Economic analysis of independent film making in India

MEDIA AND VIRTUAL ECONOMICS
Economic Analysis of
Independent filmmaking in
India
TERM PAPER
Submitted by:
Nikhil Saraf (20130120124)
Paarmi Modi (20130120127
Prem Thomas (20130120132)
Surabhi Anand (20130120152)
Under the guidance of:
Prof. Rasananda Panda

TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................4
Requirements of Independent Cinema: .............................................................................................5
Film Festivals...................................................................................................................................5
Savvy Independent Film Marketers ................................................................................................5
Dedicated Film Venues ...................................................................................................................6
Talent Development Programs.......................................................................................................6
Visionaries and Disruptors..............................................................................................................6
Audience (Bloore)Building Initiatives..............................................................................................6
INDEPENDENT FILM VALUE CHAIN................................................................................................7
Order of Listing Players.......................................................................................................................9
Development.......................................................................................................................................9
Financing and Pre Sales.....................................................................................................................10
Production.........................................................................................................................................10
International Sales and Licensing......................................................................................................10
International Exhibition and Exploitation/Distribution ....................................................................10
Consumption/Consumer...................................................................................................................10
Library Rights ....................................................................................................................................10
Integration and Fragmentation.........................................................................................................11
Timescale ..........................................................................................................................................11
Investment and Recovery .................................................................................................................12
GOVERNMENT AND INDEPENDENT FILMS: ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS ................................... 13
Production spend: the ‘Multiplier Effect’ .........................................................................................13
Employment generation ...................................................................................................................13
Direct investment return ..................................................................................................................14
Export earnings.................................................................................................................................14
National Brand Building ....................................................................................................................14
Film as a driver of creative economy................................................................................................15
PRODUCTION OF INDEPENDENT FILMS: CROWDSOURCING......................................................... 16

Lucia ..................................................................................................................................................17
Crowdsourcing platforms..................................................................................................................19
INDEPENDENT FILM DISTRIBUTION IN INDIA............................................................................... 21
Non-viability of Independent Film Distribution................................................................................21
‘Supermen of Malegaon’: Case in view.............................................................................................22
Assumptions:.................................................................................................................................23
INDEPENDENT FILMS: DOCUMENTARIES..................................................................................... 26
Government run organisations for documentary making:...............................................................26
Monopolization by the Indian Government: ....................................................................................27
Independent Political Documentaries - Background:.......................................................................28
Financing, Production and Distribution of IPDs:...............................................................................29
CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................. 32
BIBLIOGRAPHY...................................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We are deeply indebted to our Professor Rasananda Panda for giving this opportunity to write a
comprehensive paper on ‘Economic Analysis of Independent Film Making in India’ along with his
constant guidance, patience and support. We also extend our gratitude to Miss Maitreyi Purohit for
her valuable suggestions and assistance.
We acknowledge the crucial role of Mr. Shailesh Yagnik in guiding us through the data mining
process and perusal of KEIC Library resources. We also thank the other staff members at KEIC Library
for ‘always being at our service’.
We extend a special thank you to Mr. Mrinmoya Majumdar, Research Scholar at MICA and Ravikant
Kisana for their encouragement and expert insights on this topic that helped clarify our doubts.
We also thank our colleagues and peers for their support and exchange of ideas that helped in
facilitating an enjoyable environment for the completion of the term paper.

INTRODUCTION
A lot has been contested about what an ‘Independent Film’ actually is. Some define it as ‘a
film without songs’, others claim it to be an ‘issue based film’. A common consensus that
has emerged is that an Indie film is a low budget film with no stars that may or may not
have songs peppered in its narrative, it is likely that it will be slow-paced, it may deal with a
current affair, and it will surely have a beginning, middle and end. (The Indian Independent
Film Industry: Where Do We Go Now?)
The difference between a Bollywood and an Independent film is that the final product of
Bollywood is ‘commercial’ and something that the audience expects as opposed to an
Independent film that gives the audience something least expected but subconsciously
want.
Requirements of Independent Cinema:
Film Festivals
There is a need for Film Festivals with a open curatorial authority because of the stringent
regulations laid by the Indian Government. (The Indian Independent Film Industry: Where
Do We Go Now?)
Savvy Independent Film Marketers
Financing independent films is becoming more difficult with banks becoming more cautious
about lending money and sales and television licenses both being less lucrative sources for
pre-sales than in the past. Thus it is essential for Independent Film Marketers to work
towards gaining money from funds and other revenue avenues.

