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The Sharman Joshi-starrer upcoming film <keyword id="37315" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="fauji">Fauji</keyword> Calling has been declared <keyword id="417528" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="tax-free">tax free</keyword> by Chief Minister <keyword id="260213" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Arvind-Kejriwal">Arvind Kejriwal</keyword> in Delhi. The film chronicles the life of a soldier and what his family goes through when he is away in the battlefield. Along with Sharman, the film also features Bidita Bag, Mughda Godse, Mahi Soni, <keyword id="35939" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Zarina-Wahab">Zarina Wahab</keyword>, Shishir Sharma and <keyword id="3061668" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ranjha-Vikram-Singh">Ranjha Vikram Singh</keyword>. Thanking the government of Delhi, director Aaryan Saxena said: "I thank Chief Minister of Delhi, Shri Arvind Kejriwal ji, and Deputy Chief Minister Shri Manish Sisodia Ji from the bottom of my heart. This is just the beginning and we are looking at a couple of other states to declare the movie tax-free as well. It's an unseen side of 'fauji' families and relates to the emotions of all age groups." Fauji Calling is written and directed by <keyword id="2402946" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Aaryaan-Saxena">Aaryaan Saxena</keyword> and produced by Naida Shaikh, Ovez Shaikh, Vikram Kumar, Anil Jain, and Vijeeta Verma, and co-produced by Vishnu S Upadhyay. Expressing their gratitude, the producers said in a joint statement: "It's been such an honour to work on this film. The film has become tax-free in <keyword id="6358777" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="New-Delhi">New Delhi</keyword> and I want to thank CM Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy CM Manish Sisodia for this noble deed. This is a movie that is an ode to our soldiers and their families. And now that the movie has gone tax-free in New Delhi, I couldn't have asked for anything else. It's a work of our blood and sweat. We have literally given it everything. I am also grateful to my team for standing together through all the difficult and uncertain times. Over to the audience now." SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/personalities/news/gautam-adani-naveen-jindal-anand-mahindra-and-kumar-mangalam-birla-increased-their-net-worth-in-2020/slidelist/81290572.cms">Gautam Adani, Naveen Jindal, Anand Mahindra and Kumar Mangalam Birla increased their net worth despite COVID-19 wreaking havoc</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/the-indian-government-reaped-a-record-77000-crore-on-the-first-day-of-2021-telecom-spectrum-auctions/articleshow/81290489.cms">India reaps a bounty on the first day of spectrum auctions – but it's a lot less than what the government wanted</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/these-are-the-best-national-highways-in-india-in-terms-of-efficiency-safety-and-user-services/slidelist/81291257.cms">These are the best national highways in India in terms of efficiency, safety and user services</a>

Delhi CM announces Sharman Joshi-starrer movie 'Fauji Calling'  tax free in Delhi

