Golden cage for film industry?

Shyamal Majumdar argues for a reality check by the Indian film industry.

Have you heard of Tulip Joshi, Urvashi Sharma or Samir Dattani? Chances are you haven't even if you are a diehard Hindi movie fan. But all the three virtually unknown names have landed plum multiple-film contracts, which is the new rage in tinsel town.

Tulip, who has just signed such a contract with White Feather Films, acted in two eminently forgettable films a couple of years back. Urvashi, who has just made her debut, has already been signed on for an eight-film deal with Tips. Samir hasn't been seen on screen as yet, but that has not stopped Color Chips from offering him a long-term contract.

India's mushrooming film production houses, however, see a method behind this apparent madness in signing on even untested actors for long-term contracts. With more and more distribution platforms becoming available, the importance of securing the content pipeline has become paramount.

But most of the mega stars have already been signed on by the big banners and these relatively new production houses""all eager to cash in on the booming entertainment industry which has been seeing a compounded annual growth of over 18 per cent""have no option but to seal names and projects in a hurry.

Also, the number of stars in the industry has not kept pace with the funds available for film production. Initiatives like tapping London's Alternative Investment Market, listing in the domestic stock market or tying up with Hollywood production houses have helped raised mega funds""all of which have to be invested in film projects to keep the pot boiling.

In a way, this is a throwback to the 1930s to 1950s when a number of major studios such as Imperial, Sagar, Bombay Talkies and New Theatres had their own contracted stars.

Eurasian actresses Ruby Myers, who adopted the name Sulochana, is reported to be the first star in India to have signed a contract with Imperial at Rs 2,500 per month in 1933 ""a princely sum in those days.

A deluge followed, with the studios rushing in to sign contracts to gain exclusivity in their contract pipeline. But the system began to crumble during the 1950s with quite a few films bombing at the box office and the stars wanting to break free from the shackles imposed by the contracts with individual

studios.Will history repeat itself? No one knows the answer yet but Indian production houses would do well to remember what a Hollywood studio executive had once remarked after a film bombed, leaving the studio with near-bankruptcy.

The executive said, "First, we paid the contracted actors a lot of money to star in the movie, then we spent a lot of money to make a movie, then we lost money.

The recent case of Paramount refusing to extend superstar Tom Cruise's contract is a classic example of Hollywood studios getting increasingly frustrated by even hit films leaving them impoverished because the stars have grabbed the biggest share of the profits. And Cruise is not the only star to have suffered the studios' increasing intolerance for too expensive a talent. Even actors such as Jim Carrey and Brad Pitt had to take a pay cut to stay afloat.

It's time for Indian film companies and actors to do a reality check.