Dedicated Film Venues
Very few Independent Films receive a much-valued theatrical release that is able to
monetize a community of film lovers. Initiatives like Sundance Film Forward Program and
PVR Director’s Rare have been undertaken; however there is a growing need for more such
initiatives.
Talent Development Programs
A talent development program, for nurturing savvy producers in navigating co-productions
and alternative funding and distribution models, is required. The arrivals of Sundance in
India via Mahindra, the National Film Developmental Corporation with NFDC – Binger
Screenwriters lab and Film Bazaar have been good initiatives showcasing the talent of Indian
Independent Films. (The Indian Independent Film Industry: Where Do We Go Now?)
Visionaries and Disruptors
These are required to obtain breakthrough innovations in alternate distribution models and
determining methods to obtain economies of scale in this niche category of films.
Audience (Bloore)Building Initiatives
In the Independent Film Ecosystem gathering, collecting and nurturing the audience to
monetize them effectively is imperative.

INDEPENDENT FILM VALUE CHAIN
A value system comprises activities carried out by a series of different businesses working to
the product. A value chain comprises activities carried out within a single company. In a nut-
shell an Industry Value Chain is a series of connected of activities that combine and deliver
product or value to customers. This can be applied to Film Industry. (Bloore, Re-defining the
Independent Film Value Chain)
US Film System often develop, produce, distribute and exploit a film as a single integrated
company. This is also the case with a small number of international studio-style companies.
However the independent feature film industry outside America comprises of an ecosystem
in which a feature film is made and delivered to its final audience by a several companies in
cohesion. (Bloore, Re-defining the Independent Film Value Chain) These companies add
value to the different elements of the production and exploitation process in different ways
along the chain. The money paid by the consumer, in form of a DVD purchase, ticket, or
online download, accounts for revenues earned and commissions through the chain
complicating the flow.
An increase in interest has been observed in the analytical concepts of the film value chain
and value system, due to changes in the economies of financial and distribution aspects.
This calls for alternative business models. (Bloore, Re-defining the Independent Film Value
Chain) Also, understanding the competitive scenario to fully understand the value chain is
vital.

For better understanding, the value chain of the Film Industry and Independent Film
Industry are compared.
Figure 1: The Film Industry Value Chain Chain (Bloore, Re-defining the Independent Film Value Chain)
Complexity in quantity and diversity of its various segments. The production process is
broken down into three separate components; market research occurs at the finance and
development stage and ad and media expenditures and production spend occur at the same
time as. (Bloore, Re-defining the Independent Film Value Chain) Film is treated as a ‘core
intermediate product’ along with merchandising and other secondary products.

Figure 2: Independent Film Value Chain (Bloore, Re-defining the Independent Film Value Chain)
Order of Listing Players
‘Players’ include public organizations, private and freelance individuals. These players are
listed in decreasing order of influence and aesthetic power.
Development
Development includes film ideation, screenplay creation, funding generation, and
production financing initiation.

Financing and Pre Sales
Independent films involve a several businesses, investors and advisors. Pre-sales is the sale
of the film before the final product is made based on the credibility of the perception of the
cast and director.
Production
This includes the shooting, editing and other post production processes.
International Sales and Licensing
Here the film is internationally licensed to distributers in different countries. The
distributors pay for the film and its rights. They can further exploit the rights over a specific
time period. Post which, a share of profits is returned to the producers of the film
International Exhibition and Exploitation/Distribution
The intermediary of the distributor gives each segment along with few rights in each
territory. Due to the changing business models, this element may also undergo few changes
Consumption/Consumer
Customer consumption includes purchasing by the customer to add financial value to the
chain. The Film’s reputation is also built on the opinion of the general audiences including
internet users and critics. The value of the customers is understood through the statement
given below.
Library Rights
The distributer’s duration of license can be further utilized. Once the license expires, the
producer may sell the rights to another distributor for a different duration. Thus this
becomes a bundle of films rather than an individual commodity. The repeated issue of rights