<ul><li>Rajkumar Hirani’s 3 Idiots is the movie which most people want to be made into a franchise.</li><li><keyword id="1671" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="shah-rukh-khan" source="Orion">Shah Rukh Khan</keyword> dominated the list with four of his movies making it to the top 10.</li><li>The audience also picked movies like <keyword id="20062" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="hera-pheri" source="Orion">Hera Pheri</keyword> where the sequel was not successful at the box office. </li></ul>Shah Rukh Khan’s blockbusters this year — Jawan and <keyword id="12756474" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="pathaan" source="Orion">Pathaan</keyword> — have left the audiences longing for more. They, along with his earlier super hits <keyword id="21125" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="chak-de" source="Orion">Chak De</keyword> and <keyword id="227940" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="chennai-express" source="Orion">Chennai Express</keyword>, feature in the list of movies that have the most franchise potential, says a report by Ormax. The top most popular pick of the audience, however, is Rajkumar Hirani’s 3 Idiots ( 85% of the audience voted for it). The movie released in 2009 was a superhit starring Aamir Khan, Madhavan and Sharman Joshi and loosely based on Chetan Bhagat’s Five Point Someone. The survey conducted amongst 3,000 Hindi-film goers analyzed films released between January 1990 to September 2023. The report which picked the top 100 movies, is based on audience equity. Ormax believes that franchises have a long way to go in the Hindi film industry. “Franchise films have been a dominant force driving the growth and stability for Hollywood over the past two decades. The contribution of franchise films to the Hindi theatrical domestic box office has grown from a mere 17% in 2019 to 45% in 2023,” said Sanket Kulkarni, head of business development (theatrical), Ormax Media. Hollywood has made popular movie franchises be it Justice League, Marvel, Star Wars and more. It also has long-running franchises like Fast and the Furious as well as Scream. The Indian film industry has recently kickstarted the trend with the highly successful Bahubali series as well as KGF. Top Bollywood movie franchises (current &amp; potential) <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Movie </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Audience rating (%) </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">3 Idiots </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">85% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Chennai Express </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">71% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Hera Pheri </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">70% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Jawan </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">69% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Drishyam </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">69% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Uri: The Surgical Strike </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">65% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Gadar </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">64% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Chak De! India </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">64% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Dhoom </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">64% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Pathaan </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">63% </td></tr></tbody></table>Source: Ormax Old franchises that have juice left This includes movies that have made franchises also. The audience also picked popular franchises of Gadar, which recently had a second superhit sequel this year. Then there was also Dhoom where three movies have been made starring John Abraham, Hrithik Roshan and Aamir Khan as protagonists. They also picked Sunil Shetty, Akshay Kumar and Paresh Rawal starrer Hera Pheri, even as its sequel bombed at the box office. Surprisingly, none of Rohit Shetty’s action films with a cop universe like Singham and Simmba feature in the list. But Ajay Devgn’s Drishyam, which is an adaptation of a Malayalam movie of the same name, made the cut. The other movie that made the cut is Vicky Kaushal’s Uri: The Surgical Strike. “As the theatrical landscape increasingly leans toward event-driven films, choosing the right film to expand or initiate the franchise can go a long way in creating a powerful theatrical product,” said Kulkarni. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/zoya-akhtars-the-archies-turns-out-to-be-a-damp-squib-and-nothing-like-the-breezy-comic-series/articleshow/105831059.cms">Zoya Akhtar’s ‘The Archies’ turns out to be a damp squib and nothing like the breezy comic series</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/family-man-manoj-bajpayee-bats-for-movie-heroes-who-like-the-common-man/articleshow/105577006.cms">Family Man Manoj Bajpayee bats for movie heroes who look like ‘the common man’</a>

Audiences want more sequels: SRK’s Pathaan, Jawan and Chak De hold the most franchise potential

