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India Today
5 days ago
- India Today
Why Ranbir Kapoor-Yash's Ramayana feels like a moment for Indian cinema
'Ramayana' can never be just a film. It's history and the ultimate truth for some, and a story of indelible devotion for others. That is precisely why Hindi cinema struggled to transform the epic into a true cinematic saga - not just a film, but an immersive experience of the magnitude this story it isn't easy. A story for all ages that demands more than just money - it calls for total surrender. Years of unwavering commitment, assembling the finest talent and bringing together people who not only understand the epic but are ready to embody its power and magic on screen. So, when Nitesh Tiwari announced that he was ready to take on the challenge and build a 'Ramayana' universe in two parts, it marked the beginning of a shared dream - his and the audience' Thursday, as Tiwari unveiled the first glimpse of 'Ramayana', audiences finally witnessed the grandeur of that vision. Watching 'Ramayana' come alive on the big screen felt emotional, magical and significant too. This is a story that never ages. 'Ramayana' belongs to everyone, and has everything a full-fledged commercial entertainer needs: scale, soul and timeless resonance. It carries within its values, devotion, bonding, feminism, power, history, defiance, and a wealth of emotions that resonate with every heart. And while it's too soon to know if Tiwari's 'Ramayana' will successfully capture all this on screen, one thing is already clear - the casting is pitch Kapoor as Lord Ram might be the most inspired casting choice in years. Arguably the finest actor of his generation, kapoor has consistently proven his craft - regardless of box office outcomes. His maturity, sincerity and effortless ability to become the character make him a thrilling fit for the choice of Sai Pallavi as Sita seems equally profound. The goddess is reverred for her simplicity, quiet strength and inner beauty - qualities that Pallavi exudes. The actor is known across the Indian film industry for her no-glam image and expressive presence, especially in Malayalam cinema. She brings a rare authenticity to the yet the boldest move was perhaps casting Yash as Ravana. The 'KGF' fame is not just a striking presence, he commands the screen. He's a brave actor, never afraid to experiment, and his declaration of his craft is evident in every frame. He is not just watched on the big screen - he is comes Ravi Dubey as Lakshman, a television star with an undeniable presence and proven talent. Tiwari's faith in Dubey - choosing sincerity and emotional depth over stardom - reflects his commitment to storytelling over casting of 'Ramayana' looks as vibrant and powerful as the epic itself: a Bollywood powerhouse, a Malayalam gem, a Kannada superstar and a TV icon - all anchored by one of the most electrifying choices of all: Sunny Deol as Lord thunderous energy, towering screen presence, and innate heroism make him the embodiment of Hanuman's fierce devotion and strength. His casting doesn't seem just right, but almost destined. Deol is to 'Ramayana' what Lord Hanuman is to the epic: a relentless warrior who wins The ensemble cast makes 'Ramayana' a promise of more than just a big-screen spectacle - a promise of an emotion, a memory, a generational experience. The film doesn't seem to be trying to modernise the epic, nor is it trying to reimagine it to suit trends. It's almost like Tiwari has bowed down to its source, honoured its scale, its essence, and the immense emotional capital it holds in most Indian households.'Ramayana' is attempting to recreate a world, revive a belief, and retouch the moral compass that the epic so powerfully embodies. In a time when mythology often drives a battleground of opinions, Tiwari's attempt at making this film looks more like reverence than is probably a one-of-its-kind effort to bring generations of audiences together, and offer them an opportunity to reconnect with their shared cultural space - realise a shared dream. It may just also become the defining cinematic mythology of our epic deserves no less. Neither does the audience.- EndsMust Watch IN THIS STORY#Ranbir Kapoor#Yash#Sunny Deol
New Indian Express
22-06-2025
- New Indian Express
‘Create in India Challenge' participants at WAVES to get jobs and career help
NEW DELHI: The Centre is working on a comprehensive roadmap to help the participants of the 'Create in India Challenge', a highlight of the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES), secure employment and career opportunities. This initiative signals a strong push to nurture creative talent in sectors such as animation, comics, AI, extended reality, gaming, and music in India. The government will be holding discussions with leading industry associations and organisations, which hosted 32 challenges covering a wide range of disciplines including animation, filmmaking, gaming, music, and visual arts in the run up to the event. During the inaugural edition of WAVES in May, around 750 finalists were invited to exhibit their projects and skills at 'Creatosphere', a specially designed platform to highlight cutting-edge innovation and creativity in India's media and entertainment landscape. 