After a year with more misses than hits, the trade reflects on lessons learnt and reveals what they expect from 2015
We have just bid good bye to 2014 and, as we usher in a brand new year, the film industry is taking stock of the lessons learnt from last year. The year 2014 was definitely not a good year for the movie business, with few hits and a fair number of misses. Even though there were a whole lot of releases from almost all the big actors, the year didn’t shine as bright as it could have.
The young brigade, however, did serve up some decent fare, while women-centric films including Highway, Queen, Mardaani and Mary Kom scored at cinemas. On the whole, the smaller films worked their magic during the first half of 2014 but the bigger films, which were expected to ring in big bucks at the box office, failed to impress cine-goers.
Business was especially poor during the last two months, with several films like The Shaukeens, Happy Ending, Action Jackson, Ungli and Kill Dil failing to rustle up the numbers expected of them. However, it was ultimately Rajkumar Hirani-Aamir Khan’s much awaited PK that brought ample cheer to the film business and salvaged the situation for the trade.
Now as we usher in 2015, we can’t help but notice how it will be a year full of debutant directors, at least one release each from the new league of actors, a handful of new-age releases and, of course, your regular dose of big-ticket masala films from some of the top stars. So, this week, we ask industry experts for their take on what to expect from the New Year.
Amrita Pandey, VP and Head of Marketing & Distribution, Studios, Disney India
We have an exciting slate of English and Hindi movies lined up for the year. The Barfi team of Anurag Basu and Ranbir Kapoor will be back with Disney’s Jagga Jasoos; ABCD 2, the sequel to ABCD, starring Varun Dhawan, Shraddha Kapoor and Prabhu Dheva; Kangana Ranaut and Imran Khan will be seen for the first time together in a fun and dramatic story of break-ups and make-ups in Katti Batti; Saif Ali Khan and Katrina Kaif starrer Phantom; post Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone will be seen again in Imtiaz Ali’s Tamasha; and Katrina Kaif will be seen with Aditya Roy Kapur and Rekha in Abhishek Kapoor’s Fitoor. We will also be releasing top television star Karan Wahi starrer Babbu Ki Jawaani. In addition, we have the biggest English movie release for the year in Avengers: Age Of Ultron, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Ant Man and Disney Pixar’s Inside Out, The Jungle Book and Cinderella.
The strategy for us continues to be backing the right content, promoting and backing new talent and, of course, looking to make a foray into creative and innovative themes in cinema. This strategy has been backed by innovation in marketing, distribution and ensuring a far wider reach across the globe. This should help us promote our films and deliver meaningful and innovative cinema that appeals to the masses and also ensure success to all associated with our movies.
Looking back on the year that was, for the Hindi film industry in general, the hit ratio was low. However, for us at Disney India, we have had a great year with a very high HIT Ratio and content that ranged from films like Highway to Filmistaan, 2 States, Heropanti to Khoobsurat, Kick, Haider to PK, and this run continued through to the last week of 2014. With 2014 ending with a bang for us, with record collections, and an overwhelming response to PK, 2015 looks very promising for us and for the industry.
The audience is appreciating good content and strong, character-driven movies. Movies that are high on story, concept and entertainment are continuing to perform very well. So are movies with younger stars. This is a great trend. For our industry, it will be important for the cost model in movie-making to correct itself to a level that makes the movie commercially viable and allows everyone in the value chain to be profitable.
Ajit Andhare, COO, Viacom18 Motion Pictures
The film business enters a new era with the industry raising its risk-taking ability and successfully experimenting with concept-based cinema that is also commercially viable. The rise of independent directors, studios willing to back strong script-led narratives and the influx of fresh talent are the pillars I envision for cinema in 2015. However, we as filmmakers need to raise the bar in terms of what we offer to the masses, in terms of the quality of cinema, rationalise costs and explore newer market avenues. From Viacom18 Motion Pictures, audiences will witness a slate that showcases a wide variety. Our mid-decade films will range from the critically acclaimed Margarita With A Straw to Ramesh Sippy’s quintessential Bollywood comeback, Shimla Mirchi, Akshay Kumar’s new avatar in Gabbar, and light-hearted humor in films like Dharam Sankat Mein and Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2. We also have Manjhi and Drishyam in the pipeline along with the return of the iconic franchises Terminator Genisys and Mission Impossible 5 among our Hollywood releases.
Vijay Singh, CEO, Fox Star Studios
2014 has been a good year for FSS. From high-concept films like Hawaa Hawaaii, City Lights and Finding Fanny, three gems we are very proud of, we went on to produce one of the biggest films that Bollywood has produced so far, in Bang Bang which went on to become a blockbuster. Making Bang Bang helped us gauge our strength in production and we are now ready to produce films that will be known for their content as well as visual spectacle. We have proved that we have one of the best marketing and distribution teams, with films like Fanny and Bang Bang being talked about for its marketing achievements.
In 2015, we are taking our fruitful association with Vishesh Films to the next level, with the release of three very exciting but varied films. First, we have Khamoshiyan, a supernatural musical which releases on January 30. With Khamoshiyan, the Bhatts are back with their core strength, a great script and chart-busting music. It is definitely going to be the album of the year! Vikram Bhatt is back with his next directorial in 3D with Mr X on April 17, an emotional thriller with a broad appeal across audiences which is once again going to take 3D in Bollywood to the next level. And then we have Mohit Suri’s Hamari Adhuri Kahani, a soulful love story on June 12. Subhash Kapoor is back with his next film after the critically and commercially acclaimed Jolly LLB, Guddu Rangeela, a mass entertainer set in the Hindi heartland.
