Sir — Gone are the days when Hindi films celebrated their silver and golden jubilee of release with packed theaters announcing their stupendous success at the box-office.
Compared to the trend back in the era where the number of weeks a film spent at the box-office was the biggest parameter to judge a star, today the opening weekend collection is perhaps the primary tool to gauge an actor’s stardom. Nowadays, breaking into the ‘100-crore’ club is the initial achievement that decides the fate of the films. In the bargain, some films just take a cursory bow and vanish without any further trace.
Considered to be a culture economy of urban leisure, India’s multiplex bandwagon has gone beyond the metros to redefine entertainment in the rural sector as well. However, empty theatres and the disastrous performances of even the multi-starrers at the box-office portend a worrisome future for cinema in India. Technology has only succeeded in driving audiences out of the theaters. If movies are to be enjoyed on mobile-sets and the cozy confines of one’s drawing room, how has the technological advancement aided the cause of new-age cinema.
The huge success of Netflix has made it more than evident that when it comes to entertainment, screen size doesn’t really matter. With changing business trends, it is necessary that the cineplexes attempt ways to enhance the theatre experience. Already in the red with contentions of film piracy and other illegalities denting the profits of the film industry, it is a precarious situation the film exhibitors find themselves in.