add value to the film by increasing its shelf life. The rights to make prequels/sequels are not
granted to the distributors and are maintained with the producers.
Integration and Fragmentation
The complexity of several numbers of players in the financing, marketing and distribution
process makes the Independent Film Industry a ‘Disintegrated Industry’.
To reduce this disintegration, vertical and horizontal integration is carried out by a company
that controls the players in the value chain
Timescale
Different effort and time is spent in the value chain.
Figure 3: Particular juncture time in relation with the overall time (Bloore, Re-defining the Independent Film Value
Chain)

Investment and Recovery
The income generated by every member of the value chain is different and not consistent.
The Production crew earn through fees paid flat upfront before the product is made and the
Distributors, Sales Agent and Exhibitors earn through revenue from sales of completed
product. As the timing varies, the deals made also vary. Directors, writers and the acting
talent receive both forms of payment and may also receive separate deferral payments.
Sales agents may also receive additional commissions and repayment of incurred expenses.
Though the recoupment and revenue at each value chain level is quite complex, a
diagrammatic simplification is presented.
Figure 4: Sample Independent Film Budget Investment and Recovery (Bloore, Re-defining the Independent Film Value
Chain)

GOVERNMENT AND INDEPENDENT FILMS: ECONOMIC
CONSIDERATIONS
The government is not entirely supportive of the independent film industry as it is outside the scope
of a conventional film industry. However, we will look at some economic considerations vis-à-vis the
independent film industry.
Production spend: the ‘Multiplier Effect’
Multiplier effect is an assessment of the impact that an industry makes on the economy. It is a
measurement of the direct effect into the economy by an activity of an industry as expenditure. It
also looks at the indirect effect on the suppliers to the industry and the effects from the individual
incomes generated. In the film industry the amount spent on different factors of film production like
the equipment, logistics etc. benefits the suppliers of these services and eventually improves the
GDP. In the case of independent film industry too these factors remain and one can see a positive
multiplier effect.
Employment generation
In the film industry, jobs usually involve highly skilled and educated workers who are usually
freelancers in the independent film industry. However, since mainstream and commercial films both
have more or less the same talent pool which is flexible and mobile. So, in terms of employment
generation, both contribute favorably to the economy.

Direct investment return
Independent films are usually financed by private investors, banks and other avenues like
crowdsourcing etc. The nature of the content is non-formulaic, so it is not entirely possible to draw
conclusions about the average returns. Public film funds usually expect 50 percent or lesser returns
on investments. However, from the government’s point of view, it is not financial returns alone they
are looking at. Cultural, economic and social returns are also taken into consideration. Hence, it is
still an uncertain factor for the economy.
Export earnings
A film is also considered as a good which can be and is usually exported to other countries.
Independent films in India do get international recognition and are screened at various foreign
festivals and screens. However, presently they do not have a model to provide a proper source of
earnings from international markets. But there is a growth in markets, especially Mexico, Indonesia,
ASEAN countries and the Middle East. With new modes of delivery improved by technology
(digitization and Internet) and new formats, this can be a favorable aspect for export earnings in the
future.
National Brand Building
Independent Films can go a long way in building the nation as a brand. Due to wisepserad circulation
in film festivals worldwide, good quality films gets noticed. The more visible Indie films are at the
global stage, the more recognition the India film industry will get; this will inturn bring greater
investment to the media industry. This can also help build the export markets for Independent films.
These films can go a long way in terms of geo-political benefits too by enriching the national brand in
terms of skill, innovation and creativity.

Film as a driver of creative economy
Films are by and large one the largest source of drivers in the creative economy. They have been
instrumental in the GDP growth of the country and many nations are now realising that. Moreover,
independent films have the potential to be one of the largest engines of growth for the creative
industry.

