The Indian film industry is celebrating its hundredth year of existence. Ever since the first silent movie Raj Harishchandra was made, Indian films have come a long way and today India produces the largest number of films in the world. Indian movies are now well received in large number of countries and the audience keeps growing. Many a Hindi movie earns a good amount of its overall collections from outside the country. Indeed Hindi movies act as an excellent ambassador for our country.
I fondly today also recall an interesting episode during my visit to USA man years back. I entered a watch shop in New York and the man behind the counter asked me whether I am an Indian. No sooner had I confirmed he warmly welcomed me and informed me he was a huge fan of Amitabh Bachchan. He then started narrating about the various movies of Amitabh he had seen and the characters portrayed by him in each film. He seemed to be unstoppable. I asked him apart from Amitabh did he like any other actor. He launched into another long narration on Dharmendra and his movies.
After a long long time he asked me what was I looking for. I told him a watch for my wife. He went inside and brought out a very elegant looking piece with a light green colored dial. I liked it. I asked for its price. He told me because I am from the land of Amitabh he would give it to me at a throw away price of sixty dollars against its original price of more than hundred dollars. I did not argue with him.Somehow he looked convincing. I paid him and as I was about to leave he told me the watch will last you very long as it is a famous designer's original piece. The watch is giving good service today also and many a times my wife has been asked from where she got it from. Thanks to Hindi movies and Amitabh and the Egyptian watch seller in New York.
Another time I was in a city in Switzerland surfing the TV in late evening.There was no English language program. I was feeling bored as one could not go out also as the temperature was near zero. I tried again after about half an hour and suddenly on a channel I saw Guru Dutt. It was his epic film 'Pyasa' being telecast with French subtitles. I had seen the movie in India as a child and did not remember much of it. It was a well spent evening watching Guru Dutt, Waheeda Rehman, Mala Sinha and Johnny Walker along with its beautiful songs and music in Zurich. Next day when I said this to my Swiss contact he said Guru Ditt's movies are very well liked by the French and his movies are regularly telecast.
I was dozing on a flight from Shanghai to Qingdao in China, in mid nineties, when I felt I am listening to a familiar tune. I woke up to note that it was the song 'Aawara Hoon--' from Raj Kapoor's film 'Aawara' that was being played in the aircraft. I was to listen it being played many more times during a week long stay in China.
Another time while attending a seminar in USA my next room mate happened tobe from Pakistan. The immense knowledge of Hindi movies he displayed was a revelation to me even though I also used to see and read a lot about Hindi movies. But he was like a encyclopedia. We both jokingly agreed that only Hindi films will bring peace between the two countries.
Recently I happened to go to Delhi to attend to an elderly relation admitted into a premier hospital. Everywhere in the hospital one saw large number of well to do persons from Afghanistan attending to their sick relations. I struck conversation with a few of them and found they were speaking very good Hindi. When I asked them do they teach it in Afghanistan,they would laugh and say they have all learnt it from watching Hindi movies, right from their childhood days. They love to watch Hindi movies and now Hindi TV serials are also becoming very popular.
Finally,I once accidentally entered inot a shop in New York and found myself staring at about eight or nine Afrikan Amerciacns. One of them asked me am I from India and as soon as said yes, in unison they got up and started dancing vigorously. Before I could understand what was going they all looked at me and loudly shouted "Bollywood". For the first and last time in my life I also joined a dance.
I too had paid my humble tribute to Hindi movies and wish it a still glorious coming hundred years.
The famous director Karan Johar, recently asked the Hindi film industry to aim for Rs 1000 crore earning rather than Rs 100- 200 crore recent earning by a few movies. It is entirely possible for Hindi movies to earn such high earnings prvided the number of theaters are increased substantially and the ticket prices are kept at reasonable levels. Let us see how it is possible.
On an all India average, the price of a ticket in a multiplex is, say, around Rs 120 and in a single screen theater it is around Rs 40 per ticket.(In Mumbai it can be as high as Rs 400 and Rs100 respectively, but the number of such seats on an all India basis is not significant for our argument). It is estimated by Boxofficeindia.com that 65 per cent of the box office collections of the top 50 Hindi films came from multiplexes and 35 per cent from single screen theaters.
Thus, if a movie has to touch a turn over of Rs 100 crore, it will get Rs 65 crore from multiplex screens and Rs 35 crore from single screen theaters. it means at Rs 120 per ticket the number of viewers has to be 54,16,667 in the multiplexes. The number of viewers in single screen theaters at Rs 40 per ticket has to be 87,50,000. Thus a total of 1,41,66,667 viewers have to watch a movie for it to reach the coveted figure of Rs 100 crore at the box office. This viewership figure corresponds to a low of 1.14 per cent of india's population of 124 crores. For a movie to touch Rs 200 crore mark it has to be seen by 2.83 crore viewers or 2.3 per cent of India's population. In reality much less than 1 per cent of Indian population is watching Hindi movies. Only select movies are watched by between 0.5 to 0.75% of the population.