<ul><li><keyword id="54620" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="shemaroo">Shemaroo</keyword>, which began India’s first video rental business in 1979, has now launched its own transactional video on demand (TVOD) platform called <keyword id="7390865" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ShemarooMe">ShemarooMe</keyword> <keyword id="25892" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="box-office">Box Office</keyword>. </li><li>This feature acts as a virtual box office or theatre where films can first release and the audience can watch it after buying a ticket for it. </li><li>Gada believes this is just a chance for movies to get their box office collections before eventually going on to be available through platforms like TV or <keyword id="1245953" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="OTT">OTT</keyword>.</li></ul><keyword id="128682" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Netflix">Netflix</keyword>, Amazon Prime, Disney+ Hotstar have all deemed India as the next big market for them, but most Indian masses might not be able to afford their subscription plans. These platforms then went for India-first cheap plans starting at ₹129, as well as mobile-only plans to woo the mass audience. But India’s oldest video rental platform, the 57-year old Shemaroo, has steered clear of competing with Reed Hastings or Jeff Bezos. Instead, it has taken a leaf out of the YouTube playbook. ShemarooMe Box Office, a transactional video-on-demand (TVOD) platform — simply put, an app where you can watch a newly-released movie on your mobile or TV at home and pay just for that— was launched in July 2020. This is a feature YouTube has had for a while but only for old movies, not for new releases. “What we are doing is the first transaction window for the film. Our idea is to help the monetization effort of the producers as well,” Hiren Gada, CEO, Shemaroo told Business Insider. <div type="image" title="Mr. Hiren Gada, CEO - Shemaroo Ent" msid="78509064" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Mr. Hiren Gada, CEO - Shemaroo Ent&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> “The whole idea has a platform approach. Consumers can buy tickets from BookMyShow for ₹100 and watch a newly released film,” he added. Shemaroo has already released smaller films like Sharman Joshi’s Graham Staines, Ek Ankahi Sachai: The Least of These, the horror flick X Zone, The Hidden Strike, among others. This may bring a ray of hope for movie producers as they get an additional platform. Unlike Netflix, Shemaroo’s idea was born out of necessity after theatres have remained shut for over six months. The product was developed in 10 weeks, Gada shared. As people could stay away from theatres for a long time, no more ₹300 crore blockbusters are breaking the box office, and instead, films are making their way onto OTT platforms. Not only that, it will also break the iron grip of monopolistic distributors who have decided the fate of many movies with arbitrary decisions on the number of screens they would get. Even the reported revenue from every theatre has <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/are-box-office-figures-an-enticement-for-the-audiences-or-mere-propaganda/story-b3Qn2T5Wz093VRITwRURBL.html">been less than transparent for years.</a> While Gada believes that people will definitely go back to theatres as it's more of a recreational activity, he added that with an option like ShemarooMe Box Office, a lot of the much dreaded ‘scheduling challenges’ can be solved. Gada explains that their latest product will also offer regional movies to get a bigger audience. “There are so many films that die because another A-lister’s movie is releasing, these films have a very short window to rake in as many collections as they can. With the ShemarooMe Box Office, they can get a second chance. So, even once the theatrical journey is done, the film can still reach a wider audience,” he said. Gada believes that even as theatres reopen, this won’t reduce the dependence on an opening weekend collection; instead, it will help producers to extend their collections beyond show timings and limited capacities of theatres. “There is a large consumer base which looks out for the latest <keyword id="18940" type="EVENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="movie-release">movie release</keyword> and was missing the theatre experience. For producers too, theatre is the starting point of the film’s journey and box office defines the film’s success. So we put both their needs together,” said Hiren Gada, CEO, Shemaroo. Through the app, filmmakers will now also know how many people paid to watch a new release. The company is in talks with producers, and Gada hopes they will lap up the idea. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/tcs-infosys-wipro-and-hcl-tech-expected-to-announce-more-deals-more-money-and-more-savings-in-second-quarter/articleshow/78507656.cms">TCS, Infosys, Wipro and HCL Tech expected to announce more deals in the second quarter</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/cultfit-is-finally-reopening-its-doors-after-six-months-but-online-classes-will-continue/articleshow/78493796.cms">Cultfit is finally reopening its doors after six months – but online classes will continue</a>

India’s oldest video rental company is not competing with Netflix — instead it has one-upped YouTube with new releases on demand

<ul><li><keyword id="7940647" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="mission-mangalyaan">Mission Mangalyaan</keyword> is commended for being the cheapest ever <keyword id="452868" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mission-to-Mars">mission to Mars</keyword>, which was successful on a budget of ₹4.5 billion. </li><li>Its cost was less than the budget of the upcoming movie based on the event, <keyword id="1961443" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="mission-mangal">Mission Mangal</keyword> which was produced for ₹5 billion. </li><li>But its limited budget meant that it was only a technology demonstration mission for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) rather than one focused on collecting scientific data. </li></ul>The upcoming Bollywood movie, Mission Mangal, set to release on August 15th celebrates India's successful maiden mission to Mars — Mangalyaan. An ensemble cast consisting of <keyword id="2823" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Akshay-Kumar">Akshay Kumar</keyword>, Vidya Balan and Sharman Joshi all star in a movie that showcases India's space mission. <div type="image" title="66816772_10156986660608283_8557114509213302784_n_edited" msid="70498336" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Cast of &amp;lt;em&amp;gt;Mission Mangal &amp;lt;/em&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>

 Mission Mangalyaan, or the Mars Orbiter Mission (<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/India-Is-Pioneering-The-Low-Cost-Mission-To-Mars/articleshow/25239899.cms">MOM</a>), is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/Mangalyaan-Makes-Its-Way-To-Times-Best-Inventions-of-2014-List/articleshow/45260385.cms">lauded</a> for being the cheapest ever mission to Mars which a budget of ₹4.5 billion (₹450 crore). It's also how India came to be the fourth country to land on Mars and the first one to do it successfully on its first attempt. <div type="image" title="mars1_edited" msid="70498480" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Mangalyaan captures its first image of Mars taken from a height of 7300 km&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>

