akshay shah

Just the other week I took the Long Tail theory and applied it to Bollywood to show the changing economic structure the Internet has created world-wide, the power of the medium, and how the traditional mould of “hits” and “flops” has changed forever. This is my second piece in an on-going series which further applies the philosophy and science to the ever-changing dynamics of Indian cinema.

India now produces over 850 films per year, which is low in comparison with 450 films produced by Hollywood. Traditionally, 90% of these films have been cliché-ridden designed purely to appease the masses by applying a “masala” formula which consists of action, drama, songs, romance, and comedy all in one. Indian Cinema (apart from the art-house movement in the 70’s) has always been populist trying to have all genres in to one. There’s of course nothing wrong in that and I’m myself a HUGE fan of “masala” films right from SHOLAY (the ultimate Bollywood film and also arguably the most famous Bollywood film of all time) to the recent GHAJINI (which just became the highest grossing Indian film of all time). However since Ram Gopal Varma’s path-breaking SATYA the model changed. Niche films were now starting to be recognized as “hits” as well as being taken out of the category of being “art-house” or “different”. What was traditionally classified as “different” was slowly blurring, and Indian cinema is now at a level where everything is different. Heck it’s in vogue to be different, and film-makers now poke fun at the masala genre with films like TASHAN and JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM.

Funnily enough both TASHAN and JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM failed. Is it because we’re not ready to laugh at something which will always remain so close to us (masala cinema) despite being cliché and formula driven (the success of GHAJINI shows that in the right mould masala cinema still has the ability to flourish, and that is truly the only way to reach the masses on every level via the medium of cinema), however in the case of the two films I mentioned above it’s a different scenario.

Yashraj Films has forever been known as the most successful and biggest banner and production house as far as Hindi cinema is concerned. The biggest stars, the biggest stories, the biggest songs, the biggest hits, synonymous with quality, and yes….hype that matches quality. Yash Chopra himself is undeniably one of the most respected men in the industry and is also known for his sharp business sense. Even when slow “niche” movement of Ram Gopal Varma was happening, Yashraj was flourishing with back-to-back blockbusters, and even their occasional failures recovered money.

In 2006 Yashraj experimented for the first time in years (ironically it was Yashraj himself who directed one of Indian cinema’s first songless thrillers ITEFAQ) with KABUL EXPRESS with a film which can best be described as part documentary party adventure film. The film met with good reviews and was a moderate success salvaged by WOM which is what Yashraj expected.

By now the creative head and decision maker of Yashraj was Aditya Chopra who had taken over the reins from his father. It was clear that a movement was happening in Yashraj and Aditya Chopra was giving films and subjects which were “niche” by nature a chance. JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM, CHAK DE INDIA, LAAGA CHUNARI MEIN DAAG and AAJA NACHLEY in essence were all smaller scale niche films with some interesting stories at hand..The problem? Marketing and advertising. The Long Tail is a niche environment, if something naturally catches on by WOM (which it did with CHAK DE INDIA) then it’s a true “hit” however the problem here was Yashraj had taken what were traditionally “niche” topics, advertised them as their “typical masala blockbusters” which meant audiences were getting a mixed bag. NEVER try and market a niche product as a blockbuster one. Niche by sheer definition is designed to appeal to a small segment of people and audiences feel ripped off no matter how big the stars are. The other problem that started happening was creativity was starting to be marred. In trying to appease both markets, Yashraj has failed to impress either. 2008 saw an even bigger flop with the hugely hyped vehicle TASHAN (again marketed like Yashraj’s previous blockbuster DHOOM 2) however again TASHAN and DHOOM 2 were in totally different markets. The same can be said of BACHCHNA AE HASEENO which in the promos looked like a “typical rom-com” however turned out to be a BROKEN FLOWERS type introspective film which infact pulls apart the rom-com genre Yashraj had created.

Solace came to some extent in the form of RAB NE BANA DI JODI. The film’s story in essence is a small one, and the film itself went for the 70’s genre of small, light-hearted, feel-good films. However given it was directed by Aditya Chopra himself and starred Box-office superstar Shahrukh Khan which automatically meant media and public perception would be that of a “big” film. However, smartly enough, the movie was underplayed right up to the release. It opened to a good response, and through WOM had a long, successful inning at the Box-office. YES! FINALLY Yashraj had got the marketing right (though this could be due to default as at the same time the Mumbai terror attacks happened) and they had managed to retain that “small” image for the film which went on to be a success via WOM. The problem? Popular media and their mindset expected a record shattering opening, followed by some huge numbers in consecutive weeks, again not possible in the Long Tail niche environment where your biggest strength and weapon is WOM. Some analysts were calling it a “disappointment” while others wouldn’t give the movie its due until month’s after its release.

In the bigger picture, the entire paradigm was changing. Yashraj no longer had the monopoly of being the biggest and most reputable banner with the likes of Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions in the picture (an ally to Yashraj to a larger extent as they operated in a similar fashion and similar genres). However the emergence of a then “small” company called UTV was quickly catching everyone’s attention.

UTV entered the market without much fanfare in 2004 and initially had a mix of small and big films in its kitty. Smaller films like HYDERABAD BLUES 2, D, MAIN MERI PATNI AUR WO, CHUP CHUP KE and KHOSLA KA GHOSLA were marketed correctly, came with little to no fanfare, however majority found some level of success at the box-office due to good WOM, and simply for being quality products. They also occasionally had a big film like SWADES and RANG DE BASANTI which came with the associated “hype” of a big film, but again the focus was on quality and WOM. UTV slowly realized that their key strength was quality+correct marketing+WOM. Films like KHOSLA KA GHOSLA, LIFE IN A METRO, MUMBAI MERI JAAN, A WEDNESDAY, FASHION, OYE LUCKY..LUCKY OYE, AAMIR, WELCOME TO SAJJANPUR, and DEV D all became box-office successes to varying degrees and the key thing to note was that all films were “niche” and small films which weren’t going for the “blockbuster” affect. These films met with rave reviews, created genuine Online Buzz and WOM spread for these films like crazy hence in some cases the films attained a cult following of sorts.

UTV (headed by the extremely bright businessman Ronnie Screwvala) is undoubtedly a force to reckon with and within a short span of 5 years had become a household and reputable name which associated itself with quality, is proud of being different for being different, and above all for delivering exactly what it promises. Smaller budgets, less focus around large-scale advertising campaigns and relying more on Online hype, WOM and user generated discussion also ensured that UTV can churn out more films at the same time, and the production model grew rapidly. UTV now operates under 2 names. UTV (the original which focuses on the bigger films) and UTV SPOTBOY (which continues to deliver the smaller niche films).

1) If you’re going for the “niche” market-be true to yourself and your audience and be proud in doing so. NEVER MARKET A NICHE FILM AS A BLOCKBUSTER.

2) Quality over big stars and hype! As the Long Tail points out:

Top Rank: Blockbusters will always be there though they maybe less than they were before, big hits will never die.

Middle Rank: Films which are either big on hype, but low on quality, films which are “small” films disguised as “big films” will flop faster than ever. The masses now have the power to write back via blogs, forums, and Social Media and a product which is trying to cheat the audience will be uncovered faster than ever. This explains how some films like CHANDNI CHOWK TO CHINA and even SINGHH IS KINGG fizzled out in its second week alone.

Bottom Rank: The tail end of the long tail will flourish. Smaller, independent film-makers who have a good sound story, no stars, but have true quality product on hand will flourish again with the same mediums as mentioned before…and the ultimate weapon of all….WOM!

Master Praz