Mumbai: Piracy has been a big problem for Bollywood for a long time. The latest victim to the plague was Baahubali, one of the most expensive films of all time. Director Kabir Khan who awaits the release of his magnum opus Bajrangi Bhaijaan spoke to us about the predicament that the industry faces.
Throwing light on the issue, he said, “It all comes from the Middle East. Their weekend is on Friday, so the films release on Thursday, which is a day earlier than they release here, so it becomes very difficult to control the inflow.” The piracy industry reportedly affects Bollywood’s revenue by $1 billion every year. “If there was no piracy, every film would’ve made double the profit — at least double,” he continues.
To put things in perspective he says, “We have about 4,000 screens in India. China has 18,000 screens and this is despite us being more movie-crazy than them. America has 35,000 screens. In small Indian towns, you only have one theatre. Somebody who doesn’t have access to a movie hall sometimes has to travel 50-60 kms to see a film. What will that person do? He will buy that pirated version. Which is why we need at least 10,000 screens in the country. Pirated DVDs cost Rs 75, it’s not free. If we were to open up more theatres and charge a little more than the DVD, people wouldn’t mind paying. The experience of watching a film on a pirated DVD and the big screen is very different.”
Elaborating on the penetration of multiplexes he says, “All multiplexes are interested in setting up properties in prime locations. Nobody wants to go to smaller towns. In Mumbai, between Bandra and Andheri where all of B’wood lives, there are only a few screens. Imagine the state of other cities?”
