Digital wave hits small theatres too

ENTERTAINMENT

Changing movies when houses run empty and monthly savings on electricity and carbon costs are a few benefits of digital cinema.

Digital cinema has completely changed Sanjay Mehta's life. Not just a large distributor for the northern territory but also an exhibitor, he recalls: "There was simply not enough of a crowd for 'Jai Santoshi Maa' at Paras Cinema in Delhi. However, we quickly were able to change to 'Woh Lamhe' around October 2. We had a long weekend and we simply could not afford to wait out with poor crowd turnout. This was possible due to digital technology."

He claims to have recovered not just the investment in acquiring the digital rights for Rs 5,000 but also make money and do some damage control. Martin Sebastian, proprietor, Emil & Eric cinema, Thrissur, Kerala, differs: "I am very comfortable with this technology, but I cannot change a film mid-week. I need the permission of my distributor."

Similarly, Anil Reddy, owner of Sangeetha theatre at Peddapally in Andhra Pradesh, agrees he's not at liberty to switch shows when he finds crowds waning for a certain show, but claims he saves up to Rs 4,000 on electricity and carbon costs required every month for print runs. The only hitch he feels is that UFO Moviez (that supplies the digital prints in his case) needs to build its regional library further.

Y N Debata, MD, Samrat Cinema in Cuttack, Orissa, concurs: "Technically we have choice with digital technology to switch, but it seldom happens as one needs publicity before the run up of any film and so that stops us from changing movies mid-way. We show Hindi films because the UFO Moviez library for regional films is yet to pick up, and the cost of converting print to digital requires around Rs 1.25 lakh. To recover the money, one needs to screen the movie more widely as the rental for each digital show is Rs 250 and with tickets being pegged at Rs 20 its difficult to recover the movie for a regional film."

Umesh Kumar Singh of Parijat cinema at Salkia in West Bengal, claims "the picture quality though initially great, deteriorated with time". "I am told that this is due to the quality of loading at Mumbai which results in poor quality. I wish they (UFO Moviez) can control the quality of their load." Rajendra Mamoria of Surya Mandir Cinema at Dausa Rajasthan, and Baldev Sharma of Amar Mahal Cinema at Katra in Jammu & Kashmir disagrees. "The picture quality is terrific, there's six-track sound...my work has increased over six times," chortles Mamoria.

Distributors too seem to have differing takes. Ajay Pal, proprietor, Yash Raj Pal Films, who controls distribution for old Mysore region, says he permits switching of movies if they get a poor response, but "they have to make a much higher payment. It depends on the movie and can range from Rs 5000-15,000." Harss Mancchanda, proprietor, Niraj Movies in-charge of West Bengal distribution for Filmkraft production is more lenient: "If there is no crowd, cinema owners have to discontinue with a show. I allow them to switch movies which is easily possible with digital technology."

Clearly, digital movies are capturing small theaters across the country. But for the teething issues, Raaja Kanwar, MD, Apollo International (who owns UFO Moviez), clarifies: "We supply technology that makes it happen at cost-effective rates, but we cannot interfere with individual equations." As for the quality of sound and print, he says: "If a certain producer offers us positives instead of negative for transfer, the quality will vary. Hence, we insist on negatives for making digital copies." As for increasing the regional database of digital films, "that's a work in progress".