 "Our industry can overtake Hollywood if collections are more transparent: Kamal Haasan")
Renowned actor, director and producer Kamal Haasan who was in Bangalore for the FICCI Media and Entertainment Business Conclave, speaks to Business Standard on the need for encouraging transparency in the entertainment sector in India. In a chat with Antonita Madonna on the sidelines of the event, the Chairman (Media & Entertainment) of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) speaks of how the Indian entertainment industry can beat Hollywood in the total collections by unlocking its potential. Excerpts:
What is your reaction to the I&B secretary’s suggestion that they will consider extending incentives to the entertainment industry and discuss removing the bottlenecks for the industry?
We are trying to take these discussions forward with the government. They are trying to set an example by becoming leaders in giving the industry an umbrella to work under.
What is the biggest challenge faced by the industry today?
The biggest challenge for the industry is meeting the demand. The supply is inadequate and collections not transparent. Better technology will come — Hollywood is taking care of that with their R&D. But, without ensuring that our collections are transparent, we are overlooking the huge potential.
As part of the industry, what is your priority for the entertainment sector?
We have to start work on making the process of collections more transparent. We have to get the house in order and make the business more transparent. If you don’t ensure that, no amount of technology or success will help. It’s like cupping water in the hand without being careful in plugging holes. We haven’t found a vessel to collect the results because our vessels are porous now, so they leak.
What is the potential that can be unlocked with better transparency?
If our collections are transparent, the industry’s collections will be more than that of Hollywood. In our country we have a 1-billion strong audience and it is not difficult to make 10 per cent of that population watch a super-hit film. Even if 10 per cent watch a movie, at today’s prices, that means Rs 1,000 crores collected from theatres alone. We are not looking into the transparency and honesty angle adequately.
How can transparency be achieved?
Transparency is an important hygiene factor that has to happen in the industry. Everyone, including the government, has to change its tactics. When the taxation was at 90 per cent, everybody had black money. But when the tax rates came down, the illicit element also came down. As a part of the industry too, all of us are responsible for ensuring transparency. Like Gandhiji said, satyagraha is not a collective effort but an individual one. From a business perspective, we all have to put our cards on the table and be transparent.
Are any steps being taken to ensure the industry in a state does not lag others?
Ours is a diverse country and this will always be the case. It has to be survival of the fittest; parochialism will have to go. The victory will have to be for India. That success belongs to the nation, not to any one state.
What is your take on the changes being made to the Cinematograph Act, 1952?
Things have improved dramatically, and the revisiting of the Act is a step in that direction. The 1952 Act was a remake of the British Censor Act and there was a lot more policing then. In fact, every play had to be censored by the police, but we have come a long way. Over 50 years later, they’re changing the Cinematograph Act. But I would say it is still a work in progress. The film industry is considered a sinful one; no industry is sinful if it pays taxes.
Where do you see the South Indian cinema industry five years from now?
In five years, I see it in a better place, hopefully. It should be a time when we don’t have to look up to Hollywood all the time and instead they will be coming here. We are laying the foundation blocks for more awareness, more education on the culture because this is an industry with great potential.
This monoculture of parents only wanting to make their children doctors, lawyers or engineers or that education that will make him earn the money will have to change. That will only make him a money-making machine. There won’t’ be a civil society. We need to aim for more. We will have to make leaders now.
What is your reaction to the I&B secretary’s suggestion that they will consider extending incentives to the entertainment industry and discuss removing the bottlenecks for the industry?
We are trying to take these discussions forward with the government. They are trying to set an example by becoming leaders in giving the industry an umbrella to work under.
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The words of the I&B and IT secretaries have been very encouraging in trying to improve the tax regime for the sector. We’re pleased and hope that the government will go forward and keep their vision and pursue it.
What is the biggest challenge faced by the industry today?
The biggest challenge for the industry is meeting the demand. The supply is inadequate and collections not transparent. Better technology will come — Hollywood is taking care of that with their R&D. But, without ensuring that our collections are transparent, we are overlooking the huge potential.
As part of the industry, what is your priority for the entertainment sector?
We have to start work on making the process of collections more transparent. We have to get the house in order and make the business more transparent. If you don’t ensure that, no amount of technology or success will help. It’s like cupping water in the hand without being careful in plugging holes. We haven’t found a vessel to collect the results because our vessels are porous now, so they leak.
What is the potential that can be unlocked with better transparency?
If our collections are transparent, the industry’s collections will be more than that of Hollywood. In our country we have a 1-billion strong audience and it is not difficult to make 10 per cent of that population watch a super-hit film. Even if 10 per cent watch a movie, at today’s prices, that means Rs 1,000 crores collected from theatres alone. We are not looking into the transparency and honesty angle adequately.
How can transparency be achieved?
Transparency is an important hygiene factor that has to happen in the industry. Everyone, including the government, has to change its tactics. When the taxation was at 90 per cent, everybody had black money. But when the tax rates came down, the illicit element also came down. As a part of the industry too, all of us are responsible for ensuring transparency. Like Gandhiji said, satyagraha is not a collective effort but an individual one. From a business perspective, we all have to put our cards on the table and be transparent.
Are any steps being taken to ensure the industry in a state does not lag others?
Ours is a diverse country and this will always be the case. It has to be survival of the fittest; parochialism will have to go. The victory will have to be for India. That success belongs to the nation, not to any one state.
What is your take on the changes being made to the Cinematograph Act, 1952?
Things have improved dramatically, and the revisiting of the Act is a step in that direction. The 1952 Act was a remake of the British Censor Act and there was a lot more policing then. In fact, every play had to be censored by the police, but we have come a long way. Over 50 years later, they’re changing the Cinematograph Act. But I would say it is still a work in progress. The film industry is considered a sinful one; no industry is sinful if it pays taxes.
Where do you see the South Indian cinema industry five years from now?
In five years, I see it in a better place, hopefully. It should be a time when we don’t have to look up to Hollywood all the time and instead they will be coming here. We are laying the foundation blocks for more awareness, more education on the culture because this is an industry with great potential.
This monoculture of parents only wanting to make their children doctors, lawyers or engineers or that education that will make him earn the money will have to change. That will only make him a money-making machine. There won’t’ be a civil society. We need to aim for more. We will have to make leaders now.