'A roadmap is being worked out to ensure the winners of CIC get gainful employment or regular jobs. The government will help them to showcase or sell their content. It will be checked whether Intellectual property (IP) rights can be generated for their content. The efforts are also being made to see if the companies can offer them employment opportunities,' said sources. According to the industry representatives, the initiative will take WAVES to the next level as envisioned by PM Narendra Modi. Comparing the WAVES to global events, Modi termed it a great opportunity to showcase India's creative talent to the world. Some have also suggested nominating brand ambassadors for the Summit expected to be held in February and start a fellowship programme focused on expanding its reach and impact. Though the discussions are at nascent stage, one of the few possibilities to showcase creative talent of CIC winners is to arrange their participation in international events like roadshows. 'To build excitement, several smaller state-level related events can be organised. They can be permanent verticals of the WAVES. Suggestions are also being sought from associations and industry on how to boost their confidence,' said sources. The flagship initiative of WAVES, the CIC garnered significant traction nationwide and globally, with 32 challenges, including Truth Tell Hackathon, Comics Creator Championship, Esports Tournament, Trailer Making Competition and Anime Challenge for which the ministry of information and broadcasting (I&B) received nearly one lakh registration including over 1,100 international entries from 60 countries.
India Today
19-06-2025
- India Today
India's cinema halls struggle with dwindling footfalls
(NOTE: This article was originally published in the India Today issue dated June 23, 2025)Amidst the glitz and spectacle of the World Audio Visual & Entertainment Summit (WAVES), one topic weighed on the minds of most film industry stakeholders—the current crisis in the theatre business. 'I have always believed that India has too few theatres, given the size of the country and [number of] people,' actor Aamir Khan said at a session. 'Our biggest theatre hits have had footfalls of 30-35 million. That's 2 per cent of our population in what is a cinema-loving country.' Seated next to him was Ajay Bijli, founder of PVR Cinemas and managing director of country's biggest multiplex chain, PVR INOX Ltd. Bijli replied in jest, 'Main office jaata hoon [I better head to office to get work done].'advertisementThe world's most populous country has just about 9,000 screens, a number that has been steadily declining, largely due to the closure of single-screen cinemas. The figure implies that there are roughly 7-8 screens per million people. More than half of these screens are concentrated in southern territories, predominantly in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana, followed by Karnataka and Kerala. Even as new box office benchmarks have been set post-pandemic with releases like Pathaan, Jawan, Animal, Stree 2 and Pushpa–Chapter 2–The Rule, the hard reality is that footfalls have still not matched up to 2019 levels. As Aamir called for more screens in 'vast tracts where there are no cinemas', Bijli reminded us that existing screens were struggling to put bums on the existing 4 million seats. 'Consistency of content that engages is important, as the consumer is critical,' Bijli said. 'We need to start cinemas pockets where they are not available.'advertisement The latest EY report on India's media and entertainment sector states the need for low-priced theatres in Tier III and IV markets alongside growth in 'mass-themed films'. Five months into 2025, there has been only one that fits the bill—Chhaava, a period action drama on Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, which collected Rs 530 crore, a significant chunk of it coming from Maharashtra. Bollywood's sluggish start to the year cannot be attributed to just fewer big releases in the first half. Mid-budget films have also struggled to make an impact, with just a few exceptions such as Kesari-Chapter 2, Raid 2 and Jatt. At Cinepolis India, which has 186 of its 430 screens in Tier II and III centres, the situation is improving, but with a caveat. 'While overall attendance figures have recovered to near pre-Covid levels—85 per cent of 2019 level in 2024—this is primarily due to the increase in screen count rather than per-screen productivity, which is down 25-30 per cent,' says Devang Sampat, the managing director of the multiplex group. 'This disparity highlights the underlying challenges the exhibition sector faces. Ultimately, it boils down to the content the industry is churning out.' The chain's expansion strategy has seen it open cinemas in Kozhikode, Bhopal, Jaipur, Rajkot and Kannur, with plans to set up shop in Jhansi, Pondicherry and Jodhpur in a few DIVIDE Talk to any exhibitor and the conversation ultimately boils down to the lack of a steady stream of compelling films that can lure the audiences back into cinema halls. 