In today’s times, it is a given that if two films clash at the box office, it would result in an intense fight for screens. Several industry personalities, particularly old-timers, are stunned by the way distributors force exhibitors to play their film without giving enough screens to the other film. However, clashes have occurred since time immemorial, and this ‘maara maari for screens’ is a relatively recent phenomenon. Aman Gill and Gaurav Verma, who successfully distributed and marketed the Diwali release Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat, revealed in an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama that two films can release peacefully on the same day if both parties decide to set aside their egos and adopt a practical approach.
Aman Gill began by saying, “Our first clash happened during the time of Christmas 2007. I was a part of Welcome (Director of Acquisition & Domestic Distribution at Viacom18 Motion Pictures) and Gaurav was team Taare Zameen Par (Head of Distribution at PVR Pictures). We were the distributors. On the first day, our film didn’t play in multiplexes other than PVR due to disagreements over revenue-sharing terms. Ultimately, both films ended up collecting nearly Rs. 70 crores!”
Aman continued, “We had zero disagreements except for around 10 single-screen properties. And mind you, this was not just Mumbai or Delhi but all of India! This is because Aamir Khan wanted those single-screen theatres and I was also fighting for them. I wanted to release Welcome in those cinemas, but Gaurav said that he had already signed them for Taare Zameen Par. We solved it amicably by making calls to each other. There was no ‘let’s ruin the other party’ approach adopted by either of us. It used to be like, ‘Gaurav, we have signed this theatre, but we can give you two shows in this other cinema hall’. He would then explain his stand that he had already committed the theatre in question to Aamir Khan. This is how I had to let go of some cinema halls. But wherever possible, he was also accommodating in return.”
Gaurav Verma revealed, “Chitra Cinema in Mumbai was one of the theatres where we had a disagreement. Ultimately, Taare Zameen Par was played there with 4 shows in a day as it was committed to Aamir Khan. He wanted it as it was frequented by the gentry crowd, the target audience for our film.”
Aman continued, “For instance, he had signed Chandan Cinema in Juhu, Mumbai, for all 4 shows. He offered us 2 shows there. He understood his product and knew that Taare Zameen Par is not a film for 4 shows in Chandan. He reasoned that the matinee show wouldn’t be ideal and asked for the 3:00 pm and 6:00 pm shows. He asked me to take the 12:00 pm and 9:00 pm show. Welcome was a family film. These two slots worked for me and I agreed. We never pressured the exhibitors. This is how we planned the whole of India and both films were released smoothly.”
Gaurav Verma opined, “The idea was also not to put the other film in a tight spot. The idea was simply to maximize your film. Those were also the days when we were not chasing a day 1 of Rs. 20 crores. We were chasing maximum utilization of what we have. Today, everyone is chasing the day 1 number. In those days, the first day number had a different multiplier to the lifetime. Today, that gap has shrunk significantly. Everyone is so heavily dependent on day 1 and hence, they are chasing the day 1 capacity.”
More Pages: Welcome Box Office Collection , Welcome Movie Review
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