PRODUCTION OF INDEPENDENT FILMS: CROWDSOURCING
Crowd sourced funding for producing films has grown as a global phenomenon. Crowd funding
basically derives from the idea of Crowdsourcing wherein the collection of finances takes place from
a large pool of backers or crowd.
In recent times, crowd sourced funding is catalysed by social media and the internet. The most
advantageous part here is that through social media, film makers can address a group of dedicated
followers or their target audience more efficiently. The phenomenon of digitization and
technological convergence has slowly led to the democratization of communication and content
creation. The good news here is that the cost of film making has come down drastically through the
various technological innovations. The Internet also provides any filmmaker with tools not only to
make a movie but to distribute it too. In addition to this, if one considers the emergence of the
Internet as a network, its functionality has ensured that there is now a two way and multi
directional flow between suppliers and consumers of media content. The rise of the digital sphere as
a medium has given rise to two aspects when it comes to the consumer of such films. The audience
has become fragmented and more empowered.
Crowd funding is not an entirely new phenomenon, though in recent times it has gained popularity
as an alternative source of funding for independent film makers. In India crowd based funding is still
in its early stages. There are also arguments that the Indian audience’s tastes are still more biased
towards mainstream commercial cinema.
We will try to analyse some of the Crowd funded releases all over India and try to understand how
they attained their funds and how this can be a model for the future.

Manthan (1976) was one of the earliest instances of crowd sourced funding in the world. Shyam
Benegal , to make the movie Manthan obtained the finances from 5,00,000 members of the Gujarat
Co-operative Milk Federation who gave INR 2/- for the production of the film (Manthan). The film
was a box office success owing to the fact that all those who contributed bought tickets again to
watch the movie made by them.
Here, though not individually named, the movie did give credits to the farmers of Anand as seen in
one of the theatrical posters. This also highlights one of the benefits of crowdsourcing for the donor
wherein the audience who paid for the making of the movie gets a mention as a supporter of the
film.
Though this was one of the earliest examples of crowd based funding in the country, the popular
movies that came out in several languages in recent times were:
1. Lucia by Pawan Kumar
2. I AM by Onir
Lucia
Lucia is a Kannada movie directed by Pawan Kumar who completed the movie at a cost of Rs.51
Lakhs. The cost of this movie was obtained by crowd sourced funding wherein several individuals
contributed through the film makers Facebook page and blog.
Here we can argue that the empowerment provided to the consumer to choose the media due to
the two way nature of the digital media allows the audience to choose what he wants to watch and
could be one of the reasons why a crowd funded project succeeded in India.
Here is how the movie earned money:

By selling 2000 tickets at different denominations namely $25, $50, $100 each coming with its own
set of benefits.
Ticket Price Access to
download the
movie in HD and
unlimited number
of playback.
Exclusive
documentary
about the
making of the
film
Unique affiliate
link that
provided income
to the investor
for every extra
view.
Mention in
Credits as
Supporter
Total
Number
of
Tickets
available
$25 YES NO NO YES 1000
$50 YES YES NO YES 500
$100 YES YES YES YES 500
Table 1: Crowd-funding model for Lucia (Source: http://pawantheactor.com/?page_id=1653)
People who were interested in investing more money became co-producers and based on an
agreement they would get their money back as profits are attained.
The interesting aspect about the model is that the onus of deciding is left to the audience and they
can decide how involved they can be in the process by choosing any one of the amount. This is
enabled through the price differentiation provided to them. The crowd funding discussed here
though was mainly for producing the content; it was later done for distribution and exhibition too.
Crowd based funding opens up a world of opportunities to aspiring film makers in India who want to
make films and show them to the world. However, the audience is fragmented and reaching all of
them at once can be a cumbersome as well as expensive task. The makers here have addressed the
issue by adopting unconventional media networks for distribution, like the internet. The makers of
Lucia provided everyone who paid for the movie with High Quality digital copies of the movie. In
addition to this, the positive buzz that it generated led to PVR picking up the distribution of the

