Cinema production/distribution/exhibition business is as risky or
rewarding as any other business. May be we can call it more riskier
than other businesses because of the complete lack of knowledge
about customer preferences but that is more than compensated by the
fact that it can also yield disproportionately high rewards unlike
other businesses.
Having said this, I don't think the people involved here
i.e. "Unnamed distributors of Sivaji", who are crying about the loss
incurred in Sivaji business have ignorantly got into it. So, why
are they now crying about the loss incurred in Sivaji AFTER IT HAS
RUN FOR MORE THAN 150 DAYS? If there is loss, the whole trade/
industry would have got to know the same within a couple of weeks of
its release. So, why have they not talked about the loss "then" but
are crying "now"?
I feel there is something more to this crying than that meets the
eye. They are just using JV to shield their identity & JV also is
seeing an increase in their circulation due to the involvement of
the magic name of Rajini & had jumped at it.
If you all remember, at the time of Baba's release, Rajini didn't
wait for a long time to CALL THE DISTRIBUTORS and discuss with each
of them about the business & compensate them accordingly. So, if
Sivaji's loss is a fact, why these "crying babies" are not directly
approaching Rajini or AVM now, instead of going to the press & that
too shamelessly as ghosts?
I feel the reasons could be two fold:
1. Assuming for a moment that they have really incurred loss in
Sivaji, they know AVM is a tough business negotiator to get any
refund & even a single paisa will not come from them unlike as it
happened in the case of Baba.
I'm sure all of you remember how tough AVM was while selling the
rights of Sivaji & how adamantly they stuck onto their rates per
territory. So, the "crying babies" could be trying to put pressure
on Rajini by coming out openly thru press. Their expectation is
that Rajini, due to the public pressure, in turn, will talk to AVM
to hear their grievances & may be to partly compensate.
Friends, all this is under the ASSUMPTION that Sivaji is a loss to
these crying babies, which I feel is NOT the case. This fact is
known to film trade also. Knowing Thalaivar, I'm sure, he will
simply turn a "deaf ear" to these "unnamed crying babies". Though
we may not know who these crying babies are, AVM & Rajini may very
well know them based on their decades of experience in the industry
as well through their negotiation experience while selling Sivaji
rights in May/June 07.
According to me, these crying babies are trying to throw a stone at
a mango tree. If a mango falls its good for them; if it doesn't
fall, its not going to affect them. But, they are forgetting the
fact that they are very much standing under the mango tree &
throwing the stone & the stone is going to fall on their own head in
the end.
2. The other, more probable reason, could be this. If Sivaji has
been a profitable venture in all territories, which the whole trade
& the whole world knows as a fact, why then are these people
"crying" now about loss? I feel it is due to the FEAR OF INCOME TAX
DEPARTMENT.
As all of us know, Sivaji's distribution rights were purchased for
unbelievably record-high prices in each & every territory. It has
also come in press that AVM insisted on the entire value to be in
white. Also, the whole world, including the IT officials, know that
Sivaji had a tremondous opening as well a dream run in maximum
number of theatres in all territories & was hugely popular not only
in TN but all over the globe, wherever it was released. It is also
an OPEN SECRET that most of the theatres in TN have UNOFFICIALLY
HIKED THEIR TICKET PRICES FOR SIVAJI EVEN UPTO 100 DAYS, even as the
state Govt. turned a blind eye to it for its own reasons.
So, we have a situation wherein the "crying babies" are caught in a
quandary as below:
i. First they have to show the source of their moeny to acquire the
distribution rights of Sivaji by paying such exhorbitant rates.
ii. At the same time, they will only be able to show the official
ticket rate revenue which will be much much less than what they have
actually collected at the box office. This means that the
difference in revenue collected over the official ticket rates
CANNOT BE SHOWN TO IT DEPT AS IT IS BLACK MONEY. In this scenario,
simple arithmatic will obviously show them to have incurred losses.
But, IT Dept. people are not fools. They will ask the "crying
babies" a basic question - Will any sensible businessman acquire the
rights of a movie by paying an exhorbitant price when he knows fully
well that he needs to run the film for some 200 days to break-even,
particularly when the govt has reduced the ticket rates.
I have a feeling that these "babies", would not have thought through
these inticate points in their anxiety to somehow acquire Sivaji
rights to make a killing & also would not have factored in the
intelligence machinery of IT Dept. which has become very smart, of
late.
So, now, in order to get out of a tricky legal quagmire which they
have got themselves into, they are now trying to create an ALIBI
through such unanimous "loss" statements in the press & trying to
hoodwink a possible IT inquiry on them. But, thess kind of childish
actions are not going to wash in front of a proper IT inquiry & will
not lead them anywhere. Nowadays, it is very very tough &
complicated (but not impossible), to escape from any tax - leave
alone income tax. So, its a question of time before the law catches
up with anyone, if he is found on the wring side of it. Of course,
if they have connections at the right places, it could be
different. But, in such a case, they need not have enacted
this "loss" drama in front of an eager media.
So, Friends, in view of the foregoing, I feel that we, Rajini fans,
do not have to get perturbed with these kind of loss reports coming
in a magazine known for its antipathy towards Thalaivar & that too
based on statements given by people who are talking like ghosts.
Lets IGNORE this and await Sivaji's march towards its 200th Day run
on 31st of December, 2007.
