's ability to make money - if at all. This affects the level of investment available for new films and the ability to create new jobs for workers throughout the country," Glickman said. Citing a study by the US India Business Council and the Ernst & Young, he said piracy cost the Indian film industry USD 959 million (about Rs 4,364 crore) and some 571,000 jobs in 2008. He said the main mode of piracy is use of camcorders in theatres and the industry needs government support against use of the device in screening locations. Despite the piracy issues, the Indian film and television industry is poised to get bigger. "Over the past few years the industry has experienced rapid double-digit growth and it is expected that this trend will continue in future, resulting in increasing contribution to the Indian economy," Time Warner senior vice-president Hugh Stephens. He said Time Warner has been investing in the Indian market and will continue to do is various areas of media and entertainment sector. Besides domestic films and programmes, international and Hollywood presence in India will also grow substantially, it added. According to it, the international film industry's total contribution in India in 2008-09 was Rs 304 crore, creating employment of 14,000 people.

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