New Delhi: Movie manufacturing and distribution firm Sikhya Leisure led by Guneet Monga and Achin Jain might have garnered worldwide acclaim by profitable the Academy Award for Greatest Documentary Brief Movie for The Elephant Whisperers, that toured the competition circuit earlier than streaming on Netflix, however is now additionally eyeing mainstream theatrical presence. The corporate that has about 5 movies in numerous phases of growth, intends to launch not less than one or two in theatres yearly.
Final month, Sikhya introduced a partnership with Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions to supply a number of initiatives throughout function movies and digital codecs. Their first collaboration, an online sequence known as Gyaarah Gyaarah, will stream on ZEE5. The corporate has additionally partnered with Ektaa Kapoor’s Balaji Movement Footage on movies like Kathal and Pagglait, each of that are streaming on Netflix.
“We might like to do theatrical movies, there may be a lot enjoyable in neighborhood viewing, the film-going expertise can by no means be taken away from cinemas. We need to have a look at, not less than one undertaking per 12 months that may have a bigger footprint and may afford the advertising spends wanted for theatres,” Monga mentioned in an interview with Mint. Whereas movies are developed in-house after which pitched to platforms or taken to theatres, net sequence are an extended dedication and require funding from OTT companies, Monga mentioned. Whereas the concept is to do not less than one in every of every yearly throughout English, Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam, the work on net reveals typically pushes timelines. Apart from drama, Sikhya is an motion movie. Additional, its non-fiction slate will embrace a documentary on rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh for Netflix.
“We’re very cautious with what we do. Some years, we might do three movies or two or one however all of it must be significant and price everybody’s time whereas making enterprise sense. We develop every little thing ourselves, we don’t actually make issues for a platform, we make issues that we like and that the Sikhya model is understood for, after which every movie finds its house” Monga mentioned.
To make sure, Sikhya that’s identified for critically acclaimed titles corresponding to The Lunchbox and Masaan has lengthy struggled with the Indian theatrical ecosystem that favours massive star movies and requires appreciable advertising spends to seize viewer eyeballs.
“At Sikhya, we’ve at all times carried out unbiased movies, we’ve by no means carried out massive star forged movies, so for us, it was at all times a stretch to do advertising, go to theatres and wrestle for reveals. For a manufacturing firm like ours which has celebrated doing first-time director or actor movies and unbiased cinema and dramas, that’s the entry we had. Within the technique of democratizing content material, OTTs have definitely performed a really massive function. The corporate has at all times been pushing for native tales that journey and the approaching of OTT has solely empowered us as a result of we will proceed to unfold our wings,” Monga mentioned. Sikhya that has a staff of 20-25 builders who sift by script submissions, can also be elevating capital as a way to stabilize operations and develop, she added.
As mid-budget dramas wrestle for house and a spotlight submit covid, Sikhya says the corporate is conscious of those problem however prefers to not change the way it views its undertaking selections because the platform of distribution stays a separate dialogue. As an illustration, the corporate had made comedy drama Pagglait for theatres however needed to stream it instantly on Netflix as an alternative.
“There’s a fixed dialog that there was a behaviour change submit covid the place persons are conscious they may get to see a movie inside 4 to 6 weeks on OTT. So that they solely need to step out for spectacles. We desperately want content-driven movies to work in theatres the way in which they did pre-covid. All of us must work strategically to carry these individuals again and make that community-viewing expertise particular. On this age of so many choices, that’s a problem,” Jain agreed including that the opposite massive change has been the exponential improve in F&B costs in theatres.
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Up to date: 19 Jun 2023, 12:02 PM IST
Supply: Live Mint