movie under the PVR Director’s rare category. It was exhibited in centres outside Karnataka and did
good business.
Lucia was one of the success stories of crowd based funding, however there are the failures too
especially in a market like India where the audience are still in transition in terms of the content they
consume. There is an apprehension that Indians are more ‘value conscious’ when compared to their
Western counterparts and hence may not be forthcoming to pay.
Crowdsourcing platforms
The infrastructure for crowd sourcing is through platforms such as Kickstarter, Indiegogo and
Wishberry are gaining popularity. These crowdsourcing platforms act as a patronage of several arts
and sciences including cinema and charges a fixed percentage of the funds raised as a fee. Some of
the salient features of these platforms are:
 User Empowerment– In this platform the customers are more empowered because they realize
that the project will not happen without their support. Therefore, the sense of involvement will
be much higher and will support the supplier of the content more.
 Risk-inversion – The risk in this case is moving towards the customer who will consume the
goods rather than the creator.
 Network effects –This can be considered as a Social Network Site (SNS) which has both creators
and supporters. The numbers of both of these can be assumed to be positively correlated as an
increase in supporters will increase the projects that are funded and more the creators better
value will be provided to the supporter.
 Multi-homing costs for creators – From the creators perspective there is no possibility of using
more than one site, but they can switch from one platform to another. However, the switching
costs usually discourage them from doing so.

Indian corporates are seeing a business opportunity in this model and have started investing in such
platforms. The investments by Reliance Entertainment Ltd in creative crowdsourcing platform
Talenthouse Inc. as well as the joint venture show that corporates too see the benefits of
crowdsourcing. This is also an encouraging sign for independent film makers and artists as they are
provided with an avenue for their talents. (Sen, 2011)
If well developed, this model can be a cornerstone for Independent film makers as well as the
audience and the end result will be that good content is generated and promoted.

INDEPENDENT FILM DISTRIBUTION IN INDIA
Once the funding has been secured, the film made with all the possible budgetary constraints and
the final product ready; every independent film maker in India or elsewhere is burdened with the
herculean task of getting his film out to the public i.e. distributing the film. At present the options in
India for getting a theatrical release are far and few. However, here we list out ways in which an
independent film maker can get his/her film out:
- Self distribution by renting a cinema
- Self distribution through DVD’s
- Picked up by PVR Director’s Rare [e.g. ‘Supermen of Malegaon’, ‘Shorts’ etc.]
- Picked up by a big production house [E.g. ‘Lunchbox’ by Dharma Productions & UTV Motion
Pictures]
- Download/Stream online [Netflix, Spuul etc.]
- Film Festivals [e.g. ‘Peddlars’ by Vasan Bala]
- Four walled screenings [e.g ‘Lakshmi’ by Nagesh Kukunoor, ‘The World Before Her’ by Nisha
Pahuja]
Most of the options presented above are not viable if the film maker or the producer is either a)
Looking at getting as many eyeballs as possible or b) looking to monetise the movie.
Non-viability of Independent Film Distribution
- The total content cost that the producer has to bare
for releasing a film at the theatres is very high
amounting to around INR 18,000 for per property
Virtual print fee 14,000
12.3% tax 1722
Cloning & Cargo 2000
Total expense on Content 17,722
Table 2: Producers expenditure on content
distribution (Source: (The method madness of
ticket prices, 2013)

per week. Thus the net box office collections have to be in the margin of INR 40 – 45,000 for
the producer to recover his cost for that property. (The method madness of ticket prices,
2013).]
- Every cinema manager is assigned with certain targets in terms of the average ticket price,
sales per head and the number of admit. These are further categorised by weekly, monthly,
quarterly targets. And statistically, the performance of independent films has been poor on
all three parameters. (The method madness of ticket prices, 2013)
- Most independent films fail garner enough buzz around them due to which it becomes
difficult to promote or monetise them and theatres are reluctant to showcase (The indie
film distributors pvr directors rare, 2012)
- Consumers or movie goers aren’t willing to pay premium prices (Average cost of a ticket at
PVR cinemas is INR 167 and that at Cinemax is INR 156 (Pengonda)) for a independent film
when they can catch a Bollywood blockbuster at the same price. (Onir)
However, the road isn’t all gloomy. The most important thing when it comes to independent films is
the content – it has to be fresh and out of the box. Films with great content have proved that they
can do significant business at the box office with the existing models in place. Let’s take a look at one
such movie – Supermen of Malegaon released by PVR Director’s Rare.
‘Supermen of Malegaon’: Case in view
Release year 2009
Budget1
1,00,000
Distribution Channel PVR Directors Rare
Revenue format 2
50:50 [Between producer and
PVR]
Runtime3
3 weeks [21 days]

