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So, what's special?
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It's going to be a cracker of a Deepavali for tinseldom. SREEDHAR PILLAI on what makes festival releases a big business
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WILL THE festival of lights bring glitter to the Tamil and Hindi film releases? Deepavali has become a metaphor for big movies and this year at the last count nearly a dozen films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Malayalam are releasing. Chennai is the only metro in India where all language films release and have their own audience. A bonanza awaits movie buffs for Deepavali-2004.
This year promises to be a cracker of a Deepavali, according to the trade, as Ramzan follows two days later. According to Yash Chopra whose magnum opus "Veer-Zaara" is releasing: "Deepavali and Ramzan are coming together this year which is sure to make the box-office boom and it is a good season to market big budget films." This is unlike the last three years when Deepavali had been followed by Ramzan, a month during which Muslims abstain from any form of entertainment, including watching films.
In North India, the Nizam area of Andhra Pradesh and the Malabar area in Kerala, box-office collections dip to an all-time low during the fasting period. The last big Deepavali release in Bollywood was in 2001 when "Mohabbatein" clashed with "Mission Kashmir" in a year when both the festivals were celebrated in the same week.
Prime time for releases
As far as the Tamil film industry is concerned, Deepavali has always been prime time to release new films. In fact, theatres in Tamil Nadu close for a few days before the festival for maintenance work and open with a new coat of paint and the latest Tamil releases.
Says Abirami Ramanathan, general secretary, Tamil Nadu Theatres Association: "Many Tamilians after their traditional oil bath make it a point to watch at least one new release without which their Deepavali is not complete. It is part of our custom which ensures that a Deepavali release gets a decent opening and some of the biggest hits of MGR, Sivaji Ganesan and Rajnikanth have been their Deepavali releases."
Reminisces veteran producer AVM Saravanan: "I get nostalgic about my childhood when I think of Deepavali — the early morning oil bath, new clothes, visits to various temples, the amount of crackers we used to burst, different kinds of sweets and appa getting us dress circle tickets for a new Tamil release." Saravanan adds that some of the biggest hits of AVM were released during Deepavali.
The novelty
What is the novelty of Deepavali releases? The hype and hoopla surrounding it has to be seen to be believed. Whether it is the star cast, music or the filmmakers, there is a tremendous buzz about a Deepavali release. The fans and trade to a certain extent believe that a Deepavali release will determine the star power of a hero when he is pitted against other stars. However this year top stars Rajnikanth, Vikram and Vijay have no new releases while others such as Ajit, Dhanush, Sarath Kumar, Silambarasan and Vijaykanth (in alphabetical order) need a hit to salvage their career. The trade feels that even if one or two of these films click at the box-office, it's party time.
Vigil over piracy
Forget the silver jubilee or 100 days, now Tamil producers start celebrating after a good opening weekend. Gone are the days when trade equated box-office success with the number of days the film ran at a theatre.
Says a leading distributor: "Today the success of a film is determined by how quickly the producer and distributor are able to recover the cost and make a profit. All recent hits such as `Giri', `M. Kumaran Son of Mahalakshmi', `7-G Rainbow Colony' and `Chellamay' recovered their cost and made profits by the second week of their release." The trade feels the recent hits were possible because of a good opening and a determined crackdown on video piracy. According to them, this year's Deepavali releases will sparkle if the police are able to maintain vigil over video piracy.
Adds Abirami Ramanathan: "I am expecting a bumper opening for Deepavali releases as all of them are mass movies with popular actors. If there is no piracy of Deepavali releases and with a five-day weekend holiday, we expect a 90-95 per cent opening which augurs well for the industry."
On the flipside, a section of the trade is sceptical that too many releases will create confusion among the audience who will wait for word-of-mouth to decide on which film to watch. With ticket rates shooting up and other forms of entertainment available on television, they may prefer to stay at home.
To a certain extent, Deepavali has lost its lustre due to the invasion of satellite channels. On Deepavali day, the Tamil channels are beaming films such as "Baba", "Ramana" and "Azhagiya Theeye" along with interviews of top actors and other film-based programmes. And on November 13, there is the BCCI Platinum jubilee India Versus Pakistan one-day match in Kolkata which is expected to create a record television audience for Doordarshan.
Says Mumbai-based trade analyst Komal Nahta: "It is risky to release so many big films on one day. The audience preference this Deepavali will be for `Veer-Zaara' thanks to its big stars, music, a solid banner and excellent marketing. This will definitely affect `Naach' and `Aitraaz' at some level. But all this does not matter at the box-office, as finally only a good film with a strong story and presentation will set the cash registers ringing." In Chennai "Veer-Zaara" due to its bumper advance booking and opening big in three huge theatres with tickets priced at Rs. 100 is sure to be the highest grosser during the Deepavali-Ramzan weekend.
So the keyword is `opening' and by next week, the winner will be declared by the trade. If the rains do not dampen the Deepavali spirit, expect some fireworks at the Chennai box-office.
Big budget, bigger prices
AS DEEPAVALI big-budget films line up for release, there is a lot of money at stake. This year, approximately a sum of Rs. 100 crores is riding on four Hindi Deepavali releases — "Veer-Zaara", "Aitraaz", "Naach" and the remastered "Mughal-e-Azaam" (the conversion from black and white to colour cost Rs. 8 crores!), which also includes the cost of prints and marketing.
Seven films in Tamil were to be released this Deepavali but the trade expects only six to make it to the theatre. Nearly Rs. 35 crores is riding on these films.
Three years ago, a balcony ticket in Chennai was available in the range of Rs. 30 to 40. Now the State Government has allowed the exhibitors to raise the ticket amount with their flexi-pricing policy. Today Deepavali audience just do not have the money to watch all the new releases and will have to pick and choose. A visit to a Chennai theatre during Deepavali for a family of four could easily lighten the wallet by Rs. 350 for a Tamil and Rs. 600 for a Hindi film. This includes the cola, pop corn and the parking fee!
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