Digital medium no threat to films released in halls: industry

Agencies
April 8, 2018

Mumbai, Apr 8: More and more filmmakers are looking at the digital medium as their new go-to platform, but the Hindi film industry is not worried.

The digital world may present new challenges but it is not a threat to films released in cinema halls, industry people say, stressing that the two mediums can coexist.

Superstar Shah Rukh Khan, one of the first stars from Bollywood to warm up to the digital medium, believes that though the times have changed and the younger generation prefers catching films or shows on their personal devices, a big screen has its own draw.

"Now youngsters do not watch stuff on TV; they see it on phone. But I would like to see 'Batman' or 'Baahubali' on the big screen," Khan states.

The 52-year-old actor's Red Chillies Entertainment and streaming service Netflix are working on an original series based on the book "Bard of Blood".

In India, the digital revolution began in 2012 when IIT Kharagpur graduate Arunabh Kumar started producing original and entertaining content on his online digital entertainment channel -- The Viral Fever, popularly known as TVF.

By 2015, TVF had come up with a five-episode web series "Pitchers" that reportedly garnered a rating of 9.4 out of 10 on IMDb, the global Internet movie database. "Pitchers" was placed in IMDb's top 250 TV series list alongside popular English shows "Breaking Bad" and "Game of Thrones".

Soon, Yash Raj Films, India's premier filmmaking unit, had entered the market through their YouTube channel YFilms with series such as "Man's World" and "Band Baaja Baraat" in 2015 getting an overwhelming response.

But the success of the digital films has not dented the enthusiasm for cinema released in halls, film industry insiders point out. Lakhs of people still like to watch their films in theatres, they stress.

"The digital medium can never replace a date at the movies," says Swara Bhaskar, who has been a part of "It's Not That Simple", available exclusively on Voot.

Small budget films such as "Kapoor & Sons", "Dear Zindagi", "Secret Superstar" and "Neerja" sold some 60-70 lakh tickets. Mid-budget films such as "Airlift", "Judwaa 2" and "Jolly LLB" did business worth Rs 120-130 crore and got footfalls of around 1.10-1.20 crore.

Recent big-budget movies starring Salman Khan or Aamir Khan have had over 3 crore footfalls -- "Tiger Zinda Hai" sold around 3.15 crore tickets and "Dangal" about 3.74 crores.

The most watched film since 2000 is "Baahubali 2: The Conclusion" of 2017, which sold around 5.25 crore tickets.

But for many producers, the digital medium is the platform of the future. After the phenomenal success of its two series, YFilms came up with more web series -- "Love Shots", "Ladies Room" and "Sex Chat with Pappu and Papa" all had several million views.

The year 2017 saw three big names in the sector. Farhan Akhtar's production house Excel Entertainment partnered with Amazon Prime Video for webseries "Inside Edge". Ekta Kapoor went a step ahead and launched an OTT platform called ALTBalaji and Vikram Bhatt has his YouTube channel called VB on the Web.

With a digital release, movie makers have the ability to reach 100 million people as most of the Indian population is online, says Manav Sethi, CMO, ALTBalaji.

"Today bandwidth provided by players like Jio and micropayments enabled by players like PayTM have made it possible for monetisation models to stack up for digital releases," he told PTI.

Pointing to the spread of smartphones in India, Sethi stresses that filmmakers are addressing millennials and binge viewers.

"They (young people) like pacey shows like 'Narcos', 'Bose: Dead/Alive', 'The Test Case'. India has started to pay for content that is good quality and exclusive," he says.

While he calls it a structural shift in platforms and content, Sethi also believes that both formats will coexist and continue to grow.

"Those who consider digital a threat are myopic in their vision. India is not a homogeneous market," he adds.

In recent times, more international OTT platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have entered the Indian market.

But the digital players make it clear that they are not aiming for a conflict with the theatrical release.

Vijay Subramaniam, Director, Content, Amazon Prime Video India, believe a film's theatrical release is critical and they are not here to "replace" any medium.

"...We support theatrical premieres and work closely with filmmakers as our partners. We are here to support and not replace. Movies that do well at the box office are also some of the most highly watched titles on Prime Video," he says.

The online platforms have opened up new revenue streams for Bollywood's production houses as well.

As Subramaniam points out, many new Bollywood and regional blockbusters premiere exclusively on Amazon Prime Video within a few weeks after their theatrical release.

Yet, it cannot be denied that with the digital revolution in India, many more people watch content online and footfalls at the cinema houses have reduced.

To top it, directors and producers face problems over a film's release in a theatre because they do not get an adequate number of screens and because of the risk factor that distributors and exhibitors face.

Radhika Apte, the star of Netflix's "Sacred Games", however, does not see the digital space as a threat to the cinema because she says, theatres have their own charm.

"Many projects do not get green-lit as a lot of risks is involved these days with cinema. Content is getting split but I don't think that is bad. However, at the same time, certain films will be seen in theatres only," she told PTI.

Kubbra Sait, who also has a role in "Sacred Games", agrees.

"A theatrical release always has an upper hand over a TV release or the digital medium," she says.

If anything is under threat, it is poor cinema, holds R Madhavan, who just had a major success on Amazon Prime Video with "Breathe".

"Cinema that doesn't justify being seen on a large screen is definitely under threat," he adds.

