Trade analyst Komal Nahta throws light on films and piracy!

After a long wait due to the pandemic, the film industry has finally seen some relaxation after the recent guidelines by the government. The lockdown relaxations are not uniform across the country. Even within the state of Maharashtra, the unlocking is dependent upon the level in which the districts fall because the state has brought a five-level unlocking plan. This means that cinemas in parts of Maharashtra might reopen while in the rest of the state, they may not be granted permission to operate depending upon the level.

Industry’s insider and film trade expert Komal Nahta sheds light on some of the aspects of this unlocking process and how Industry would fare with it. He shares, “By its very nature, films have to be released all over India simultaneously. Of course, they have to see release all over the world on the same day, but one is not even talking about the rest of the world here. Film business is very different from other businesses like, for instance, the hotel business.”

He further adds, “If a film is not released in cinemas across India on the same day — and that would be possible if and only if cinemas across the country are functional at the same time — the business of the film in areas where cinemas are shut could be lost forever because of piracy. The new film would be pirated right on the day of its release anywhere in the country and, therefore, people in areas where cinemas are not allowed to reopen as per the unlock plan, would’ve watched the pirated version of the film in their homes.”

Because of these aspects, according to him— the question of releasing new films until and unless cinemas all over India are functional does not arise.

“Yes, if shootings are permitted as part of the unlock plan, producers will at least be able to complete their films by resuming shootings of the under-production films or will be able to start their new films. But that’s as far as the production sector is concerned. The distribution and exhibition sectors would still have to wait for the cinemas of the entire country to reopen. For these two sectors then, the unlock plan of, say, Maharashtra or Delhi does not mean much because new software to play in the reopened cinemas will not be forthcoming. No producer would risk releasing his film in part of India and hope to release it in the rest of the country as and when cinemas reopen in different districts. Altering the concept of day-and-date release is unthinkable, given the toothlessness of the piracy laws in the country”, Nahta analysis.

Kamal Gianchandani, CEO, PVR Pictures Ltd., and chief business planning and strategy, PVR Ltd., also says, “The reopening of cinemas even partially is welcome because it gives the hope that cinemas in other parts of the country will reopen soon. Of course, producers will not release new films till majority of the cinemas in the country reopen, and that, by my estimate should happen by June-end or mid-July. I am not worried about cinemas shutting down after reopening because Coronavirus cases generally don’t increase exponentially after they reduce.”

Well, with all factors in place it would be interesting to see how the industry adapts to it and keep away from issues that may come with partial unlocking.