Tap new revenue sources, says film world

Film personalities feel that the entertainment industry should tap new sources of revenue to keep pace with the needs of the viewers.

The entertainment industry has to tap newer sources of revenue generation if it wanted to keep pace with the needs of the viewers, asserted personalities from film, television and gaming industry at a seminar organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry here today.

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"The big screen cannot afford to ignore the small screen anymore and besides theatrical revenues, they have to look at DVD and home video and even video gaming avenues to make money from their films," said UTV CEO Ronnie Screwvala, at the seminar, held as part of the ongoing International Film Festival of India (IFFI).

Noted Hollywood Producer Ashok Amritraj also echoed the same feelings, saying Indian producers had to be aware of where their revenue streams were coming from and then chalk out their marketing strategy accordingly.

"A world where you decide what the plot of your Friday night blockbuster should be? And perhaps sometime in near future a film made in different versions to cater to various audiences? All this is not so improbable as it seems if experts in the entertainment industry are to be believed.

"I think the day is not far off when we will have to make different versions of the same movie for different audiences. For example, a movie being shown in an airline has to be 2 hours of duration, so a Hindi movie that is of 3 hours length can be shortened to the required time if it is being made for an airlines. The same movie can be made to cater to the DVD or home video audience," Screwvala said.