The all India viewership figure is thus very low. Thus if a movie has to touch a Rs 1000 crore figure it has to be seen by around 14 crore people or slightly above 11 per cent of the population. Is it difficult to achieve this high figure of viewership. As per present trends yes. One of the main reason for such low viewership is the less number of theaters in the country. As against 120 screens per million people in USA there are just 10 screens per million in India. India produces the largest number of movies in the world, more than 1,000 per year. In theater attendance also India is number one with more than 3 billion tickets sold in a year. However the density of screens is very low and this comes in way of the movies realizing their true earning potential.
These days however the multiplexes are expanding, as these are were people go to see movies more often. The single screen theaters around 10,500 in number are gradually closing down, as they are now mostly patronised by economically weaker sections of the society and are finding operations unviable.The spread of the mall culture is giving a boost to new multiplexes.The number of multiplex screens is slated to go up from present 900 screens to 1,350 by April, 2013. On an average a multiplex screen costs Rs 2 crore and thus is capital intensive.
It can therefore be seen that in terms of viewership, per Rs 100 crore earning around 1.15 per cent of India's population must see a movie.This figure looks so small and manageable but every Friday, 90 per cent of the movies flop and fail to attract even such a low per cent of our population.However with rising incomes, increasing number of multiplex screens, option of movie timings and fair assurance of ticket availability, in say, next five years a hit Hindi movie could be earning around Rs 1000 crores. Just imagine how much would the Salman Khans of that time charge per movie.
If you have a craze for movies and want to get the latest of everything then we have the place where you can get all the latest movies of Bollywood, just at the click of a mouse. A number of Online Movies Store in India offers such movie buffs the chance to get their favorite movies online at a really discounted price.
Online Movies Store in India has an amazing collection of fun-filled movies, ranging from different Indian languages to different categories and genres. Choose from our wide range in every imaginable category, including classics from the past or foreign films, musicals and many more. You may also be amazed to find some of the collections which are rarely found. Now there is no need for you to go about standing in queues in order to see the movie of your choice. Just log on to our website and we’ll provide you with the best Hollywood/ Bollywood DVD’s online at a very affordable price.
You can also watch these movies online or buy Blu ray discs & Box sets which are designed to replace the standard DVD format. With the capacity to store high -definition video, Blu ray discs and Box sets are all set to make your movie watching experience all the more entertaining. Forget the idea of waiting the whole day just to watch the first day first show in some movie halls. Just buy movie CD’s and DVD’s online in India and free yourself from the torture of standing in queues to get the glimpse of your favourite actor or actress.
You can also buy movie CD’s and DVD’s Online in India from any Online Movies Store India. Get rid of the idea that the real enjoyment of watching movies can be felt only in multiplexes or a theatre. No doubt they have their own charm, none-the-less creating a theatre like ambience at home can also make the joy of watching movies with all your loved ones all the more enriching. So go ahead and grab a copy of your favourite DVD’s and CD’s all available at the nearest Online Movies Store India.
You can find these movies on www.Odyssey360.com with an all comprehensive guide to home entertainment featuring an assortment of movies made available to the viewers at great prices. Offering the most up-to-date, unique and rare collection of movies, it is an encyclopedia of entertainment.
Its been around two months that the movie names 'Oh My God' has been released and was appreciated nationwide for its topic and acting. I am bit late in writing the review for this movie but a good movie stays good and no matter how much late, it should be watched whenever possible.
OMG featuring Paresh Rawal is a satarical Comedy movie on the Religion of India. Although it is an adaptation of a Gujrati play called Kanji Virudh (vs) Kanji, which again was on the same plot similar to that of the Australian film 'The Man Who Sued God'.
The movie also featured other prominent actor like Akshay Kumar, Mithun Chakraborty, Poonam Jhawer, Mahesh Manjrekar, and Om Puri. The film received both negative and positive responses from all over India, although more positives one and was declated as a Box Office Hit.
Paresh Rawal in the role of Kanji Bhai is a Hindu atheist who runs a shop in Chor Bazaar, Mumbai, and sells Hindu idols and statues. Being a good business man he knows how to use the sentiments of people who have blind faith in their god and he was making good profits using their feelings. His family never supports him in this regard and was often rediculed by his wife, to not use God name in such a bad way and by cheating others.
