INR1 billion benchmark limiting growth of films: Karan Johar

Director feels the aim should be to mint INR10 billion from one film.

MUMBAI:

Film-maker Karan Johar says the focus on the INR1 billion benchmark is limiting the growth and content of Bollywood films at a time when the aim must be to mint INR10 billion from one film.

“INR1 billion is restricting the limits of our self. We must add one more zero to INR1 billion films and take them to the next level. INR1 billion is limiting the growth and content [of films]. The possibilities are endless and we must focus on the INR10 billion mark instead,” Johar said.

“In the next five years, we will be in such a position. It might sound far-fetched right now, but there is a possibility that we may have achieved all that,” added the film-maker.

He spoke on Monday at a press conference of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Frames 2013, an entertainment and business summit starting today in Mumbai.

The theme of the conclave this year is A Tryst Destiny: Engaging a Billion Consumers.

It will serve as a platform for dialogues between thought leaders, studio heads and academics, who will talk on a range of topics such as digitisation, censorship, marketing, exhibition, distribution, the future of content consumption in an era progressively getting defined by the digital media, innovation and planning required in various policy issues within TV, cinema, animation and gaming.

“The number of theatres in our country is very few and the films releasing is more; we need to have more theatres for screening,” said Uday Shankar, who heads FICCI Media and Entertainment Committee, in regard to the state of theatres in the country.

Adding to this, Karan said, “Hollywood is a much bigger market. It has six to seven films releasing on a Friday. Here, if more than one film releases, it is considered a war. There is so much made out of two films released in a single day.”

The FICCI Frames this year will specifically tackle issues related to censorship.

One of FICCI’s Policy Representation on the media and entertainment industry mentions that “the Cinematograph Act needs to be urgently amended, so that there are no impediments to its screening once the censor board passes film”.

“There is a special emphasis on the Cinematograph Act this year, especially with regard to what happened to Vishwaroopam; it was banned in Tamil Nadu after being passed by the Central Board of Film Certification,” said Johar.

“This needs immediate attention. We believe that censorship should be the final authority on a film’s release. Censorship on satellite has already been tackled.”

FICCI Frames 2013 will be held March 12 and 14 at Hotel Renaissance in Mumbai.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 20^th, 2013.

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