CCI has an eye on the film industry (IANS Column: B-Town)

All that is happening in the film industry is not going unnoticed and, especially, the activities and functioning of the cinema exhibition trade. Looks like not all governments or departments concerned are convinced that the equation between filmmakers and the exhibition trade is balanced; that is to say, a level playing field is needed.

In the South, they seem to be more concerned about survival of the film industry. Remember, actors there have fan clubs which count their members in lakhs. There, fans build temples and monuments in the name of their idol and bathe the banners of his or her new film with milk.

In the South, till not long ago, the film industry and politics were synonymous. To some extent, it still holds true. A star did not retire; rather, he or she took to a political career. But they never forgot to stand by their fraternity, the film folk.

The South producers got together and laid down certain norms for the stars as regards remuneration and the daily allowances paid to the retinue. In the Hindi film industry, it is different. Nobody stands by the filmmakers. They were always exploited and continue to be so; earlier, by the authorities and now by the exhibition trade primarily and also by the stars.

Letting stars get into such a position was the filmmakers' own fault, but the exploitation by the exhibition trade is due to the weakness and lack of unity of the production sector. Film producers have four bodies to represent them, but none is willing to raise its voice.

Now, if it comes as any solace, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) is closely studying the ways the industry works. A couple of years ago, the CCI took note of the happenings in the film industry. It looked like just another lip service these departments pay from time to time. The CCI claimed to be studying the cinema business closely.

As it happens, the CCI has made some conclusions, which it made public last week. In a communique, the CCI has observed that certain anomalies exist in the way the film exhibition trade functions. To this effect, it has issued a sweetly worded restraint that should be followed. It has found certain practices in the trade to be against the spirit of competition and even monopolistic.

The CCI has issued a report, 'Market Study on the Film Distribution Chain in India', and the report seems to have missed little about how film distribution and exhibition work.

The CCI thinks that as against the present sliding-scale box-office sharing between the producer and exhibitor (whereby a producer/distributor's share is tapered down every week), the arrangement should be on an aggregate basis, which is to say, sharing the total revenue of the run of a film as per prearranged terms.

This is not much of a suggestion because the exhibitor who holds the upper hand will work out the aggregate sharing to his advantage, which won't be much different than what the terms are now.

The other suggestion by the CCI is humbug. It says that the multiplex should consider sharing promotion costs with the producer! Consider? Rest assured, the multiplex is not expected to do any such thing.

The CCI advocates a non-alterable box-office monitoring system which generates, records and maintains ticketing logs, or simply put, ticket sales. This data should be sacrosanct! It further wants the producers to engage a panel of auditors to check on the box-office logs of the multiplexes.

This is really funny. The multiplexes collect and report what they collect. They have no benefit in reporting wrong or inflated figures. The guilty party, when this happens, is usually the producer (who nowadays is often the star himself). They are the ones who give out wrong, inflated collection figures. As if that will make a flop or a mediocre film into a hit. It is just an ego massage for the stars.

Some studies made by the CCI are cursory. They sound like sermons, like when it says that the associations, as in trade bodies, should not indulge in bans and boycotts and not stop non-members from working in the industry! That is against the very idea of an association as its very purpose is to safeguard its members' interest. And that is not served if non-members are employed by the producers.

The study further advises the associations to create a mechanism to resolve disagreements and so on. In case the CCI does not know, filmmakers rarely, if ever, go to court. They always settle their differences on their own. And arbitration has been the way of the world much before courts and commissions came into being.

One valuable point made by the CCI is not worth taking merely as a suggestion. Not only does it need to be followed with immediate effect, but it also has the potential to be referred back to the CCI if not implemented. This concerns the Virtual Print Fees (VPF) paid to the cinema by the filmmaker.

Uunchai Promo Makes A Mark

The talk of the trade and the topic trending on social media is the just-released promo of Sooraj Barjatya's latest offering, 'Uunchai'. This is unlike any film that Rajshri or Sooraj Barjatya is known to make. The film is about the friendship of three elderly men (Amitabh Bachchan, Boman Irani and Anupam Kher; the film also stars Danny Denzongpa).

This is the time when the biggest stars of Hindi cinema are delivering duds. Take the case of 'Ram Setu', due for release in two days (October 25), starring Akshay Kumar in the lead. It is hardly being discussed on social media. 'Uunchai', on the other hand, is doing just that, being discussed.

What is also disheartening for the Hindi industry is that while 'Ram Setu' has yet to generate heat, the Hollywood film, 'Black Adam', succeeded in making its mark with a strong advance booking, despite this being a pre-Diwali week. Released on October 20, the film is reported to have garnered Rs 7 crore on its Day One.