This must be the most ridiculous piece of news of the pandemic. Believe it or faint but Indoo Ki Jawani has not opened in around 400 cinemas of the country today (11th December) for a mere Rs. 2,000. The Kiara Advani starrer, produced by Bhushan Kumar (on left in picture) and Nikhil Advani and distributed all over India by Anil Thadani (on the right in the photograph), did not release in many single-screen cinemas and non-national multiplex chains over the issue of Content Delivery Charge (CDC) which is around Rs. 2,000 per cinema. The film, of course, opened in the national multiplex chains.
The producers and distributor had made oral commitments to cinemas that they would bear the CDC. It was a question of just the CDC as the VPF (Virtual Print Fee) had already been waived by the digital projection system companies like UFO Moviez, Qube etc. But after the commitment, Anil Thadani is said to have told exhibitors that the CDC would have to be borne by them. While several exhibitors (single-screen cinemas and non-national multiplex chains) took up the matter with their associations, several others expressed their inability to Thadani to bear the CDC. The Eastern India Motion Picture Association (EIMPA) even wrote to Thadani to inform him that its members would not bear the CDC which would, therefore, have to be borne by the producers. Yet, no cinema imagined that things would take such an ugly turn today (December 11) morning. Every cinema owner/controller reasoned out that since it was a matter of just Rs. 2,000 per cinema, Thadani and Bhushan would honour their earlier commitment.
But after the commitment,
Anil Thadani is
said to have told exhibitors that the CDC would have to
be borne by them.
To their horror, single-screen cinemas and non-national multiplex chains were not sent their KDM (Key Delivery Message) this morning. The KDM is the code without which a cinema cannot screen the film. All these cinemas had announced the film and many of them had even sold tickets in advance. Imagine the loss of reputation of these cinemas!
Information was inundated with WhatsApp messages, ridiculing and condemning the lack of empathy and the sense of unfair play by Bhushan Kumar, Nikhil Advani and Anil Thadani. Messages from just two disgruntled exhibitors are being reproduced here to underline the heartburn this has created among those who were left high and dry by the producers and distributor of the film:
“Cinemas closed. Indoo Ki Jawani didn’t release in our cinemas. Over Rs. 2,000. The level to which people will fall is amazing. Film has been released only in national chain. Yesterday night, our cinemas got cancelled. Do the math: 400 cinemas multiplied by Rs. 2,000. That’s just Rs. 8 lakh. T-Series won’t pay Rs. 8 lakh! Bhushan jee!” This was followed by emoticons of folded hands to ridicule the person named.
“Do the math: 400 cinemas multiplied
by Rs. 2,000. That’s just Rs. 8 lakh. T-Series won’t pay
Rs. 8 lakh!
Bhushan jee!”
“Producers play dirty. KDMs of Indoo Ki Jawani not issued after booking the film. Reputational and financial loss to cinemas which announced the film.”
It’s rather unfortunate that when the film industry should be standing unitedly and the different sectors should be extending a helping hand to each other, such petty behaviour is marring all the efforts to bring the beleaguered industry on track once again. Just to put things in perspective, the budget of Indoo Ki Jawani is around Rs. 15 crore! What’s Rs. 8 lakh against a budget of Rs. 15 crore? Not even 1%!!!!