Number of tickets sold in Mumbai per theatre4
2000 [6000/3]
Number of screens5
11
Total number of shows 231 [ 11 * 21]
Cost incurred per show in licensing6
₹1,000.00
Total cost incurred by producer in screening (A) ₹2,31,000.00 [1,000*231]
Approx Expense on content per week per
property7
₹ 18,000.00
Total expense on content (B) ₹5,94,000.00 [18,000*3*11
]
Total expense of producer (C) ₹8,25,000.00 [A + B]
Total tickets sold on average 22000 [2,000*11]
Average price per ticket at PVR8
₹ 167.00
Approx Revenue Generated (D) ₹ 36,74,000.00 [22000*167]
Share of producer [50% of revenue] ₹ 18,37,000.00 [D/2]
(-) Expense of producer ₹ 8,25,000.00 [C]
(-) Budget of movie ₹ 1,00,000.00
Producers profit ₹ 9,12,000.00
Table 3: Cost-benefit analysis of ‘Supermen of Malegaon’ (Source: 1 (Supermen of Malegaon)2,3,4 (The indie film
distributors pvr directors rare, 2012)5 (The supermen malegaon here go watch show timings included, 2012)6 (Report in
search of the rare indie)7 (The method madness of ticket prices, 2013)8 (Pengonda))
Assumptions:
- Every screen sold exactly 2000 tickets [ Given that 6000 tickets were sold in Mumbai and the
movie played at three screens]
- The movie ran for 3 weeks at all the 11 screens with one show per screen as per initial
schedule

- The producers of the didn’t bear any other expense as PVR Director’s Rare takes care of all
the promotional expense of the movie
Thus ‘Supermen of Malegaon’ provides enough evidence that a small budget independent movie can
earn 9 times the cost of producing the movie. However, there are certain things to be noted here –
- Supermen of Malegaon was made on a shoe string budget of INR 1,00,000 and hence the
profit margins. This might not be the case for other movies as the budget of an independent
movie can vary highly
- The movie was able to attract enough buzz in the festival and critics circuit having around 15
awards to its credit before it was released theatrically (Supermen malegaon winner 15
awards)
- The movie got picked up by PVR Director’s Rare which as a distribution channel doesn’t
charge the film makers (Report in search of the rare indie)
In recent times, there have been other examples of independent films being picked up by big
production houses for distribution and are doing really well. For example, ‘Ship of Theseus’ by
Anand Gandhi made on a budget of INR 12 Lac , presented by Kiran Rao and distributed by UTV
Motion Pictures collected INR 1.1cr in its first two weeks. (Dutta, 2013) On the other hand, ‘The
Lunchbox’ by Ritesh Batra made on a budget of INR 9cr (The Lunchbox), distributed by UTV Motion
Pictures collected INR 25cr with its limited release. Thus, there exists a market if the right movie is
matched with the right distribution channel. (Khanna, 2013)
The scope for revenue generation and fair distribution for Independent film making as an industry in
India is very low as only a handful of the films see the light of day. The industry need to come up
with a new distribution model that gives each and every independent film maker to showcase his
product at the national level at least. As of now such movies are not economically viable as no

matter how efficient the distribution, the revenues don’t outgrow the costs unlike the European
market where they have an Indie film theatres devoted to these movies.

