With most films failing at the box office, is this the dark age of Indian Cinema?

We are aware about the looming crisis over the Indian film industry. It's not just the Bollywood movies which are getting recurrent flops after flops but Southern Indian movies are projecting the same results. But why?  

In Indian cinema, movies like 'KGF chapter 2', 'RRR', 'Kashmir Files', 'Bhool Bhulaiyya' and 'Vikram' are the handful of films which were blockbusters. Despite good plots, movies are unable to perform for example 'Shamshera' and 'Laal Singh Chaddha'. There are various factors for the crisis starting from Sushant Singh Rajput's death to NCB drug cases of actors like Deepika Padukone, Shraddha Kapoor, Ananya Pandey, Sara Ali Khan, and Bharti Singh. The major boost came after Aryan Khan's case. These drug cases left the B-Town at a vulnerable edge. Other factors like OTT, high cost of tickets, revenue structure of movies, and the remuneration of actors have also played a part in the film industry's slump.  

In fact, the reputation of actors like Akshay Kumar got spotted after his controversial advertisement and later on his movie Prithiviraj suffered. These are a few factors which I believe is dwindling the stable graph of Indian cinema. 

With death of Sushant Singh Rajput, the debate of nepotism in Bollywood industry and welcoming opportunities for the star kids only, left the outsiders on the edge and startled the audience. Debates held by various media organisations with struggling actors proved the presence of nepotism in the B - Town ignited the fans and supporters of the late actor who has wide mass appeal after his famous show, Pavitra Rishta.

The Covid Pandemic further exacerbated the situation. Theatre and movies were closed. This incurred huge losses to producers whose productions were halted midway. The films whose releases were left forcefully paved the way towards OTT. The relaxation between the two Covid waves allowed cinemas to open with restrictions. This did not allow full revenue profits to producers.

The second wave of Covid further pushed the OTT platforms. As per the All About Screens, report by Deloitte " OTT may record a compounded growth of more than 20% to touch $13 billion–$15 billion over the next decade." At present, OTT makes 7-9% of the entertainment industry in India. As per the report, low cost, internet inclusivity , digital penetration in rural India and rise of short-form content has lead to a sudden spike in digital platforms. 

Moreover, after a window period, almost all movies are released on digital platforms which discourages the audience to go theatres. After the digital release of a movie, duplicate content of the same is made available on various platforms like Telegram, and YouTube among others. 

For instance, a middle-class family of four wants to watch a movie. After Covid, the prices of tickets rose high. So as per bookmytickets, the family needs to pay Rs.1600 for a movie. Then refreshment and convenience charges will also be applied in accordance with the budget. Hence as per the calculation, it might make around Rs. 2000-2500 for a family. On the other, Netflix charges, Rs.149 and 199 for a monthly subscriptions with the good video quality of 480p resolution. 

With this calculation, Netflix will be much more affordable for people. Frankly during metro or train travels, many passengers binge-watch. Producers even before theatrical release, lock the agreement for digital release. However, if the film is not performing well, many bankrollers direct it towards OTT. This is common with the southern Indian cinema industry as well. 

Almost for two years, the majority of actors did not earn much from movies. Their main source shifted to social media paid partnership. Social media also led to the emergence of digital content creators or influencers. This again widen the scope of all those who wanted to be part of Maya Nagari. Hence secondary talents in the cinema industry were replaced by these influencers. 

With relaxation in lockdown norms, mainstream actors demanded high remuneration as inflation also rose after the Pandemic. As no movies were made during the lockdown this squeezed the source of income for producers. Hence the demand of entertainers and the wealth of producers could not match. Films which were already produced and released could not garner the expected profit from them. For instance -it is said that the movie 'Shamshera' was made at Rs.150 crore and it pegged at Rs. 36 crores. Another instance of 'Wild Dog' starring Nagarjuna Akkineni and Dia Mirza also failed to convince the audience. 

In fact the recent movie 'Laal Singh Chaddha' and Akshay Kumar 's 'Rakshabandhan' could not perform well due to numerous reasons. 

In the Telugu language industry, the Telugu Film Chamber and Telugu Producer Council decided to halt the shooting process to find concrete solutions. Meanwhile, the association has formed a committee to examine the situations and submit report. Kerala cinema is no exception to it. 

Then cases of drugs rackets in Bollywood with many inspirational stars left fans hooked to the television. The media also covered the agenda with many debates and feature shows that trended hashtags like Bollywood boycott.

In some cases, religious extremist forces also play an important role to boycott films. But what will happen with boycotting the films? In the long run, it is Indian cinema which will suffer. In terms of other countries, India will have less number of successful movies. At some time, it will affect our economy as well.