His life took a turn when a low frequency earthquake hits Mumbai, but except for Kanji Bhai's shop, which is destroyed completely, no other property was damaged. He was told that due to his bad work, god has shown him his anger and he deserved this because of its such work. Kanji went to it insurance company to get the required claim but was told that the such kinds of destructions are not covered by the insurance companies and are completely act of God.
Not knowing what to do, he decides to go against the God and tried to file a lawsuit against him. Since no lawyer was ready to support Kanji in filing such a lawsuit which according to them is totally useless and will only be a time wastage, a muslim laywer Hanif Kureshi acted by Om Puri decide to help him in filing that but Kanji Bhai was told to argue the case himself as Hanif Kureshi can't do that becasue of his disablity. And then the notice was sent to the insurance company and the different saints of various prominent temples to appear for the hearing and then the story continues.
The case was accepted in the court when Kanji Bhai points out that these saints in temples claim to be the representatives of God on Earth, they are suppose to be answerable for the act of God and they should give him the required claim amount for his loss.
The best part in the movie was when Kanji bhai shows the hypocracy in the Hindu Religion when people are donatins so much to the temples which are alreayd having enough, instead of giving it to the poor who are dying because of hunger and thirst everyday. He pointed out so many things which the saints do on the name of god and how they cheat people using his name. This whole case created the outrage in the country and people started protesting against Kanji bhai and how he was speaking against religious sentiments of people.
But that also led to support of hundreds of other people because their claims were also rejected on the name of Act of God , which was not covered by the insurance companies. Because of the political influance also, they decided to kill Kanji bhai, and then came the God Krishna acted by Akshay Kumar which indeed is the brightest character of the movie. Akshay's personality attracted almost everyone and although he had very few dialogues to deliver, he indeed made his mark.
The music of the movie was also good and songs like Mere Nishan, sung by Kailash kher was on the top of charts. Other dancing number by Prabhudev: 'Govinda' was also among the hit list.
The main aim of the movie was to potray the hindu religion which is making people afraid in the name of God and although Kanji Bhai won the case and got his claim, Leeladhar Swamy Acted by Mitun Chakraborthy quotes that India is a God Fearing Country and not the God Loving one and people will go to temples and will keep donating until the fear is there and that really was the crux of the movie.
The movie is a good watch for acting, dialouges and the concept. Do watch it..
Enjoy. !!
“Barfi” – Anurag Basu film has been nominated in foreign category as India’s entry to most reputed film industry awards “Oscars” for this year 2012. It has drawn mixed reactions from public & critics. Some favor Barfi as depicting the human emotions at its best, while others feel that we had more films to choose from. Whatever is the opinion, one thing is sure – Bollywood has certainly moved out of the woods.
The Transition
A simple love story, comedy, emotions & action. - that was Hindi Cinema once upon a time. But now all these have given way to socially relevant messages as Bollywood turns a corner. If cinema is all about mirroring reality, then it is bound to give out a socially relevant message. In the right hands that message strikes a chord with the public.
In recent years, Bollywood was out of its custom woods with filmmakers trying out something new, passing a message along with entertainment. With some out of the box films like 3-idiots, Rocket Singh, Dev D, Wednesday, Wake-up Sid, Shaitaan, Dirty Picture & now Barfi, filmmakers were out with some serious topics to deliver infotainment.
More and more filmmakers are drifting from romance to more meaningful subjects. Cinema provides a filmmaker with the privilege of affecting a vast number of people. Apart from entertainment, films should possess a social message too. Films can first entertain people & message can follow. 3-idiots dealt with the education system, Dev D with drugs & prostitution, Rocket Singh with changing service economy, Wednesday, Kurbaan & My Name is khan with terrorism, Rang De Basanti with political corruption, Dirty Picture with Sex, and now Barfi with happiness, the list grows.
Film-Makers & Audiences
Previously, filmmakers believed in following the audience. However, they have realized that it works the other way round, & are now taking the lead. Today's heroes have changed, he is no longer someone who always wins but one who never gives up. Film-makers are exploring new topics which can pass on some social message to the public. Audiences too have evolved over time. With Internet, today’s audiences have access to vast pool of information. Audiences today want value for their money. They don’t see Bollywood as just an entertainer, but an opportunity to learn something new.
The focus, though, is on telling great stories, but people are not just interested in empty entertainment anymore. Entertainment has to enlighten with a message. Bollywood & audiences both are evolving with growing awareness & information. With art, entertainment & awareness all clubbed together, let’s hope to see some more beautiful messages being delivered by Bollywood soon :-)
More Articles …
Page 77 of 141