Producer’s Open Letter On Shootings Strike

Producer and distributor Abhishek Nama has written an open letter to fellow producers and the Active Guild that propelled the decision to stall the film shootings indefinitely till the impending issues related to production cost control are resolved. Abhishek is currently bankrolling big-budget film Ravanasura with Ravi Teja.

“I was against the strike from the beginning but I was told that a strike would be beneficial to the Producers as well as the Industry and I obliged. I stopped my shoots in progress to support the cause and I incurred severe losses along with other members. It has been around 10 days since the strike began and I stand with no clarity on the issues that were raised by my fellow members of the industry,” wrote Abhishek in the premise of his open letter and listed out the points in detail.

Below are the points from the Open Letter penned by Abhishek Nama.

1. OTT RELEASE

The point in question is that the release of films on OTTs 2 weeks post their respective theatrical releases is affecting theatrical sales. The fact is that many members of the Active producers guild have already made their sales to OTTs until 2023. How is the decision to refrain from selling films to OTTs until 8 weeks of theatrical release have a positive impact for Producers? The price they wish to sell their films wont be achievable and technically they will be at a loss because 60-70% of the costs are being recovered from Hindi Dubbing, OTT and satellite. The decision to hold back will only lead to self infliction of losses. Why do this, when the whole point of the strike is to benefit the producers? 

2. TICKET PRICING ?

Producers choose scripts with the best of intentions to deliver a great product to the audience. It’s also the Producer’s call to increase budgets based on the content and the Hero’s market. The pricing of the tickets has less to do with affecting the Exhibitors but more to do with Producers. It’s not the Exhibitors who are increasing the pricing. The power to control flexi ticket pricing lies with the producers and should be also. What are we trying to say further regarding this as we’ve gone a strike?

3. PERCENTAGE SYSTEM

To discuss this, we need to present a scenario. For example, A Producer sells the film to the Distributor for an X amount. The Distributor, depending on various factors and with the intention of primarily recovering costs comes to a conclusion whether to go with the rental or percentage system and conveys the same to the Exhibitor. For example, If the Nett sales on the film is 10 L, The rental is 2 L and the percentage system will be a 50% split. If the Distributor/Producer goes with the rental deal, he will be at a profit of 8 Lakhs, whereas in the 50% split, he will be losing money to the Exhibitor. The Exhibitor is usually supportive and agrees with Distributor/Producer by giving rent or percentage option to them and they can choose whichever is beneficial to them. The problem arises only when the rentals are high for prime properties in the big cities where the percentage system can be implemented and this is the Producer’s call.  How are we, Producers being benefitted by indulging in a strike? 

4. VPF :

A mystery that never seems to unravel. 

Producers do not wish to pay these charges.
Distributors do not wish to pay these charges.
Exhibitors do not wish to pay these charges. 

Who is going to pay is surely a mystery. 

5. PRODUCTION COSTS :

Our South industry is driven by the Heroes and they are worshipped as Demi Gods. The Director is the back bone of any project. As our industry purely runs on Demand and Supply, The entire film Ecosystem runs on the Hero’s market. The bigger the hero, the higher the remuneration and the production costs will be. If the Hero, Director and the Producer are on the same page, we will have everything under control. 

But Whom we are targeting ??? 

I request everyone to rethink this whole thing, keeping our egos and internal conflicts aside. As a Producer myself, I urge the Active Producers to not let me succumb to further losses and allow shootings. 
AS OUR MAIN AGENDA IS TO SAFEGUARD PRODUCERS 

“Lastly, I believe that good content will always succeed. So, our focus should lie there alone,” concluded producer Abhishek Nama in his letter.