Hindi Television is soon becoming a major game changer as far as entertainment is concerned.
Add to it the growing power of digital media (read: Internet) and stay assured that the whole thrill of watching a movie in a luxurious cinema hall on a 70mm big screen may soon be a thing of the past!
No, this is not a catastrophe planning to play out in next few days, but sooner than later if things remain the way they are.
Going by the trends, the days of the movie doing a golden or a silver jubilee are way past their expiry date. Now it is just the opening weekend, which matters. If the movie does well, fine or else within one month you can watch the same film in the comforts of your home without spending a single rupee. Even if the movie does roaring business and somehow due to busy schedules you are not able to watch in a theatre, trust the producers and broadcasters to bring it on your TV within a couple of months of its release.
Is it good? Or bad? Or doesn’t matter?
Zee Network
Well, it all started with the cable revolution when we suddenly had access to yesteryears’ movies all day and night long, sometimes as per our convenience. Now, with a bombardment of Hindi movie channels, all the recent releases run on your TV screens not once or twice, but multiple times till their cost is recovered from the advertising revenue. In fact the major entertainment channels like Star Plus, Colors, Zee TV and Sony take the lead in premiering such latest hits and then these flicks are given to their sister channels to squeeze every bit of revenue from their running potential.
Star Plus
For some it is good actually. Those patrons who like a particular movie and don’t want to buy its CD or DVD can watch the re-runs and have their share of entertainment even months after the initial release. But for those who cherish the whole experience of sitting in a dark hall with the intoxicating smell of popcorn and cold drink watching and losing themselves in the make-believe world of cinema, it is indeed a sad development to watch it at home, no matter what the comfort is!
Colors TV
To some extent, cinema halls are responsible for this decay due to the exorbitant prices of tickets and for a family of four it really becomes expensive to watch a new release every weekend. This pricing is again dependent on the cost of the movie and that depends on the star cast and so on and so forth.
In short, the ultimate sufferer is the avid movie-watcher who wants to enjoy the magic of cinema in a theatre only and not on a small screen.
Sony Television
Let’s hope the entire cost-dynamics and profitability of a movie are worked upon keeping in mind those who love their cinema for its art and not its economics!
