The Enigma of Indian Cinema

The Enigma of Indian Cinema

Have you ever wondered how a film is made before even its played on a cinema hall ? It is an interesting and rather intriguing experience to bring a vision on screen.

The intention is to bring in my understanding & thoughts on film making.

Pre-production phase : 

Script writing, Storyboard, Dialogues, Screenplay, Cast, Crew is on full swing the moment the producer gives a Go.

There is an interesting dimension to this as one might have to convince the producer(s) on all the above even before the film goes into the actual making which is the production phase. Once, everything is agreed documented between the producer and the director and with the main crew. The movie starts rolling in full swing.

Production phase :

Funding plays a major role in production. The budget of a film depends on the number of days the film is expected to be completed including the locations, cast, crew and the work involved. Many folks work tirelessly to race against time to complete the mission of the vision. Involves time and money. Payments made on a daily basis and control is mostly with the production manager and the director.

Post production phase :

This is the work involved once the shooting of a film is completed. It goes into dubbing, re-recording and the editing process. The final movie is mixed and the outcome is previewed time and again by the crew.

These are just a few of the current generation crew but not to mention the stalwarts of cinema are many who are celebrated with time.

Now that the film is ready, we need to know the flow of how it is brought to a cinema hall.

Producer --> Gets finance on interest for producing a movie. Gets the film rolling, ready and certified with proper documentation.

Distributors --> Buys the documented film from a producer for an agreed amount based on the area and number of prints and shows.

Theatre owners --> Buys the film from the respective area distributor for a sum of money and in turn plays the shows agreed on his/her cinema.

Now the fact is the producer already sells the movie to the distributors for a profit so there is a breakeven or no loss for them. The middlemen are the distributors. They have to sell the movie for a profit. if there is a loss the first impact after the theatre owners are these folks.

After so much of work and line ups of movies which many don't see the light at the end of the tunnel, why do films get produced at all? It is for that one film which is a gamble. Every personnel working behind the camera as we call is thriving for the recognition what they deserve. 

Movie critics :

After crossing all these hurdles, the films today calls success after the first three days. The movie critics and media dump their opinions. Sometimes, too many opinions kills a good movie. The fate of cinema!

Hope as viewers of cinema, let us leave it to one self on a movie outcome. This is another industry which has been entertaining us for decades.