With Luv,
Arun
rewarding as any other business. May be we can call it more riskier
than other businesses because of the complete lack of knowledge
about customer preferences but that is more than compensated by the
fact that it can also yield disproportionately high rewards unlike
other businesses.
Having said this, I don't think the people involved here
i.e. "Unnamed distributors of Sivaji", who are crying about the loss
incurred in Sivaji business have ignorantly got into it. So, why
are they now crying about the loss incurred in Sivaji AFTER IT HAS
RUN FOR MORE THAN 150 DAYS? If there is loss, the whole trade/
industry would have got to know the same within a couple of weeks of
its release. So, why have they not talked about the loss "then" but
are crying "now"?
I feel there is something more to this crying than that meets the
eye. They are just using JV to shield their identity & JV also is
seeing an increase in their circulation due to the involvement of
the magic name of Rajini & had jumped at it.
If you all remember, at the time of Baba's release, Rajini didn't
wait for a long time to CALL THE DISTRIBUTORS and discuss with each
of them about the business & compensate them accordingly. So, if
Sivaji's loss is a fact, why these "crying babies" are not directly
approaching Rajini or AVM now, instead of going to the press & that
too shamelessly as ghosts?
I feel the reasons could be two fold:
1. Assuming for a moment that they have really incurred loss in
Sivaji, they know AVM is a tough business negotiator to get any
refund & even a single paisa will not come from them unlike as it
happened in the case of Baba.
I'm sure all of you remember how tough AVM was while selling the
rights of Sivaji & how adamantly they stuck onto their rates per
territory. So, the "crying babies" could be trying to put pressure
on Rajini by coming out openly thru press. Their expectation is
that Rajini, due to the public pressure, in turn, will talk to AVM
to hear their grievances & may be to partly compensate.
Friends, all this is under the ASSUMPTION that Sivaji is a loss to
these crying babies, which I feel is NOT the case. This fact is
known to film trade also. Knowing Thalaivar, I'm sure, he will
simply turn a "deaf ear" to these "unnamed crying babies". Though
we may not know who these crying babies are, AVM & Rajini may very
well know them based on their decades of experience in the industry
as well through their negotiation experience while selling Sivaji
rights in May/June 07.
According to me, these crying babies are trying to throw a stone at
a mango tree. If a mango falls its good for them; if it doesn't
fall, its not going to affect them. But, they are forgetting the
fact that they are very much standing under the mango tree &
throwing the stone & the stone is going to fall on their own head in
the end.
2. The other, more probable reason, could be this. If Sivaji has
been a profitable venture in all territories, which the whole trade
& the whole world knows as a fact, why then are these people
"crying" now about loss? I feel it is due to the FEAR OF INCOME TAX
DEPARTMENT.
As all of us know, Sivaji's distribution rights were purchased for
unbelievably record-high prices in each & every territory. It has
also come in press that AVM insisted on the entire value to be in
white. Also, the whole world, including the IT officials, know that
Sivaji had a tremondous opening as well a dream run in maximum
number of theatres in all territories & was hugely popular not only
in TN but all over the globe, wherever it was released. It is also
an OPEN SECRET that most of the theatres in TN have UNOFFICIALLY
HIKED THEIR TICKET PRICES FOR SIVAJI EVEN UPTO 100 DAYS, even as the
state Govt. turned a blind eye to it for its own reasons.
So, we have a situation wherein the "crying babies" are caught in a
quandary as below:
i. First they have to show the source of their moeny to acquire the
distribution rights of Sivaji by paying such exhorbitant rates.
ii. At the same time, they will only be able to show the official
ticket rate revenue which will be much much less than what they have
actually collected at the box office. This means that the
difference in revenue collected over the official ticket rates
CANNOT BE SHOWN TO IT DEPT AS IT IS BLACK MONEY. In this scenario,
simple arithmatic will obviously show them to have incurred losses.
But, IT Dept. people are not fools. They will ask the "crying
babies" a basic question - Will any sensible businessman acquire the
rights of a movie by paying an exhorbitant price when he knows fully
well that he needs to run the film for some 200 days to break-even,
particularly when the govt has reduced the ticket rates.
I have a feeling that these "babies", would not have thought through
these inticate points in their anxiety to somehow acquire Sivaji
rights to make a killing & also would not have factored in the
intelligence machinery of IT Dept. which has become very smart, of
late.
So, now, in order to get out of a tricky legal quagmire which they
have got themselves into, they are now trying to create an ALIBI
through such unanimous "loss" statements in the press & trying to
hoodwink a possible IT inquiry on them. But, thess kind of childish
actions are not going to wash in front of a proper IT inquiry & will
not lead them anywhere. Nowadays, it is very very tough &
complicated (but not impossible), to escape from any tax - leave
alone income tax. So, its a question of time before the law catches
up with anyone, if he is found on the wring side of it. Of course,
if they have connections at the right places, it could be
different. But, in such a case, they need not have enacted
this "loss" drama in front of an eager media.
So, Friends, in view of the foregoing, I feel that we, Rajini fans,
do not have to get perturbed with these kind of loss reports coming
in a magazine known for its antipathy towards Thalaivar & that too
based on statements given by people who are talking like ghosts.
Lets IGNORE this and await Sivaji's march towards its 200th Day run
on 31st of December, 2007.
With Luv,
Arun
Get easy, one-click access to your favorites. Make Yahoo! your homepage.