Monday, January 12, 2004		Feature

Digital films click with cinegoers
B. B. Oberoi

Bollywood has turned techno-savvy, opting for digital cinema, a technological wonder that has the potential to revolutionise the dwindling Hindi film industry. The concept of digital cinema is making inroads into the film industry - with over 50 theatres in Maharashtra along with six in Kolkata having installed the digital projection system.

Showman Subhash Ghai says that there is hope for increase in business through concepts like Digital Cinema as it would be easier to penetrate a lot of territories, which go untapped at present.

"With rising costs of production work in the traditional style of film making, the digital cinema technology has come as a boon. For the producers, it is also one of the most innovative and modern trend to curb piracy," says Ghai. Industry sources say within the next one year there would be 1,600 digital cinema halls within the country. Till now, the cost of taking out multiple number of celluloid prints of new film s was incredibly high.

The digital cinema technology will check the rocketing expenses, especially incurred due to the traditional method of taking prints to the small centres.

In fact, digital cinema was a boon for ‘B’ class and ‘C’ class centres, where the audiences were bereft of quality viewing due to bad scratchy prints that are made available there, those in the industry say. The digital mode would facilitate good clarity and minutely filtered booming sound effects.

For the producers and distributors, digital cinema would save costs on storage since some movies do not sustain interest among cinegoers beyond a period of six months in small centres.

According to rough industry estimates, about 100 prints are taken out for small films whereas 250-500 prints are taken out for medium and big budget films. The cost per print is about Rs 65,000, that comes to more than Rs 2 crore without any guaranteed recovery.

"With the coming up of digital projection, the Hindi film business may grow again," a leading film trade analyst says.

Leading film producer, financier and owner of Adlabs, which processes almost 80 per cent of the films of Bollywood, has teamed up with Subhash Ghai’s company, Mukta Arts, to install the digital projection system in cinemas all over the country.

Some other companies like Ultra and Time Cinemas have also entered this sector of the entertainment industry. "If this futuristic development catches on, there will be numerous cinemas going in for this revolutionary alternative," sources say adding, that with the advent of digital cinema, mass-oriented movies would rule the turnstiles.

The digital cinema projection is a high revenue-generating concept for producers who can release films simultaneously in small centres also.

For distributors, it could help in fast recovery of royalty and be a source of higher share in profits and for exhibitors it could bring in more patrons, who would get quality entertainment at affordable rates, trade sources say, adding that even re-issue films made on this format can rake in money if released judiciously.

"A penny saved is penny earned seems to be the motto of our producers," says a trade analyst.