Gulte Movie News And Politics
Indian film industry is going through a tough phase because of the mounting production expenses and lack of lucrative business deals for big-ticket films. It is becoming increasingly difficult for producers to recoup their investment before the release of their films due in the current market scenario.
On the top of all these troubles, the asking price for theatrical rights and OTT deals are majorly dependent on how well the content of the upcoming movies is being received by moviegoers. If the content fails to strike a chord, no matter how big the star cast is and how massive the canvas is, big budget movies are finding it very difficult to secure handsome deals.
If we look at how Bollywood’s much awaited mythological spectacle ‘Ramayana’ has been struggling to find a promising theatrical deal even though the release date is fast approaching, the grim reality of the current situation can easily be ascertained.
The two part epic visual extravaganza, which is being mounted on a staggering budget of 4000 Crores and boasts an ensemble cast, is unable to find any takers for its theatrical rights and OTT rights as per the price quoted by its makers.
One of the primary reasons why the producer’s price tag seems very exorbitant is not just due the prevailing situation but because of the lukewarm response for the content unveiled by the team so far.
The teaser failed to get a unanimous response from viewers, with several complaints raised over the VFX quality, which was unexpected from the Ramayana team, especially since producer Namit Malhotra’s VFX company DNEG has won multiple Oscars. This has led to doubts among audiences about whether the final film will maintain the same visual standard.
Producer Namit Malhotra has been very eagerly pursuing the business deals of Ramayana. Unfortunately, he couldn’t find any takers so far despite the fact the film has initially grabbed massive attention not just in Bollywood but all over the country. The underwhelming content seems to have played a big role in the struggles of the producer.
Sources say that the producer is looking for price tag of 450 Crores for the theatrical rights of Hindi language. This is said to be an unprecedented amount quoted by a producer of Indian cinema for the Hindi distribution rights with most of the high-profile films touching 250 Crores before this movie.
While Namit Malhotra is very confident and not willing to come up with a more commercially viable offer, many leading distribution houses are reportedly hesitant to fall into the trap. They expressed disinterest to grab the rights at this steep price because of several factors.
Not just Ramayana but the situation for many of the upcoming pan-India biggies is more or less the same because most of them are struggling to sell the theatrical and digital rights at the initial prices quoted by their producers because buyers are stepping away if the teasers and trailers are not getting the required attention of audiences.
The biggest challenge for the makers of marquee films is that they should release content which creates a positive impact and translates into strong buzz before the film’s release or else they will have a tough time to find good offers from buyers and OTT players.
Tags Ramayana
