The Hindi film industry is in dire straits, and we homed in on the reasons that will be obvious to any calm and sane observer in a series a few weeks ago. But if there are still calm, sane and logical people within the trade and industry, they are either outnumbered—or silent. Swamped by the corporate honchos who can never fine-tune great business with fine cinematic quality but consider themselves all-conquering and all-knowing Alexanders, the film industry’s sorrowful state has a cascading effect with additional ills like paid media, manufactured collections and more.
A prominent photographer who would tweet (to earn!) on a regular basis says he has now quit that activity because most tweets now are understood as being “paid” propaganda in a “Wolf! Wolf!-like scenario! Scripts, music, universal appeal—there are compromises everywhere, but moneys are being splurged in wrong zones.
…And moneys are also being splurged by the audience—to watch movies at killer rates, accompanied by exorbitant F & B, disallowance of taking personal food and drink from home in the name of cleanliness, and incredibly inflated parking charges (with no responsibility taken even for basic safety of your vehicle.
And so now, after the cosmetic biennial ‘National Cinema Day’, the multiplexes in their all-pervading omnipotent and pretense at omniscience, have decided to dole out one more largesse to the cinema-loving buff—’Blockbuster Tuesdays’, a specious premise that promises and “offers”—in reality—nothing!
Look at the fine print: Tickets will be priced at Rs. 99 and Rs. 149 on Tuesdays (after the first weekend and crucial Mondays—which are a test of a film’s performance—are over), and these rates will be “applied all summer”!
The exhibitors, in their self-exalted “wisdom” have already declared all such moves as “hits” and self-importantly declare that all these (actually) petty sops “aim to boost footfalls, especially from younger, price-conscious audiences, and bring them back to theatres”! In a story in Bombay Times, they have claimed that the “National Cinema Day” saw an “overwhelming response even for early morning shows”, but omit the bigger truth that one (or two days) in 365 matter less than an iota! What about the “underwhelming” response otherwise?
Another hoax statement follows: “With a curated (!!) mix of new releases and beloved classics, the initiative hopes to boost footfalls and rekindle the joy of watching films on the big screen.”
(About a decade ago, I was sitting with a leading music company’s honcho who, equally myopically, was exulting over the “comeback of LP records”. When I looked at whatever was released (at exorbitant rates like Rs. 899), they included some of the worst soundtracks in the preceding decades of films whose music had completely flopped! Very obviously, that “comeback” proved a decisive “go back” within less than a year and Long-Playing records once again disappeared).
Why I deviated from the track here is to mention that many of these “curated and beloved” classics include hitherto flop or non-starter films (Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein, Laila Majnu with Triptii Dimri, Tumbbad and more such!) that are now touted as successes or even hits along with genuine blockbuster re-releases like Karan Arjun. So that is a similar situation in cinema just like the myopic music label!
A masterpiece of a “generous” (?!?!) statement comes (in Bombay Times) by Kamal Gianchandani, President of the Multiplex Association of India. He states, “This summer, cinemas are rolling out attractive mid-week prices for moviegoers. It’s our way of reminding the world just how thrilling it is to experience stories on the big screen. Blockbuster Tuesdays (!!!!) is a bold (!!!!!), industry-wide initiative that reflects our deep (?!?!?!?!) commitment to making cinema accessible and enjoyable for everyone.”
Statutory warning folks: This is only on Tuesdays, a working day. Why not have a Blockbuster Weekend all summer? Perhaps we might get to see some real blockbusters!