On 15 May, we have Anurag Kashyap’s Bombay Velvet, one of the most anticipated films of the year. This is a powerful love story set against the rise of Bombay with powerful performances from Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma and Karan Johar. On Diwali, we will release the biggest film of 2015 – Salman Khan and Sooraj Barjatya’s Prem Ratan Dhan Payo. Rajshri and Salman come together after a long gap. It is also a great pleasure for us to be associated with the legendary filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra as we are marketing and distributing Broken Horses, the first-ever Hollywood film written, produced and directed by an Indian. Overall, it is a really exciting year for us and we are looking to grow from strength to strength.
Vivek Rangachari, Producer, DAR Motion Pictures
It is a wonderful year ahead of us. Content will be king and enterprising directors and writers are coming up with interesting ideas and concepts. So we should look out for more breakaway hits like Queen, Kahaani, Vicky Donor etc. Also, this year, regional cinema will come into its own and get noticed in terms of its box-office potential, particularly Marathi, Punjabi and Malyalam cinema. Hollywood’s share of the Indian box office will increase significantly. Domestic and international distribution of films will find newer avenues for exploitation. The satellite market will stabilise and there will be some order in it. Indian cinema will be recongised more on the global platform and there will be significantly more international co-production agreements for films that cater predominantly to the global audience.
Kumar Taurani, Producer
2014 was a mixed bag where, barring PK, the films that released in the last quarter performed very poorly at the box office. Producers faced maximum impact as many films ran into losses. But we are hoping 2015 is a welcome change. If not, then the industry will suffer a rocky patch. Even if distributors and exhibitors face losses, the industry at large suffers a great deal. Under such circumstances, filmmakers are forced to become cautious about the films they release and the smaller films sometimes are put on the backburner.
Sheel Kumar, Producer
The films to look forward to in 2015 are Shamitabh, Piku and Tanu Weds Manu 2 because I am pretty sure that they will be high on content. I really hope that the year ahead presents the audience with more of small content rich films rather than the mindless masala movies. I am a patron of smaller films because they are made on a limited budget that does not burden the producers and are able to reap healthy profits much more easily compared to bigger films. Last year, there was also a good trend where a lot of indie films like Filmistaan got a wide release. I hope this trend continues as there is an audience for these films and we should try our best to help these movies proliferate.
Rahul Puri, Managing Director, Mukta Arts Ltd
2014 was a year that can be summed up in one word – dull. It was a year of mixed results. Also, good films and big hits mixed with some high-profile failures. We should be careful about hyping films too much. PK has shown that solid content with even limited marketing will run. Overdoing the marketing makes films unviable. 2015 has a lot to look forward to in both big films and interesting content. To begin with, I am looking forward to films like Wazir and Tevar. I think they are different and show the breadth of our cinema.
Bhushan Patel, Director
I am looking forward to every film in 2015. One might call a film a hit or flop but we as filmmakers know how much effort goes into making a film so that every film is worthwhile. I hope that every film does well and the producers earn profits on their investments. This year was a damp squib for the industry so I am being very optimistic about what 2015 has in store for us.
Anil Sharma, Director
Last year wasn’t great for the film industry, so all eyes are on 2015. I am hoping the year will prove to be fruitful. The slate of movies looks interesting for the upcoming year. We have a gamut of content-oriented, small-budget films and a whole lot of masala blockbusters too. We also have films featuring the top actors as well as newcomers. For the month of January, Tevar and Baby are promising and I am sure there will be many surprise packages from the biggies too.
Anees Bazmee, Director
We need to increase the quality of our films in 2015 by controlling quality. The slate in 2015 looks interesting with films like Wazir, Bajrangi Bhaijjan, Piku and many more, and all these films have varied subjects. The year ahead will also have releases from a number of actors and not just the few top ones. But the real problem is that the industry is too engrossed with frivolous things like camera technique etc. The industry needs to focus on good scripts and strong writing. That’s an age-old formula for a sure-shot hit product.
Amit Masurkar, Director
2015 looks exciting as there are many content-driven films lined up for release. Personally, I am looking forward to Shamitabh, Piku, Wazir and Dil Dhadakne Do, to name some. There is also Margarita With A Straw directed by Shonali Bose, which I am especially looking forward too. Time and again, the audience is showing faith in good, content-driven films and we had a few examples in 2014, like Filmistaan, Aankhon Dekhi. I think Sulemani Keeda was well received by the industry and critics so I hope all this translates into another fun film this year!
Rajesh Thadani, Multimedia Combines
2015 is likely to be a promising year for the film industry as there are a quite a few big films from some of our top actors. First up, we hope that Tevar will do well at the box office and kick-start the year on a positive note. Then Baby, Roy, Shamitabh and Prem Ratan Dhan Payo and quite a few releases from Ranbir Kapoor. So hopefully 2015 should be much better than last year.
Debashish Dey, Aum Moviez
2014 was a terrible year for us distributors but PK saved the day. We are very hopeful of 2015 and there are many films to look forward to, whether Shah Rukh Khan’s Raees, Arjun Kapoor’s Tevar, Varun Dhawan’s ABCD 2, a multi-starrer like Dil Dhadakne Do or Ranbir Kapoor’s many releases. We hope these films live up to the hype.
Harsh Jain, Sanman Group
We have huge expectations from this year as 2014 was a really bad year. Barring a few films at the end of 2014, like PK, very few films with huge expectations lived up to expectations. It’s costing increasingly more to operate cinemas but the quality of releases is declining. Also, the prices of films, which are sky high in many territories, should come down. So we hope we are able to generate better business in the new year. The films that seem promising in 2015 are Baby, Badlapur, Fan and Bombay Velvet. Once again, just like last year, 2015 too will end with a big bang with Salman Khan and Sooraj Barjatya’s Prem Ratan Dhan Payo.