It could reach more than 530 million viewers on TV and a few hundred million more online. But can it make money for Disney Star?
Till the lockdown was imposed in March, more than 200 Zee staffers had spent over 2,500 hours across 28 regions in Punjab, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal to understand the audiences. The effort paid off, again and again.
The Rs 19,100 crore 'Indian film industry' is more than its monikers for three simple reasons, feels Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.
Dangal's and Shemaroo's entry shows there is ad-supported gold at the bottom of the Indian consumer pyramid if you can keep the costs low.
Cinema screens bring in over 60% of the Rs 19,100 crore that Indian films earned in 2019. The reception a film gets in theatres impacts the price of every other revenue stream -- TV, OTT, overseas. Vanita Kohli-Khandekar explains why the theatre business is not doomed and why OTT won't become the first window of release.
Audiences are missing theatres desperately and will go back to them within two-three weeks of them reopening. All those hours of films on television and OTT have not reduced the audience's need for the theatrical experience.
If everybody is 'working' from home, then how has TV consumption gone up? Who is making all that gourmet food being posted on social media?
'If after 3-9 weeks we don't have fresh content, then there is a problem.'
'This is not like a one quarter hit; it will take time.'
Whether it is non-Hindi films dubbed in Hindi or Hindi dubbed in other Indian languages or English dubbed in Indian languages, the whole multilingual film is bringing more ticket sales.
If Indian storytelling can deliver, it can make the entertainment industry an engine of economic growth and a substantial contributor to GDP, says Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.
'Of the 202 debates, 79 were around attacking Pakistan and 66 attacking the Opposition and Nehru.' 'The PMC Bank scam where thousands of depositors lost their savings got just one,' points out Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.
Five of the ten most popular shows such as Bard of Blood, Delhi Crime, and Typewriter are Indian.
His exit has created a benchmark of sorts for how entrepreneurs and businesses should deal with debt crises. Unlike many other Indian businessmen, he hasn't fled, tried to hang on to the business by any means or wrangle out of the debt by using his closeness to the current government. It is so very rare for Indian media businesses to grow out of their founding family's shadow, however, benevolent it may be.
Zee5 is now the fifth largest streaming app after YouTube, Hotstar, MX Player and Voot, and there is talk of hiving off Zee5 to drive valuation, says Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.
Why do Hindi cinema superstars flounder in their fifties, asks Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.
'Why was PKL scheduled bang in the middle of festivals and big film releases?' asks Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.
The hit parade of well-made movies continues, ticket sales are creeping up and OTTs are upping the game in one of the best years for the film industry.
A clutch of professional talent management firms is changing the balance of demand and supply in India's entertainment industry, writes Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.