Kolkata: The Rs 150 crore Bengali film industry
which produces around a hundred movies annually gives only five-six
hits, according to an industry report.
"Although
Bengali cinema today releases around a 100 odd films every year which is
almost three times higher than comparable figures in 2005; the recent
trends in box office collection has not been that encouraging," said a
report on the Bengali film industry by CII and IMRB.
Citing
industry estimates, it said not more than 10 per cent films released in
a year break even and around a handful of films, typically five-six
generate enough surpluses to be termed as hits.The
total investment in Bengali film industry, fondly called Tollywood, is
estimated to be around Rs 150?180 crores of which a very large portion
is from Shree Venkatesh Films.
"The
buoyancy in the investment however is not matched by the absolute and
the growth in earnings in recent years. The industry is valued at Rs
120-150 crores in terms of expected revenue in 2014 and has shown
negligible growth over last year," the report said.
A
primary survey of 35 single screen theatres across Kolkata and West
Bengal revealed a dismal 30 per cent occupancy on weekends and around 20
per cent on weekdays.
Almost 70 per cent of the
box office collection of Bengali films today is claimed by 22-25 films
emanating from three-four large production houses.
"This has
left a large number of individual producers, small time players
operating in the space on a short-term basis unable to recover their
promotional expenses let alone production costs," the report said.
Industry
experts believe that the current trend in Bengali film production is
not a sustainable one. Home to acclaimed directors and actors, there is a
need to revive an industry that contributes to eight per cent of the
total films made in the country but fails to accounts for its fair share
of revenue.
A survey of Bengali film viewers in
Kolkata revealed that a majority (54 per cent) have not been in theatres
in the last one year to watch a Bengali film despite proliferation of
multiplexes.
In the districts, around two thirds
have visited halls to catch a Bengali film but the frequency of visits
are quite low, not even three films in a year.
Mobile
phones, on the other hand, are fast becoming the preferred medium of
entertainment especially in smaller towns where six out of ten people
watch films on their cell phones.
The highest
grossing Bengali film of 2013 was the Dev starrer adventure film
'Chander Pahar' whose box-office collection was over Rs 15 crores, an
unheard of figure by Tollywood standards.
Some of
the other recent releases which had done excellent business at the box
office are 'Awara' (2012), 'Paglu' (2011) and 'Mishawr Rawhoshyo'
(2013).
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