Mumbai: Filmmaker Mani Ratnam said Thursday that filmmaking will undergo changes in terms of reduced budgets. It will also need the support of big stars. Shootings and release of films have remained suspended since imposition of lockdown March 25. Mani Ratnam asserted that everyone will have to contribute in the revival of the film industry.
Ratnam said he is positive that the industry will be able to sail through with ‘enough changes’.
“”The fact is that the immediate theatre release is going to get difficult. The market is going to get eroded which means I have to make sure the cost of my film is brought down. That it is manageable to make the filmmaking viable,” said the director.
“People involved in it, especially big stars and technicians will have to understand. They will have to reduce their prices. It in turn will reduce costs and work towards making sure the film industry remains afloat,” Ratnam said.
The director was speaking at SICCI webinar series on the topic ‘The future of movies and entertainment’.
The Ok Kankani and Dil Se director said the industry will possibly also require ‘little bit of help from the government’.
“It’s an industry which isn’t just simple entertainment, we do so much more. We give dreams to people, make them smile, it takes a lot of time of people who invest in this. Film industry also requires the support from the government. I am hoping will be back on our feet soon,” pointed out Ratnam.
At the webinar, Reliance Entertainment CEO Shibasish Sarkar was also present. He said the cost cutting of their existing films, including Akshay Kumar-starrer Sooryavanshi and Ranveer Singh-led 83, is impossible. Both films were on the verge of release when the nationwide lockdown was announced in March.
“But if you’re going to put a new film on floors, you’ve to understand that there are three streams of revenues which will get affected. They are domestic theatrical, overseas theatrical and broadcasting rights. Because of the overall economic recession in the last two months, broadcasters have lost almost 85 percent of their ad revenue,” Sarkar pointed out.
“If they won’t earn, they won’t pay the same amount of money for the satellite. That’s a reality we have to embrace. The digital revenues are going to get stronger. Actors, technicians, producers have to sit together and structure a new project,” added Sarkar.
Agencies