 Ironically Mission Mangal's <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/akshay-kumar-on-mission-mangal-my-film-2-0-had-a-budget-of-500-crore-india-s-mars-mission-cost-less-than-that/story-bQBoxtyvC1ewHgJXNRhYFN.html">budget</a> is more than that of the actual Mars mission at ₹5 billion (₹500 crore), according to Kumar. But unlike the movie, the story of Mangalyaan doesn't quite end happily ever after. Defying the odds Mission Mangal's trailer shows that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) had proposed a budget ₹8 billion (₹ 800 crore) to launch Mangalyaan but were only allotted a little more than half that amount for the project. <div type="image" title="mom_edited" msid="70498449" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;First image of the Earth by MCC of Mars Orbiter Spacecraft taken on Nov 19, 2013&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>

 Innovation and jugaad (cheap quick fix solutions to problems) did help turn the mission. This is in spite of the fact that its ‘chances of success were less than 1%'. And, while Mission Mangal seems to highlight the obstacles that India had to overcome in order to launch Mangalyaan — it could fail to illustrate the fact that it came at a cost. Cost of science In the movie, the project team worries about getting the payloads aboard the rocket. In typical movie fashion, the narrative seems to be skewed towards how they finally managed to ‘fix' it. In reality, ISRO had to drastically cut down on the instruments it had planned to send to Mars because it lacked a rocket with the requisite capacity. Technology like the ‘<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indias-most-powerful-launcher-will-carry-chandrayaan-2-on-moon-mission/articleshow/70202043.cms">Bahubali</a>' GSLV-Mark III heavy launch vehicle which recently launched the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/heres-why-chandrayaan-2-is-landmark-moon-mission-for-india/articleshow/69842571.cms">Chandrayaan 2</a> mission into space wasn't available back in 2013. Instead, India used its lighter PSLV XL launch vehicle — originally built for the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/what-were-the-challenges-with-chandrayaan-1/articleshow/70202192.cms">Chandrayaan 1</a> and the largest available rocket at the time — to reach Mars. <div type="image" title="pslv-c25-23 (1)_edited" msid="70498392" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Mangalyaan&amp;#39;s PSLV XL C25 rocket taking off in 2013&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>

 A smaller rocket also meant that it could only carry so much weight. Mangalyaan's payload was only 15 kilograms and it could only take five payloads along. And since ISRO only had 18 months to pull the mission together, the instruments were relatively simple, and could only send back to the most basic of information. <div type="image" title="mars06_edited" msid="70498540" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Mangalyaan&amp;#39;s spacecraft undergoing EMI/EMC test at ISITE ISAC Bangalore&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>

 To put it in perspective, US' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had five years to work on Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (<keyword id="443648" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="MAVEN">MAVEN</keyword>) — which launched a mere 13 days after MOM. It had a capacity of 65 kilograms, carried eight payloads and cost a total of $671 million. And so, its contribution towards scientific advancement and the understanding of Mars was also much higher. Mangalyaan, on the other hand, the aim was just to get there. ISRO, in the past, stated that Mangalyaan was merely a technology demonstration mission to show India's capabilities in outer space technology. In that sense, it could be termed successful, yet its contribution to understanding the elusive planet, is quite less. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india-low-cost-chandrayaan-and-mars-missions-come-at-a-price/articleshow/70226652.cms">India's low cost space missions come at a price</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/isros-commercial-operations-clock-in-over-60-billion-in-revenue-but-leaves-private-players-out-of-the-equation/articleshow/70375311.cms">ISRO's commercial operations clock in over ₹60 billion in revenue but leaves private players out of the equation</a>

