A Shift in alt cinema

Take,for instance,Lucia,a crowd-funded Kannada psychological thriller,which PVR released across 13 centres in India under its Director’s Rare programme. Or Celluloid Man,a documentary on Indian film archivist PK Nair,which witnessed a moderate theatrical run when it released alongside Bombay Talkies to mark Indian cinema’s centenary. “Usually,chances of reaching out to cities such as Ahmedabad and Bhopal are limited,especially for a film made at a budget of under a crore. We had a simultaneous release across India and saw a three-week run in the cinemas outside Karnataka,which is a good sign,” says Lucia’s director Pawan Kumar.

Shiladitya Bora,Alternate Programming & Marketing Head at PVR Cinemas,says the idea behind working with alternative cinema was to build an audience for it. “In the year-and-a-half since we started,our audience has grown from 1,000 to 10,000. They are open to watching anything from a feature film to a regional movie,a documentary or a short film,” he explains.

Currently,however,PVR and Disney UTV are the only two major players backing alternative content. While the former’s aim is to release one movie every Friday,the latter’s strategies with Anand Gandhi’s Ship of Theseus,Ritesh Batra’s The Lunchbox and,more recently,Hansal Mehta’s Shahid,have demonstrated what effective marketing and distribution strategy can do for alt cinema.

“Each film needs to be treated as an individual product whereby we custom-tailor the marketing strategy,” points out Shikha Kapur,Executive Director,Marketing- Studios,Disney UTV. “For instance,the nature of Ship of Theseus was such that we knew television promos are unnecessary and we focussed on the internet and on-ground activities with the youth,”adds Kapur. In addition,both Gandhi’s and Batra’s films have had credible filmmakers — Kiran Rao and Karan Johar respectively — “representing” them. “Kiran’s credibility as a filmmaker,which she achieved with Dhobi Ghat,helped me take Ship of Theseus to the audience,something that being part of the festival circuit wouldn’t have achieved,” adds Gandhi.

Bora agrees that celebrity backing and a powerful campaign can reach out to a larger audience. However,his company doesn’t have the marketing budget for 52 films a year they release under Director’s Cut and Director’s Rare. “Even if we spend Rs 25 lakh on each film,our marketing will be lost in all the media clutter. We would prefer to build an audience for such cinema,” says Bora.

The one major advantage PVR has over Disney UTV,however,is in the exhibition department as it has its own chain of cinemas. In contrast,Gaurav Verma,Director,India Theatrical Distribution – Studios,Disney UTV,says its a challenge to convince exhibitors. “We have to get them to see the potential. But on occasions,when there’s a limited release,we have to get those exhibitors with whom we’re not partnering,to see why we’ve chosen the others,” he adds. But increasingly,single screens are eager to show alternative content.

This situation is seen as an indicator of the times to come when more corporates will support alternative content. On his part,Bora hopes they will be able to filter content to improve the quality by adding more to its programming that includes regional films,documentaries,shorts and international films — such as Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine that was to release in India on October 4,until its director decided against it. Disney UTV,hopes to acquire at least four such films every year and add to their existing repertoire of backing “new cinema”.