 "Freedom of speech is sacrosanct, says Uday Shankar")
Shankar emphasised that for him, the most important issue at the moment is the one on freedom of speech.
“This perhaps is the only major democracy in the world where, after over 60 years of independence, there continues to be a debate on how much freedom can be given to the media. I am shocked that there are still groups who continue to debate on the right amount of freedom that can be granted to media; as if this is something to be granted and as if this is even negotiable,” he expressed.
He added that what is troubling is that in a very competitive world, we are questioning the scope of free speech - one of the few real sources of advantage for us.
“What is interesting to me is that we all agree that the role of media is to question the status quo. But with the right to question must come the right to provoke and the right to offend. In the absence of these, there is no debate and without debate there is no clarity. But we seem to be regressing in this area.”
Giving an example of Satyamev Jayate, he said, when the show pointed to weaknesses in the medical system, doctors were offended.
“When a precocious teenager posts a comment on Facebook, some people start vying for her blood. We are not far from a point where someone’s sneeze or a cough on a television show will be source of offense and outrage for many. What makes it worse is that increasingly the democratic institutions have more patience for those who promote intolerance,” he opined.
He added that it is time for all to recognise that free speech is what is sacrosanct, not the right to be offended.
Among other challenges, he said that media and entertainment is a real economic enterprise not just a vehicle of glitz and glamour.
“This industry is an economic enterprise like the best of them and is capable of creating employment and wealth much faster than most other sectors and with the ability to be a force multiplier, like it is in most countries. It is particularly relevant in India because it can be an employment generator without massive public investments and without being hampered by the deficiencies of public infrastructure. Just to put things in perspective, as a $15 billion industry, we employ over 6 million people. This can be so much more significant and meaningful,” he said.
However, he said that the lens often used to look at this industry is largely one of glamour and propaganda and the biggest debate is on how to control and contain it.
“As a result, the growth of M&E has not been supported by policy and regulatory initiatives. With full recognition of the government’s constraints, this year’s budget is a case in point. Instead of giving fiscal support to digitalisation, which can unlock huge economic value, there is an imposition of additional customs duties on boxes and of withholding taxes on content rights,” he said.
Another issue he pointed out was confusion on basic facts. How can we seek support from the government when as an industry we do not even have the basic facts in place?, he asked.
“It is a matter of concern that the credibility of the most prevalent currency of all transactions in TV enjoys so little credibility. The lack of reliable data is not limited to TAM. In fact, as a TV executive, I am surprised sometimes how I am even able to function. I do not know enough about my viewers – in fact I don’t even know how many of them are there. There are 140 million cable and satellite homes but the measured universe is 62 million households. I do not know how many subscribers I have with a particular MSO and the MSO doesn’t know how many households his LCO delivers the signals to. Same is true in advertising too. The country’s premier media agencies can’t even seem to agree on a fact as basic as the size of the advertising market. One leading agency estimates the total market size to be ~35,000 crore, while the other, equally illustrious, estimates it to be ~29,000 crore. A variance of no less than 20%”
He added that numbers are supposed to be the foundations of rational business decisions but how can we make decisions when professionals in the business of numbers can’t get their numbers straight?
Another issue he said is of crisis of talent.
“We have a real crisis on both supply and quality. While it is not unique to Media and Entertainment, what is different is the lack of recognition of the scale of the challenge. We, as a community are complacent in our belief that this sector is different. We hide under the pretense of creativity and have convinced ourselves that creativity gives us the license to be informal and chaotic. It is this informality and chaos that has seeped into our approach to spotting and grooming talent. This is dangerous. We must realise that discipline and formality are not antithetical to creativity and if anything they are necessary ingredients to fostering the creative process,” he said.
Shankar, who has been named chairman after demise of Yash Chopra, mentioned that he is stepping into the big shoes of the late Yash Chopra, who was a leader of the Indian film industry for four decades.
“Yashji played a pivotal role in building Media and Entertainment as a cohesive community with a clear identity, and made FICCI FRAMES its most distinguished platform. My goal will be to work with you all to further reinforce this community and accelerate the growth of the industry.”
He added that the next big milestone that the industry has identified for the Indian film industry is to produce a Rs 1,000 crore blockbuster.
“Celebrating its 100th year, Indian cinema has shown proof of its enduring followership and in recent times has set new benchmarks at the box office."
He added that despite many hurdles, the unthinkable is beginning to happen in television distribution, with the first phase of digitalisation well underway.
“As we speak, over 10 million cable homes have gone digital and in the next 2 years, 80 million homes will be digitalised. It will be the fastest digital transition anywhere in the world.”