SUPRAN SEN
Secretary, Film Federation of India
On the stand-off between film producers and distributors regarding the sale of films to TV channels

What is the debate about?
Film producers feel if their movie is not doing well they should have the right to sell it to television channels. They should have a free hand for revenue. But distributors are afraid that they will suffer if the movie is sold to a channel within three months after its release in theatres.

What is the final decision arrived at regarding the sale of films to television channels?
The film producers' association had decided that if matters are not sorted out soon, they would not supply new releases to theatres.

What will happen to the films whose date of release have been postponed?
As yet, no date has been fixed for the same.

How much money do producers make when their films are sold to TV channels?
That depends on the deal with the respective channel. For instance, Sony offers Rs. 2 crore to Rs.20 lakh for a movie. It depends on the film, like Sholay still fetches a lot of money. Earlier, Doordarshan had fixed rates for A-grade and B-grade movies. Now it depend on how well is the movie is doing.

How much time does it take to judge whether a movie will be a hit or not?
It depends. On an average the estimates can be made within a week or two. But some movies defy this rule. Sholay did not do too well initially. But then we all know what happened later.

How much time does a movie takes to recover its costs?
Even that depends. A movie can recover its costs within a week or it might take months. Nothing is definite.

Once a film has been sold to a channel can it be distributed to another channel?
That too depends on the contract made. Mega channels do not like the movie being sold to another channel.

How many distributors are involved in a movie?
Every distributor has a certain region or territory attached to him. The number of distributors involved in a movie will depend on the areas it is distributed in. But there are all-India distributors like Rajshri.

- GITANJALI