The truth of ISRO's Mangalyaan which Akshay Kumar's Mission Mangal could miss

<ul><li>While the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus">Coronavirus</keyword> outbreak has led to productions of films and daily soaps being stopped across the country, TV viewership is going up due to people staying at home.</li><li>However, the GECs re now faced with the challenge of coming up with fresh content for its viewers.</li><li>In such a scenario, how are these channels planning to tackle the situation?</li></ul>It’s been close to 2 weeks since India’s film and television bodies decided to suspend shootings from to avoid the spread of the novel Coronavirus. The Indian Film &amp; Television Directors' Association (IFTDA), Producers Guild of India and Federation of Western Indian Cine Employees (FWICE) had decided on March 17 to put production and shooting on hold till March 31. As the PM announced his 21-day complete lockdown, production will not start before April 14. The biggest impact of this will be on GEC channels that usually work with a content bank of about two weeks. However, with the lockdown, these channels will soon run out of fresh content to air. Considering most people are stuck at home, OTT and TV viewership saw a spike, according to Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India data. The total TV consumption saw a spike of 8% across India in the week ended March 20 (<keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="covid-19">Covid-19</keyword> Week 1), while the total time spent per user on smartphones went increased by 6.2% to 25 hours a week. Moreover, the consumption growth in the Hindi speaking markets (HSM) was at around 10% in comparison to the South region that grew by 5%. The HSM region saw an increase in terms of both reach and time spent. While this opens up possibilities for advertisers to catch more eyeballs, GECs are now faced with the problem of running out of content. In such a scenario, what is the strategy they are employing to ensure that they do not lose their audience who can only stay engaged if they are offered something new to watch? Ensuring all-round entertainment for consumers While production has come to a complete halt, all the channels believe that the show mustn’t stop and are strategizing at how to make the best use of the content at their disposal currently. Speaking about how it is working around the current situation, <keyword id="3387826" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Prathyusha-Agarwal">Prathyusha Agarwal</keyword>, Chief Consumer Officer, <keyword id="174248" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Zee-Entertainment-Enterprises-Ltd">Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd</keyword> said, “Taking into consideration the explosion in TV consumption and the changing composition of audiences, there is a need to customize programming for this emerging trend. At ZEE, we have geared up to serve these emerging trends with content for everyone in the family. For instance, starting March 25, Zee TV introduced an exclusive band ‘PyaarVyaar Originals’ with three new finite series including Sakshi Tanwar and Ram Kapoor starrer ‘Karle Tu Bhi Mohabbat’, Sharman Joshi Starrer ‘Baarish’ and Ronit Roy Starrer ‘Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain’ for the first time on television between 9 pm and 11 pm every week night. Longer binge-worthy episodes of our popular fiction shows have also been lined up across most channels to provide an immersive experience to our viewers who are staying much longer in front of the television. &amp;tv has also lined up curated specials of their comedy hits along with inspirational and devotional content to bring in positivity into our viewers’ living rooms.” For <keyword id="1570722" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Manisha-Sharma">Manisha Sharma</keyword>, Chief Content Officer, Hindi Mass Entertainment, <keyword id="187712" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Viacom18">Viacom18</keyword>, the need of the hour is for the channels to take care of every family’s all-round entertainment needs. Speaking about what their roadmap in terms of content is, Sharma said, “At a time like this, we want to give our viewers the best of the content mix which will keep them smiling and comforted and hopefully let this time go by smiling and watching with their families in the confines of their homes. We have an eclectic mix of current and popular erstwhile shows that will take care of all their entertainment needs ranging from comedy, drama, slice of life, and reality shows. We have dedicated blocks for comedy, drama, and romance to give the viewers the best of the best content. A healthy dose of comedy between 5-6 pm with reruns of Belan Wali Bahu, popular show Dil Se Dil Tak starring Sidharth Shukla and Rashami Desai will be back at 6pm. We will continue to air fresh episodes of Vidya, Choti Sarrdaarni, Shakti…Astitva Ke Ehsaas Kii, Barrister Babu, Shubharambh and Naati Pinky Ki Lambi Love Story at their respective timeslots.” Riding on the nostalgia wave Doordarshan played a masterstroke with the announcement of the re-launch of yesteryear classics including Ramayan, Mahabharat and Byomkesh Bakshi. A lot of people have been talking on various social media platforms about what are the shows they would want channels to bring back. And a lot of the channels are listening to what the audience wants. Zee is bringing back some of its old, popular shows from its library across its channels, like ‘Kasamh Se’ on Zee TV and ‘Sambhaji’ on Zee Marathi and ‘Goyenda Ginni’ on Zee Bangla amongst others. Similarly, Viacom18 will be bringing back its show Dil Se Dil Tak and Bigg Boss 13. Speaking about what viewers can expect from its stable, <keyword id="8986388" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="arpit-machhar">Arpit Machhar</keyword>, Head of Marketing, <keyword id="8986387" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="enterr10-television-network">Enterr10 Television Network</keyword> (<keyword id="7514645" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Dangal-TV">Dangal TV</keyword>) said, “We go through a lot of historical data before acquiring the license of any show. Dangal TV ratings, undoubtedly, have also been helpful in successfully monetising already aired shows. In the past, shows like Bandini, Chandragupt Maurya, Bhagwaan Shree Krishna have done exceptionally well. Ramayana, too has a very strong connect with viewers across India beyond the Hindi speaking markets. Mythological and historical shows along with some well-produced thrillers and family dramas make it an interesting package for viewers. We are in tune with this, considering Dangal TV too has been airing Ramayana as well as similar mythological shows like Devi Adi Parashakti, Mahima Shani Dev Ki for a while now. Devi Adi Parashakti and Mahima Shani Dev Ki are among the top 2 shows across Hindi GEC, HSM(U+R) as per latest data by BARC India for Week 11. We are aware that such content always has an audience and therefore we will continue to keep our viewers engaged with such shows.” Covid-19’s business impact While many sectors like events and out-of-home have been badly hit due to the lockdown, broadcasters are hopeful that they will be impacted less. Considering viewership is on the rise too, it presents an opportunity for both broadcasters and advertisers to make something out of an adverse situation. Dangal TV has seen a spike in its viewership, like most other GECs and is not focusing on new ideas. “Despite the COVID-19 challenge, Dangal TV is experiencing a spike in the average time spent.We are witnessing the early signs of a consumption uptick with an increase in the viewership. At Enterr10 Television Network, we are strongly connected and engaged with our viewers. Our numbers have been ahead of us. We are readily willing at focusing on exploring new ideas, IPs, etc. We haven’t stepped back in terms of exploring what more is possible, even during this period. Even in this unprecedented situation, we will continue to invest in good library, innovative programming and in distribution that will further aid in consolidating our position in both rural and urban markets. While there is huge competition amongst TV channels, our first priority is to consolidate, maintain and further strengthen our leadership position on television.” Pointing towards the fact that a lot of advertising on TV comes from FMCG that have been relatively less impacted, Sharma shared her optimism about the future. “The lockdown has hit the manufacturing, supply chain and consumption of all brands and that will invariably have an effect on ad spends. However, TV and digital will have a marginal impact as compared to other mediums like print, outdoors and radio as TV viewership is expected to see an upswing due to the forced lockdown. Secondly, a large amount of advertising revenue for a GEC comes from FMCG brands that are relatively less impacted in the current situation. Also, since it is an industry phenomenon, all GEC channels will witness a drop in ad spends,” explained Sharma. Added Agarwal, “Over the next 3 weeks, we expect content consumption on TV to go up as people look to keep themselves entertained. Given the temporary nature of the lockdown, it would be imprudent to quote any implication as of now, but we are sure that TV has become an essential service providing the much needed companionship to families in the current times.”

