Why is it the Right Time for Entrepreneurs to Invade the Film Industry India has about 8000 cinema screen, of about 2500 are multiplexes and rest of them our single screen
By Vanita D'souza •
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Most of us are aware of the size and grandness of the Indian film industry. But very few know, in terms of theatrical volume, India makes the largest number of films in the world.
The country collectively produces about 800-1000 thousands films every year in more than 20 different languages. And yet, with all the diversity and scale, Indian film industry has failed to monetise itself.
Can Problem Areas Be An Opportunity
In a conversation with Entrepreneur India, Rahul Puri, Managing Director, Mukta Arts shares that India contributes a very small part, which is about 2-3 per cent, to the global box office.
According to him, there are majorly three reasons why film industry in India has failed to pick up and one of those is the ticket pricing. "If you look at our ticket price, in comparison to the west, they are looking USD 15-16 while we charge just a dollar or two per ticket," he noted
Another issue is the screen count. India has about 8000 cinema screen, of about 2500 are multiplexes and rest of them are single screens.
"India hasn't got there because there is an issue with our basic infrastructure. Most of the single screens are dilapidated and plus the numbers have actually gone down from 10000," he pointed out.
Puri suggested that India should take note of China, where the number has gone up from about 5000 to 30000 screens, which has positioned the later as the world's second-largest box office market.
He feels India needs more screens and aspiring entrepreneurs that have access to capital, can use this to their advantage.
Furthermore, even though there is definitely a language barrier, but in the last couple of years, Puri feels the content has failed to do well.
"Our success rate in terms of content is still very poor. We do need to have better content which is made by more professional hands and a formal structure," he said while advising producers to segment their audience so that the content can find its own niche, which in turn, will increase the success rate.
Therefore the senior executive feels it is the right time for budding entrepreneurs to enter the content space. Sharing an example of new-age content producing firms like All India Bakchod or The Viral Fever, he said, "These companies are not particularly very old but are just innovative with their content and how they distribute it."