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News Network
June 20,2020

Washington, Jun 20: American actor Angelina Jolie has now opened up about her 2016 divorce announcement with Brad Pitt, which shocked fans.

Fox News said the 45-year-old Jolie opened up about leaving the father of her six kids,18-year-old Maddox, 16-year-old Pax, 15-year-old Zahara, 12-year-old, Shiloh, and 11-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne.

"I separated for the well-being of my family. It was the right decision. I continue to focus on their healing," the Oscar-winning star told Vogue India magazine.

The 'Maleficent' star added, "Some have taken advantage of my silence, and the children see lies about themselves in the media, but I remind them that they know their own truth and their own minds. In fact, they are six very brave, very strong young people."

Since 2004, Pitt and Jolie were together but only married in August 2014 at their estate in France.

The 'Mr and Mrs Smith' star previously told Harper's Bazaar magazine how the last few years have been physically, emotionally and mentally turbulent for her.

"My body has been through a lot over the past decade, particularly the past four years, and I have both the visible and invisible scars to show for it," Jolie said.

"The invisible ones are harder to wrestle with. Life takes many turns. Sometimes you get hurt, you see those you love in pain, and you can't be as free and open as your spirit desires. It's not new or old, but I do feel the blood returning to my body," she added.

Besides her marriage ending on the public stage, Jolie underwent a preventative double mastectomy in 2013 followed by breast reconstruction after testing positive for the BRCA gene. In 2015, the actor 'Girl, Interrupted' star also had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed.

She admitted it has taken a while for her to feel like her old self. She said, "The part of us that is free, wild, open, curious can get shut down by life. By pain or by harm."

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Agencies
February 10,2020

Hollywood star Joaquin Phoenix finally ended his dry run at the Oscars as he picked up the best actor trophy for his performance in and as "Joker" at the 92nd Academy Awards.

The 45-year-old actor had earlier bagged a BAFTA, a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award for his turn as a failed, unhinged stand-up comedian who descends into chaos.

In a lengthy and rambling speech, Phoenix touched upon racism, climate change and gender inequality. He also remembered his brother River Phoenix, who died of a drug overdose at the age of 23 in 1993.

"When he was 17, my brother wrote this lyric. He said, 'run to the rescue with love and peace will follow'," Phoenix said. At the Academy Awards and the entire Hollywood award season, Phoenix had emerged as an undisputed frontrunner even though he was up against the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio ("Once Upon a Time in Hollywood"), Adam Driver ("Marriage Story"), "Antonio Banderas ("Pain & Glory") and Jonathan Pryce ("The Two Popes").

An Oscar had eluded Phoenix for the most part of his career, despite his successful collaborations with Ridley Scott ("Gladiator"), James Mangold ("Walk The Line") and Paul Thomas Anderson ("The Master"), all of which had earned him nominations.

But as Arthur Fleck aka The Joker, Phoenix finally managed to break that jinx and became the second actor to win an Oscar for playing the DC comic book villain after the posthumous best supporting actor win to Heath Ledger in 2008.

As Joker, Phoenix took a deep dive into character, capturing its essence as well as maniacal spirit in both body and soul.

He lost 52 pounds to get into the physicality of Fleck and turned to a pathological disorder to get his distinct laughter right.

Phillips wrote the part keeping Phoenix in mind though the actor took some convincing to play the role.

Phoenix started the film's festival circuit tour on a positive note at Cannes last year that followed by stops at Venice and Toronto.

The film had also courted controversies, owing to its theme of gun violence in the movie as well as Phoenix's temperamental press tour that saw him walking out of an interview midway.

But critics and the fans loved the actor's riveting turn in the movie and his pointed speeches.

At the Golden Globes, he called out the industry for its insensitivity towards climate change and pulled up his peers for using private jets for travel, while at the SAGs, he joked how he would always lose a role to DiCaprio and asked Christian Bale to deliver a bad performance for once in his career.

In his acceptance speech at the BAFTAs, Phoenix acknowledged the lack of diversity in the nominations, calling himself a part of the problem. Phoenix's career most praised performances include "Signs ", "We Own the Night", "Two Lovers", "The Immigrant", "Her", "You Were Never Really Here" and "Inherent Vice".

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News Network
June 30,2020

Mumbai, Jun 30: Actor Aamir Khan on Tuesday issued a statement and confirmed that some of his staff members have tested positive for COVID-19, while the rest of his family members have tested negative.

Khan also announced that he was taking his mother for a COVID-19 test and urged his fans to pray for her test to come out as negative.

The '3 Idiots' star put out the statement on Instagram and said, "This is to inform you that some of my staff have tested positive. They were immediately quarantined, and BMC officials were very prompt and efficient in taking them to a medical facility."

Thanking the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for their precautionary steps, he added, "I would like to thank the BMC for taking such good care of them, and for fumigating and sterilising the entire society."

Informing about the health of his family members, the 'Thugs of Hindostan' actor added, "The rest of us have all been tested and found negative," and informed that, "Right now I am taking my mother to get her tested. She is the last person in the loop. Please pray that she is negative."

Thanking the BMC, and hospital authorities for their swift prompt, he added, "I would, once again, like to thank the BMC for the prompt, professional and caring manner in which they helped us. And a big thank you to Kokilaben Hospital and the doctors, nurses and staff there. They were very caring and professional with the testing process."

Aamir also urged his fans to be safe amid the coronavirus outbreak.

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