Big releases postponed, film, TV and web series shootings halted, theatres unable to screen movies, daily wage employees struggling for their next meal. The Rs 183 billion Indian film industry is going through its worst phase because of the lockdown necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic.
Covid-19’s first impact came when Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif- starrer, Rohit Shetty’s film “Sooryavanshi”, which recently launched its trailer with much fanfare, has pushed the release of the film indefinitely. It was scheduled to release on march 24th.
This was quickly followed by Sir, Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar, Haathi Mere Sathi and 83 getting postponed too. Baaghi 3 saw fewer takers in its second week, and Irrfan’s Khan’s Angrezi Medium had to be pulled out of theatres and then it eventually released on OTT platform Disney+Hotstar. And many more movies were about to launch but everything got postponed due to current crisis.
According to trade pundits, a big Bollywood movie spends between Rs 15-20 crore on its promotion and a medium or small budget movie about Rs 5 crore
Covid-19’s effect was felt when film bodies including Federation of Western Indian Cine Employees (FWICE) and Indian Film & Television Directors’ Association (IFTDA) decided to halt shooting of movies, TV shows and web series. Major production houses like Balaji Motion Pictures, Dharma Productions and Yash Raj Films also promptly called off all production activity.
Daily wage workers are facing huge repercussions, but somehow actors and actresses came forward to help them. But for how long?
Experts estimate the entertainment industry has already lost more than a thousand crores because of the lockdown. “This is the first time in our history that the entire India box office is zero.
According to a Financial Express report, the film industry faced a decline of 29.1 per cent to Rs 1062.4 crore in the first quarter of 2020, which stood at Rs 1499.4 crore for the same period last year.
Effect on the theatres
Films already in theatres have seen a drastic decline in viewership and the film that has suffered the most is Tiger Shroff’s “Baaghi 3”.
PVR, has a total count of 706 screens across 152 properties in 60 cities. All these have been shut.
Suman Chowdhury, president ratings at Acuité Ratings and Research, told that a 50 per cent drop in multiplex footfalls in the next quarter particularly in metro and Tier II cities. Chowdhury predicts a lot of movie releases will be postponed and there will be erosion in earnings of listed multiplex players such as PVR and INOX.
Everybody is facing losses because even if you don’t run the theatre you have to pay salaries and electricity bills.
Impact on the television industry
Despite channels exhausting their bank of episodes, the overall media consumption during the self-isolation period has jumped by 60 per cent, according to research firm Nielsen.
Also, Doordarshan’s plan of re-airing iconic shows like Ramayan, Mahabharata, Shree Krishna and Byomkesh Bakshi has been received a huge success and other channels also re-telecasted their popular shows like Hum Paanch, CID and Siya Ke Ram.
DD saw near about 650 per cent growth in viewership in one week, and became the most-watched channel for two consecutive weeks. It even broke its own record by attaining a viewership of 1.9 billion across all the GECs for the Week 14, as per Broadcast Audience Research Council.
BY: GARIMA
Street Paradise 
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