Standoff between Bollywood producers and multiplex owners

Mumbai, Apr 8 (ANI): The standoff between Bollywood producers and multiplex owners continued on Tuesday.Bollywood producers insisting on a greater share of box-office revenues are refusing to release new movies in multiplexes, piling on woes on an industry that is already battling a slowdown.

Producers in the world's most prolific movie industry are demanding a 50 per cent share in box-office revenues, with multiplex owners favouring a performance-linked model based on a film's budget and star power.

"All of us can survive in this one industry only when every sector earns and is profitable. Then might one be a creative person or producer or a distributor or a exhibitor, every sector has to be healthy and should earn a fair share. Every sector has to earn what is fair to him or her. Until that happens, I don't think the industry can be healthy and happy," said Bollywood actor Aamir Khan.

Another Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan said that there was some problem in the pipeline between multiplexes and filmmakers and efforts were being taken to repair it.

"There is a bit of rust in the pipeline. So, we haven't come here to stop the films but we want to repair that pipelines. This is not a strike and not an embargo. It's not a stand to keep audience away from films. This is just short interruption for repair. We are sorry for the interruption," said Shah Rukh Khan

Marketing and distribution of all new Bollywood films has been suspended, with analysts estimating revenue losses of about 2.5-3 billion rupees in the April-June quarter.

Multiplexes, which make up about 350 of a total of 13,500 screens, are largely concentrated in cities and big towns in India, and have also encouraged the production of low-budget films that are a departure from song-and-dance extravaganzas.

India's filmed entertainment sector, estimated at about 2.2 billion dollars, is forecast to grow by more than nine per cent every year over the next five years, as per industry experts.

Multiplex owners have said the standoff comes at a time when no big releases were planned anyway, but the industry is already battling tighter credit and smaller budgets. (ANI)