With limited fresh content at their disposal, here's how GECs are tackling the lockdown

<ul><li>As <keyword id="4241922" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="ALTBalaji">ALTBalaji</keyword> completes three years of its existence, we look back at its journey, talk about some key highlights that helped it become the first OTT player in India on its way to profitability. </li><li><keyword id="158783" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nachiket-Pantvaidya">Nachiket Pantvaidya</keyword>, CEO, ALTBalaji and Group COO, Balaji Telefilms further shares his growth plan and says the focus now will be to help ALTBalaji dominate the Hindi-speaking markets. </li></ul>While the lockdown has brought video production to a standstill, that hasn’t deterred ALTBalaji’s spirit. It had announced to launch 30 originals earlier this year and is still on track to achieve its goal. Apart from that, Nachiket Pantvaidya, CEO, ALTBalaji and Group COO, Balaji Telefilms is also confident that the demand for content will continue to rise even after we resume normalcy and on the back of that, he is hoping to break even in FY21. ALTBalaji currently has 1.7 million active direct subscribers and as we all continue to be house arrested and binge-watching content on <keyword id="5293670" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="OTT-platforms">OTT platforms</keyword>, it is also witnessing a 60% growth in subscriptions with an average of 17,000 subscriptions added per day post lockdown vs an average of 10,600 in March 2020 pre-lockdown. After completing three years on building a strong content library with 60 originals, Pantvaidya’s focus now will be to help ALTBalaji dominate the Hindi speaking markets. He further shared with us some key highlights the platform has seen in the past three years, what sets it apart from other players and his vision to take ALTBalaji to the next level. Nachiket Pantvaidya, CEO, ALTBalaji and Group COO, Balaji Telefilms: Q) Can you walk me through some of the key highlights that ALTBalaji has seen in its three-year-journey? Having set milestones and breaking new grounds for over three years, our journey has been fairly business-positive and will continue to do so. Since its inception, ALTBalaji has been on top of the consumer mind for its unique narratives and clutter-breaking original Hindi content and we have aggressively grown on the back of innovative business strategies. Moving from strength to strength, we’ve today become a major player in the Indian OTT industry and gained further encouragement by the massive increase in subscriber base. With a substantial bouquet of original content across genres that keeps viewers engaged, our app has consistently ranked amongst the top 3 Grossing Video Streaming Apps in the country across the app store (Source: App Annie). With content being ALTBalaji’s biggest differentiator, the platform has reached out to all kinds of audiences across the length and breadth of the country through a healthy mix of thriller, drama, romance, teenage drama, horror, comedy among others. ALTBalaji has also been a pioneer in starting the trend of original soundtracks in the web-series space. Laying impetus towards growing its regional subscriber base, we have a host of our Hindi offerings dubbed in Indian and International languages like Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bahasa, Arabic, etc. amongst others. In their endeavour to engage the audience and offer them an immersive viewing experience, ALTBalaji is also working towards strengthening its UI/UX by focusing on aspects like language interface, voice search, targeted retention strategies, tailored recommendations, quick onboarding, and convenient payment gateways. Q) What does your current content library look like? How many originals have you launched thus far? Owing to our resounding mass appeal, we have emerged as the fastest-growing homegrown platform with more than 60 originals and we intend to leave no stone unturned in curating more in the coming future. With a plethora of diverse content spanning across multiple genres, our programming has something for everyone. While our recently-launched popular shows like ‘Mentalhood’, ‘Code M’, Mission Over Mars, ‘Class of 2020’, ‘Ragini MMS 2’, ‘Broken 2’, ‘Hum Tum and Them’ etc. have been loved by the audience, there is still a demand for the shows like ‘Haq Se’, ‘Apharan’, ‘Bose Dead/Alive’, ‘The Test Case’, ‘The Great Indian Dysfunctional Family’, ‘Home’ which were launched more than a year back. Q) What kind of growth have you seen in your subscriber base after the lockdown? Since audience retention is a challenge, how will you make sure that you continue seeing this growth after we resume normalcy? ALTBalaji is witnessing a strong uptake of digital subscriptions with an average of 17,000 subscriptions added