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The small screen sees a big battle

Anusha Subramanian

Moviegoers who shelled out to see Raj Kumar Santoshi's The Legend of Bhagat Singh released four months ago in a blaze of publicity must be wishing they'd saved their money and waited. Because just this month, the movie was aired on Zee TV.

And by year-end movie fans will be able to watch a string of new films like The Legend of Bhagat Singh without ever stepping out of their front doors.

It isn't only Hindi movie fans who will get to see new flicks on TV. Robert de Niro's 15 Minutes was released in Mumbai just last week. Next Saturday it will be shown on Turner International's HBO channel.

It's a new battle between the silver screen and the small screen. Films like Humraaz, Om Jai Jagdish, Mujhse Dosti Karoge, Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hain and a handful of others are still running in some Mumbai theatres.

They're also showing in far-flung regions of central India and Uttar Pradesh. Nonetheless, they too will soon be showing on Zee TV.

'Har Ghar Par Premiere' is the new buzzword at Zee TV - a programming initiative Zee has launched to regain lost viewers.

It plans to air a relatively recent mega-movie every Thursday at 8 p.m. First out of the can was The Legend Of Bhagat Singh on October 10. Other movies to be shown include yet-to-be released films like Hathyar and Little John.

Not surprisingly, Zee's move has triggered big protests from distributors, who are complaining they've been short-changed by producers desperate to recoup money from mega-movies that failed to make it at the box office. Says trade analyst Amod Mehra:

"Distributors' business and exhibitors' business will definitely fall by 50 per cent. The producers have sold the rights to films that are less than three months old."

But for Zee everything is coming up roses with movie rights now close to three-year lows. It has already lined up 16 films for its first season of Thursday premieres.

It also plans to screen Dil Hai Tumhara, Gunaah, Jeena Sirf Mere Liye, Ankhiyon Se Goli Mare, Chor Machaye Shor and Na Tum Jano Na Hum, besides others.

Analysts calculate it must have paid anywhere between Rs 70 lakh (Rs 7 million) and Rs 2.1 crore (Rs 21 million) for most of the films.

Morgan Stanley reckons Zee Telefilms acquired the 16 films at a total cost of Rs 30 crore (Rs 300 million) to Rs 33 crore (Rs 330 million).

"We've slated films like Humraaz almost concurrently with their presence in cinema halls," says Sandeep Goyal, who was Zee Telefilms group broadcasting CEO until recently.

In fact, a Motilal Oswal report estimates Zee's initiative will bring Rs 70 lakh (Rs 7 million)in revenues. It is also believed to have roped in eight or nine sponsors for the first 16 movie telecasts, each of whom is expected to spend Rs 20 lakh (Rs 2 million) to Rs 30 lakh (Rs 3 million) per movie. This takes the revenue potential from each screening to Rs 2.3-Rs 2.7 crore (Rs 23-27 million), depending on the movie.

Zee's drive to win back viewers has changed the rules of the game. Traditionally, films were telecast six months to a year after release. Ghulam, one of the few exceptions, was shown just a few months after its release and had distributors up in arms against the producer.

But Apurva Purohit, president, Zee Telefilms isn't bothered. "Producers are looking at various avenues to maximise their revenues, whether through music rights, tapping international audiences or selling their cable and satellite rights. This is one of the avenues for them."

Zee isn't the only channel that has angered distributors. HBO is also showing newly released films. The fact is the film industry is in a panic and everyone's in a quandary.

Almost every film released in the recent past has been a washout - be it Shakti - The Power, Gunaah or Road. Trade analysts say the film industry, in the last 10 months, has lost over Rs 650 crore (Rs 6.5 billion).

The Legend of Bhagat Singh was deemed a flop and lost close to about Rs 12 crore (Rs 120 million), according to industry estimates.

Road also came to the screen with great expectations. But its box office take in Mumbai was disappointing.

In the two weeks since its release, its box office earnings were just Rs 36.3 lakh (Rs 3.63 million). Shakti also flopped despite Nana Patekar and Karisma Kapoor and in three weeks collected a mere Rs 10.2 lakh (Rs 1.02 million) in Mumbai.

To be sure, the distributors and exhibitors are trying to fight back against this trend. The distributors' associations have called for a meeting and threatened action against producers, including de-registering forthcoming films.

And the Central Circuit Cine Association - which controls distributors and exhibitors in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and parts of Maharashtra - has issued a circular demanding a refund from Venus, the producer of Humraaz, because it was broadcast soon after its release.

Says Santosh Singh Jain, distributor and president, CCCA: "The recent sale of satellite rights of some newly released films is a breach of contract between the producers and exhibitors. Some of these films have been sold within three months of their release. We're definitely considering strong action."

Adds leading distributor and exhibitor Shyam Shroff: "Earlier the rule for showing films on TV was five years after the theatrical release, which later came down to one year. But the producers seem to be narrowing the gap. Distributors who bought the film against a minimum guarantee have yet to recover the money - and with the film being shown on TV there's no chance of recovery."

Individual distributors are also studying the fine print of their contracts with producers. Shringar Films has issued a notice in trade journals saying it had an understanding with Ram Gopal Varma that his film Road would not be shown on television for a year. It says early telecast of the film will eat into revenues and violate its rights.

But there are others who feel only a certain group of distributors will be hit. Manmohan Shetty, chairman, AdLabs, says the move will not affect theatres in A class cities, although it could hurt B and C class cities where films move from one screen to another.

"In A Class cities like the major metros where there are multiplexes, business won't be affected. Moreover, major recovery of the films in these cities happens within the first three months," he says.

Jayendra Popat, an officer bearer with the Indian Motion Pictures Distributors Association in Mumbai, rejects this argument.

He says these films come in handy when there's a gap between new releases. "A television premiere affects the re-runs in theatres," he says.

As for Hathyar, he says if the film is a hit, its TV premiere will severely hurt collections. He suggests no film be shown on television until six months after its release.

Many producers, however, believe otherwise. "We have to make money for which we will tap all resources," says Puja Film's Vashu Bhagnani, the producer of films like Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein and Om Jai Jagdish.

Trade and media analysts estimate that these films would have been sold for a sum of Rs 7 million to Rs 15 million, depending on the films.

And there have been twists in the tale as the battle between the two sides heats up.

Yash Raj Films and Venus have issued a notice saying they haven't yet signed any agreements for films like Mujhse Dosti Karoge, Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi and Hathyar, to be shown on the dates announced by the channel.

Zee says there is no truth to this. Says Purohit: "As far as we are concerned there is no issue."

But that's not the end of the story. According to sources, leading channels are even negotiating with producers to telecast films simultaneously with their release or a week after their release.

That will mean you might as well stay home, put your feet up and heat up the popcorn.

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