Ram Gopal Varma New Idea About Film Distribution
This is the official press note sent by RGV about his upcoming film Tension!
We are putting our new film ‘Tension’ to
auction" – RGV
Yes, myself and Manchu Vishnu are coming together to create
a revolutionary path in film distribution of Tollywood. This is through our
latest action/crime thriller ‘Tension’ made under the banner of Mohan Babu
Corporation. The principal cast involves Manchu Vishnu, Tejaswi, Revathi, Kota
Srinivasa Rao, Brahmanandam, Madhu Shalini, Supreet, Shravan and others.
As per current process or tradition, the
producer shows the trailer of the film to the buyers of areas like Ceded, East,
West, Nizam and other areas. Based on the feel of the trailer, the track record
of the makers, the cast and crew credentials, the expectations of the audience,
the buyers quote a price to the producer. If he is comfortable with it the deal
happens else he would to release the film on his own as per his strength.
Now, my concept of auction distribution comes
from the conviction that cinema is a commercial product and it must be sold to
the maximum people. However, a commercial product can be quantified on certain
parameters but not cinema. This is linked to human emotions, mindset and
sensitivities. This changes from person to person.
Some of my films worked and some didn’t. My
objective has been to come up with something unique and new each time I make a
film but predicting whether the audience will like it or not is impossible. But
if it was not about entertaining the viewer for two or more hours, then why
would I or any other director slog for six months to one year. My career’s
biggest budget flick was ‘Daud’. It had big names like Sanjay Dutt, Urmila
Matondkar in the lead with music by A R Rahman but it bombed. After that, I
made a low budget flick with least production values and that too with faces
which were seen sweaty in front of camera, it was ‘Sathya’ and that became a big
hit. Putting my case aside, we have often noticed that a small budget movie
like ‘Prema Katha Chitram’ ends up making higher collections than a big star’s
film.
Based on these factors, I have concluded that we
can never decipher why audience likes or dislikes a film. Also, we cannot
predict the range of success for a film. From these came my thought that
instead of relying on two or three buyers who assume they can judge the fate of
a film, ‘Tension’ must be taken to everyone in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and
involve them in the business by doing their own calculations.
For instance, instead of some buyer sitting
somewhere in Bheemavaram or West Godavari deciding how the film will run in
Palakollu, a resident of Palakollu can decide the rate. This is because since
he is a local, he has better awareness on the area, audience pulse. The same
logic applies to hundreds of centers like Ongole, Karimnagar, Rajamundry etc.
Akin to that, our film ‘Tension’ can be bought
by a bunch of students in Guntur who can pool in some money or few ladies can
take a decision in a kitty party at Vizag and buy it. Or it could just be two
friends in a software company in Hyderabad or a group of auto drivers in
Vijayawada. My point is, anyone from anywhere can buy ‘Tension’ and enter the
cinema business.
All commercial details such as trailer, rate for
each center would be provided in the website www.tauction.com which
would be launched at 9 am on August 1st. A communication channel
between the production house and the buyers would be created. Like any other
auction system, a base rate will be given for each center. To identify the
highest bidder, a 7 day window is provided in the online counter from the date
of announcement i.e. from 1st August 9 am to 7th August 6
pm. And anyone can take part in the auction during this time frame. The highest
bidder would be announced as the buyer for that center after the deadline is
over. The other details about this are provided in the website.
Those who win the auction will have the right to
release their film forever in their respective center. For example, if our base
rate is Rs 50 and the highest bidder takes it for Rs 70, after all expenses
gone if the buyer gets only Rs 50 or Rs 60 then he/she would incur a loss of Rs
10 or Rs 20. But if the film makes Rs 90 or Rs 100 or Rs 120 then the
proportionate profit belongs to the buyer. The film’s producers will book the
theatre, arrange for the digital prints and also do the required promotion and
publicity. The collections from the theatres would be deposited into the bank
accounts of the buyers in a transparent method.
The most important point to be noted in this is
more than the risk for a buyer, it is the time spent by the producer and
director which is much more risky. So we would do our best to come up with top
quality films. Any other queries you have, you can email us on details@tauction.com and
we will reply.
As a buyer, what you need to remember is the
release date, publicity strategy, number of theatres and which theatres will
rest entirely on the producer’s discretion. The reason being, he is responsible
for protecting the cinema in an overall viewpoint across both states.
Thanking you,
Yours sincerely,
Ram Gopal Varma.
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RAYARAO SRIRAM
I'm Rayarao Sriram. I am a Movie Buff and working as Freelance Feature Writer and Film Review. I love to stay honest and unique. I love Cinema and I respect Film Makers. Follow me to get updates on the latest happenings in film industry and for the latest and genuine faster updates!
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