per day post lockdown vs an average of 10,600 in March 2020 pre lockdown, a growth of 60%. As of date, the platform has over 1.7m active direct subscribers. OTT content consumption has witnessed steady growth throughout, and it will continue to do so, on its own. This situation, though an anomaly, will introduce a wider set of audiences to OTT, who we believe will continue the consumption, however, our focus remains on our long-term plan of creating unique narratives. It’s an obvious expression that once the pandemic is over, people will be juggling between work, social and personal commitments. Having said that, we are confident that having sampled our portfolio of exciting, original web series, to a wider audience that has a higher propensity and capacity to subscribe, we will continue as one of the top OTT platforms. Q) Your plan was to launch 30 originals this year. Do you still see that happening? So far, we are on track in terms of the show launches. We recently launched the highly-awaited web-series ‘Mentalhood’ that featured a stellar cast in the form of Karisma Kapoor, Dino Morea, Sandhya Mridul and Sanjay Suri, among others. The web-series has not only won accolades from critics but is also being consumed extensively by the audience. Apart from that, we also launched a very Delhi style comedy-drama ‘Who’s Your Daddy?’ featuring Rahul Dev and YouTuber Harsh Beniwal. Other big shows in the pipeline include ‘Baarish Season 2’, which features Sharman Joshi and Asha Negi in lead roles along with a cameo by legendary actor Jeetendra. Additionally, after two successful seasons, our show ‘Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain has Season 3’ on the cards along with ‘Beebaakee’ featuring Kushal Tandon, Karan Jotwani, Suchitra Pillai among others. Q) Where do you see your next set of subscribers coming from? How many do you aim to add to your kitty by the end of this year? India has become more digital-savvy with more and more people coming on the internet. According to a market research firm techARC, India had 502.2 million smartphone users as of December 2019. The time spent on phones has substantially increased especially during this phase. According to KPMG’s recent report titled ‘COVID-19: The many shades of a crisis’, the penetration of subscription-based digital models is set to accelerate. From a content segmentation and a subscription acquisition point of view, one needs to start looking at these newer people to acquire. What works for us is to concentrate on consumer segmentation behaviour, understanding how to retain the customers better and working on onboarding the new segment who have just been acquainted with the internet. Q) What are your revenue goals for this fiscal? Given the national lockdown, all content production has come to a standstill, we continue to monitor the situation closely. We are very confident that the demand for content will increase once the situation returns to normal and are well prepared to resume business and ramp up content sales once the lockdown is over. ALTBalaji has been working towards its goals and is the first OTT platform already on the road to profitability. With our costs getting controlled in the first half of fiscal 2020 and the loss margin further reducing at the end of the current fiscal, we are aiming to break even in 2020-2021. Q) What do you believe is ALTBalaji’s strength in the market? Our mindset towards reading the market early on and taking action at the earliest has helped us stay ahead of the industry curve. This can probably only happen when the organization is tight, sharp and quick to react. With content being our biggest differentiator, we have been catering to all kinds of audiences through our diverse content offerings spanning multiple languages. Additionally, with Indian originals picking up the pace as audiences are on the lookout for local relatable content, we have the biggest Hindi content library of originals and are creating desi shows across genres. Q) What will be your focus this year? Where do you see ALTBalaji growing from here? We, at ALTBalaji, are currently focusing on ensuring that we dominate the Hindi speaking markets and then move ahead. If you look at the geography and demography of the country, 70% of the content consumed is Hindi. As a platform, it makes sense to focus your efforts in one direction and win over the Hindi-speaking population. Hence, this year we are first going to focus on ensuring that we dominate the Hindi space. We will gradually move towards other regional markets as well in the coming years. A host of our Hindi offerings have also been dubbed in Indian and International languages like Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bhasa, Arabic, etc. amongst others. We shall continue to focus on expanding our language content library in the coming years.

