The bottom line

Indian cinema, especially Bollywood, needs to get its streamlining in order to have a bigger share of the pie June this year could become a major landmark for India's cinema business. Not only is Hrhitik Roshan set to take flight as India's first superhero in Krrish, a new range of relatively low-priced multiplexes is also set to open that month.

They will provide “a premium movie-going experience” to price-conscious audiences, mainly in small towns like Aurangabad and Latur, according to the scheme's promoter, Ajay Bijli. The owner of the PVR brand of multiplexes says tickets at the new range of multiplexes will be priced at around Rs 40. He says the difference between these and his established PVR multiplexes will be like that between Big Bazaar and Pantaloon stores, both of which are owned by industrialist Kishore Bayani.

Already, the number of multiplexes in India has mushroomed to near a hundred (close to 300 screens) since tax incentives were offered in 2001, particularly the 50 per cent corporate tax break for multiplexes in non-metros that was announced in Budget 2002-03. Plans are now in place to almost double the number of multiplex screens in the country over the next couple of years.

This will broaden the consumption base for upmarket cinema. Since multiplexes ride the consumption lifestyle associated with malls and leisure destinations, only three of the 73 multiplexes in India a year ago were in the east, 42 in the west and 23 in the north.

Although only 0.8 per cent of India's 11,000 screens were in multiplexes in 2002, according to global market trends published by the organisers of the 2005 Cannes Film Festival, Bollywood producers, financiers and distributors now focus sharply on the multiplex market. That is not surprising. Multiplex ticket charges mean they contribute a larger share of the revenue pie than the numbers of seats in them would indicate. Plus, multiplexes spin off a huge lifestyle market – not only malls, snack bars and stretch sofa-seats priced at Rs 500 each in some theatres, but also character – or theme-based merchandising.

Krrish could be path-breaking for India's cinema business on that front. Its producers have tied up for a range of merchandise that will tap into the popularity of the Spiderman-type character among children. Spiderman II did exceptionally well in India. Between them, its original and dubbed versions made Rs 34.2 crore – more than Murder and Hum Tum, which were also released in 2004.

It is “a great retail opportunity,” says Bijli, but adds that the merchandise “must stand the test of time.” He points out that Disney still sells merchandise associated with films it made years ago, such as The Lion King, Shrek or Snow White.

Aamir Khan Productions and indiatimes.com had tied up with Archies to market several products associated with Lagaan but merchandising has a long way to go in India. Consider some vignettes. Fact one: Disney made deals with 130 companies for 101 Dalmations, including cross-promotional deals with McDonald's and Frito-Lay. Fact two: after a child in ET shared some Reese's pieces with a friendly alien, Reese's sales shot up 65 per cent. Fact three: the 007 Store stocks 550 products, all related to the James Bond character.