INDEPENDENT FILMS: DOCUMENTARIES
Independent films cannot be categorized as feature films alone. An important part of Independent
films categories are documentaries. Documentary films must be analysed on its own, separate from
that of feature films.
Government run organisations for documentary making:
Under the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, there are two prime regulatory bodies,
the Films Division and the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). These bodies are autonomous
and work in different areas of documentary filmmaking.
The Films Division was established in 1948, it functions as the media unit of the Ministry. Its prime
functions entail facilitation of the production and distribution of short films and documentaries.
These shorts and documentaries are made in order to disseminate nonfiction content which deals
with India’s cultural heritage, traditional folklore and biographical information pertaining to well-
known and respectable Indians. The main aim of the organisation being, boost the national pride
and produce propaganda.
Since its inception, it has produced over 8000 documentaries, short films and animated films.
Combining all of this, it has over 50 million feet of celluloid. In the year 2004, it had almost 15000
theatrical releases and 90 non-theatrical releases. Additionally, it also funded, produced and
distributed 160 films, 58 among these were documentaries and newsreels. With an annual budget of
more than INR 40Cr Rupees, it has a staff of 1500 employees.

Around 700 prints of a documentary and one newsreel are released every week to over 10,000
cinema halls all across the country. In return of showing these films, the exhibitors are required by
law to pay 1% of the gross box office of the week.
The Central Board of Film Certification on the other hand reviews, rates and certifies all films,
television programming, advertisements and promotional material that appear in cinemas and on
televisions in India.
Additionally, film productions are also done at a regional / state level, which are sponsored by the
respective state government run information ministries. They are exhibited at regional cinema halls
or through special screenings in rural areas.
These two bodies collectively have enabled the Indian Government to regulate the documentary film
industry.
Monopolization by the Indian Government:
Through the use of these organisations, the Indian government exudes a strong hold on the
financing, production and distribution of documentaries across the country.
The Films Division being the major producer and distributor of these documentaries, the focus of the
paper will be focussed on its role in this segment.
With a huge number of documentaries being produced by the Films Division, the theatres have been
satiated with state approved and produced propaganda. Being a government run body, the Films
Division not only blocks the distribution of independent documentaries through the mere magnitude
of its clout but holds a legal, contractual monopoly over distribution outlets also, therefore IPDs find
it extremely difficult to find distribution outlets.

For a commercial cinema to open shop, the owners need to enter a deal with the Films Division.
These contracts, block-booking and blind-booking; bind the owner to showcase films approved by
the Films Division. These contracts are on a yearly basis. The theatre owners have no prior
knowledge about the theme of the films. With the mandate issued by the Films Division, the IPDs are
prevented from releasing in these theatres. In reality, any film without the monetary support by the
Films Division is rendered completely unmarketable. The Films Division may decide to buy an IPD at
its price and then distribute it.
The Films Division provides opportunities to independent documentary makers to screen their work
in commercial theatres, although the number is very limited. Each year, the Films Division provides
funding to a select few films that are given to independent producers. These producers are selected
from a list of over 24 such producers who submit competitive bids on film topics which the body
deems suitable for outside production. Alternatively, there is also the option of buying films that
have already been finished. This gives some leeway to independent filmmakers to have their work
distributed in cinemas across India, given the condition that they act as suppliers for the Films
Division.
Independent Political Documentaries - Background:
In spite of the heavy regulation by the government and its apparent monopoly in this segment of
filmmaking, there is a sleuth of documentaries being made without the government’s assistance or
guidance in production and distribution. With no funding received from the government in the
production of these independent documentaries, they are made with a paltry budget using meagre
technical resources. These independently produced and distributed documentaries are referred to
as ‘Independent Political Documentaries’ (IPD).

The theme for these documentaries is usually political in nature with messages that critique the
dominant politico-economic system. The IPD movement began in 1975 during the emergency
period, during which time, under the leadership of Indira Gandhi and President Fakhruddin Ali
Ahmed civil liberties were suspended and commissioned imprisonment of numerous innocent
civilians. It was during this time that documentary was made by Anand Patwardhan about revolving
around the theme of student agitation called ‘Waves of Revolution’.
Financing, Production and Distribution of IPDs:
Approximately only 10% of the Films Division’s theatrical releases comprise of independently
produced films, leaving a dearth of exposure to the other 90%, which never get a chance to be
screened in theatres. (Fischer) The genre of IPDs is such that it typically aims at targeting the present
political and religious supremacy; these messages are extremely unlikely to be funded by the Indian
government. To worsen the already aggrieved situation of IPDs stiff competition within the
community for the limited number of contracts by the Films Division leads to internal animosity,
which is detrimental to the movement’s ability to better organise to compete against the Films
Division projects.
The advent of technology and its benefit of low-cost filmmaking have not much helped the
independent filmmakers who still struggle to raise funds for production of films that are of good
enough production quality in order to compete with state funded projects for viewership.
As there is limited scope of distribution for independent filmmakers, it becomes almost impossible
for them to sustain themselves financially from the proceeds they receive from their work.
Therefore, they fund their films with small donations in cash and kind from friends and kin. They also
beseech patronage from NGOs and corporations that have common focus and would be interested