ALTBalaji will break even this fiscal: Nachiket Pantvaidya, ALTBalaji

In a country where 800 movies are made in a year, it’s difficult to remember each and every film that releases. 
 
But sometimes, we do come across some mind blowing and thought provoking storylines, which remain with us for a long time. Such is the power of storytelling that it makes some stories a part of our lives. 
 
However, while revisiting some of the famous Hindi movies, we realized their script writers conveniently chose to forget that we are living in the Facebook and Twitter age. 
 
Here we list out 4 of them. 
 
1. <keyword id="6373971" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="3-idiots">3 Idiots</keyword> 
The crux of the story and the emotion that appealed to all of us was that two friends, Raju (Sharman Joshi) and Farhan (R. Madhavan), could not find their best friend Rancho (Aamir Khan) for over 5 years, because they didn’t have his address and contact details. However, had the movie released in today’s time when everything goes on internet, they could have easily searched for Ranchhod Das Chanchad and unearthed the secret that lay behind the walls of that Simla mansion. Also, don’t you think that the name of Phunsukh Wangdu, a genius who has patented so many designs, would have found its way to the Facebook news feeds of either Raju Rastogi or Farhan Qureshi? 
 
2. <keyword id="2196546" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Raja-Natwarlal">Raja Natwarlal</keyword> 
Although this movie was released in 2014, the audience was actually baffled by the ease with which Raja (Emraan Hashmi) befooled Varda Yadav (Kay Kay Menon). Wouldn’t a multimillionaire business tycoon look up for website of the cricket authority before believing a virtually non-existent agent and handing over a cheque of Rs 100 crore? While Raja could have tampered with Google for the first page of the search results, we are sure that five minutes of Google search would have been enough for Yadav to figure out the con. 
 
3. Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein 
A favourite of many, this romantic movie rules many hearts, even after 14 years of its release. The story shows how Maddy (R.Madhavan) makes his love interest Reena (Dia Mirza) believe that he is Rajiv Samra, the man that she has been betrothed to since childhood. But today we are sure that Reena would have done a quick search for the social profiles of Rajiv Samra, only to find the images of Saif Ali Khan giving his coy smile. 
 
4. <keyword id="15117" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="dostana">Dostana</keyword> 
We loved the laughter ride that this movie took us on, but had Neha (Priyanka Chopra) been more brainy, she would have obviously added Kunal (John Abraham) and Sam (Abhishek Bachchan) on Facebook, or followed them on Twitter, only to know that they weren’t gay. There, end of the story!

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