'Nobody makes movies for the masses anymore,' says Yusuf Shaikh, whose family operates five single screeners in Gujarat that are just about breaking even. 'We are not ready to understand who our audience is or [have] ignored who they are.' An 'ABCD film', one that connects in all geographic centres, is a rarity, he says. Instead, he praises filmmakers in the South for working out 'their target audience and sale and recovery model' as well as marketing, which has resulted in a few films becoming hits even in the Hindi belt. 'In the South, actors have their own fan clubs. Even the music and trailer launch are events for them,' he no overlooking the fact that the South is way above the rest of India when it comes to big screen viewing. As per of the 6,877 theatres in India, 54 per cent are in the five southern states. Add Maharashtra, and the figure rises to 70 per cent. Screen density in the South too is much higher than the national average. Ashish Pandey, currently head, programming and strategic initiatives, at MovieMax, has been in the film distribution business for over two decades and has some understanding on why the likes of Andhra, Telangana and Tamil Nadu dominate. 'In the South, there's a culture of going to the cinemas. It's not like you are going for the sake of entertainment alone. It's also not considered demeaning to go to the cinemas. So, there's no hesitation,' he says. 'A regular audience comes regardless of which film is released. There's penetration of cinemas even in smaller towns.'advertisement But all is not hunky-dory even in the hero-worshipping South. If there's a Tourist Family (Tamil) or Thudarum or Alappuzha Gymkhana (both Malayalam) which succeeds, there's also a Kamal Haasan-Mani Ratnam's Thug Life, which failed to live up to the hype. Sunil Narang of Asian Cinemas feels some course correction is needed, especially when it comes to aspects such as the theatre-to-streaming release window. In the South, it's just 28 days, compared to 56 days in the Hindi belt. Steep ticket prices as well as those for food and beverage, he feels, are also deterring audiences. 'How can we have more screens when existing screens are not running?' he laments. 'Where are the movies? Where are the numbers? How will the theatres run?' As many as 30-40 single-screen cinemas in the South have closed in the past six months, he says. THE BIG PICTUREadvertisementIf India wants to level up to the markets in China and the United States, what it needs are films that pique audience interest enough for them to make the trip. 'There isn't a regular supply of tentpole pictures or big films. They come once every three months; the rest of the time is when we face a downturn,' says Pandey, whose MovieMax is looking to expand from 80 to 100 screens by the end of the year. 'Once we have a stronger content pipeline, the expectation is that those footfalls will come back. Because people are coming to the cinemas even to watch re-releases and smaller, mid-budget fare like Munjya and 12th Fail.'But even these pleasant surprises are too few and far between. Bijli summarises the cinema theatre business post-pandemic as akin to 'feast and famine', wherein a film does exceedingly well only to be followed by a long dry spell where nothing clicks. Yet, he also realises that new cinemas need to come up in smaller centres as opposed to the big cities. Currently, 372 of PVR INOX's 1,743 screens are located in 66 Tier II and Tier III cities and come with a cumulative seating capacity of 80,947. In 2018, the multiplex giant launched the 'franchise owned, company operated' (FOCO) model to take its presence beyond the metros. Adopting an 'asset-light strategy', FOCO has franchise partners who own the property but with PVR INOX handling the design, operations and customer experience. Under this, 42 screens are operating across 12 locations, with 35 more planned in nine new locations, including Shillong, Gangtok and Shaikh is hoping to revolutionise the film exhibition market with Janta Cinemas, a business idea that emerged from a simple premise: 'Grahak khada hai, dukaan hi nahin hai [(The customer is there. But there's no shop in sight)'. He has tied up with the state governments of Assam and Tripura to convert vacant town halls and panchayat houses into 300-seater cinema spaces. While the morning and afternoon hours are devoted to edutainment, the evenings are reserved for films. Tickets are priced at Rs 99 and Shaikh throws in a chai and samosa too.'What this country needs is cinema halls for the masses. I am planning 10,000 screens in the next two years,' he boasts, adding that he is already communicating with the governments of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Delhi to launch more Janta properties. 'I am converting the pirate audience to the ticketed audience.' The ultimate endeavour, he hopes, is that there's a steady maintenance of average collections through modest outlets, which, in turn, helps build a loyal audience. It may not have swanky recliner seats or fancy food and beverage offerings, but what it can ensure is that the show goes on. A houseful one at to India Today Magazine
