The Indian film industry is among the biggest in the world. With multiple languages at play, there is variety in content, and Indian performers have earned respect for themselves across the world. But one thing that the Indian film industry has not moved towards is professionalism when it comes to box-office collections.
After all these years, the process for toting up the box-office numbers is not transparent. And the financially performance of a movie is not independently verifiable. Media reports make do with what the production houses and 'sources' offer.
And now, when OTT platforms are the flavour of the moment, the same situation persists. In that, the numbers put out by the streamers cannot be cross-checked by other means. In the event, claims by streaming platforms have to made into news reports.
Do numbers lie?
Our thought in this matter was particularly triggered by the story put out by the news agency IANS. The report, quoting unidentified sources, said the Tamil movie Veetla Vishesham, a remake of the Hindi hit Badhaai Ho, has crossed the two crore streaming minutes mark on the OTT platform Zee 5. The movie, for the record, started streaming on the platform from last Friday (July 15).
Helmed by R J Balaji and N J Saravanan, Veetla Vishesham features Balaji in the lead, alongside Aparna Balamurali, Sathyaraj, Urvashi and the late actress V M C Lalitha.
This writer has watched the movie, and would give it around 2.5 on a scale of 5. Save for minor tweaks, especially to the profession of the heroine, Veetla Vishesham sticks loyally to the original, and the story centres on the late-age pregnancy of a 50+ woman and the embarrassment and eventual acceptance of the family and friends. The Tamil remake is also funny and backed by good performance by the leads, but it somehow lacks the easy and organic flow of the original. Of course, it is a pitfall that bedevils most remakes. So we will not bee too harsh on it. Veetla Vishesham, in its theatrical run, reportedly notched up impressive collection. At least that is what we were told.
Veetla Vishesham has the right ingredients to do well on an OTT platform --- it is humorous and emotional. So the numbers being bandied for its streaming performance maybe true. But when the numbers are leaked through 'sources', one does get a bit sceptical. And this is a good time to make a plea to the streamers to design a setup or process through which the performance of any film can be independently gauged.
OTT has brought about a change in the nature of content of our mainstream films. So, let it also be the catalyst to bring about a change in the way the business of films is carried out. In sports, they say numbers don't lie. We must get to a situation where we can say the same thing for movie business too.
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