in financing the film. Anand Patwardhan, in an interview, told The Hindu that after long years of
asking donations from his friends and family to fund his films, he had only recently been able to
sustain through selling off his work, but he still needs to constrict the budget of his films to low.
This approach of raising funds for film production is very time consuming and prohibits the
filmmaker to concentrate on his work. Brahmanand Singh, another filmmaker who is a part of the
IPD community searched for two years for a sponsor for his film, A Burden of Love. The documentary
is based on Alzheimer’s disease set in India, after two years of searching, he found a pharmaceutical
company which agreed to finance his project. Likewise, other IPD filmmakers agree that it takes
upwards of three years to collect money in the form of small donations from individuals to raise
enough capital to produce a film. This can be distressing for many IPD filmmakers both financially
and emotionally, more so through the course of their career.
Although for these filmmakers, to spread their word through their work is more important than
monetary gains but the lack of it thereof has prevented from the number and quality not being
realised to its whole capacity. Further, the non-governmental agencies might not want monetary
returns from the documentaries but only reach to wide audiences to spread awareness on a specific
issue. But, given the inability of IPDs to disseminate to such wide audiences, there may ultimately be
no motivation for these investors to put in their money for these documentaries as neither will they
be profitable nor have a wide audience reach.
With the Indian theatres thronged with the Films Division’s documentaries, international film
festivals have become the best venue for IPDs. This is true for both short and feature length IPDs,
both of these formats have performed well at these festivals.
Anand Patwardhan’s films, War and Peace, A Narmada Diary, Father, Son and Holy War, and In the
Name of God, have collectively won 22 major awards at such international films festivals.

However, these film festivals have not been able to improve the distribution scenario for these
documentaries, the ultimate aim for them being exhibited to a large Indian audience, who can
resonate with the storyline of the film and do not require much background information or context-
establishing exposition. This can be seen with the rejection of Anand Patwardhan’s film, Father, Son,
and Holy War by Films Division staged 2004 Mumbai International Film Festival, after having won six
awards at major international film festivals.
The festivals are also unable to provide monetary benefits to the filmmakers as they offer very little
cash prize which makes it financially infeasible for them to repay for the production cost or use as
capital for future ventures.
There have been rare cases when foreign media channels, such Home Box Office (USA), BBC (United
Kingdom), ZDF (Germany), have bought IPDs after screening at such festivals. These documentaries
are then distributed within their respective countries. For example, Ashim Ahluwalia’s documentary,
John and Jane, was bought by HBO in 2007 for distribution in USA after it was screened at the
Toronto and Berlin Film Festivals.
While the Films Division has monopolized the business of production and distribution of IPDs in
India, therefore silencing the voices of these filmmakers, at the same time even if a film gets
adequate capital to make a film, there is always the question of passing the stringent censorship
which is controlled by the Central Board of Film Certification.

CONCLUSION
With the advent of technology, reduced costs of production and digitization and simplification of the
value-chain where consumers can directly be addresed, the Independent Film Industry is expected
to have sustained growth in the long-term as explained by the Long-Tail Theory. However, the key
concern is the economic impact on the ecosystem with respect to the changing condition of the
industry.
Despite the several impediments that face Independent film making faces, the future holds promise.
The advent of digitisation, technological advances and alternate sources of finances will reduce the
entry barriers for a film to be released and distributed. In addition to this, there is a potential for
tremendous growth simply based on the volumes that can be attained but before doing so, the film
maker must ensure that the film reaches the audiences

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viewership. Retrieved from Columbia University in th City of New York: www.columbia.edu
Khanna, P. (2013). The brave new world of indie films. Retrieved from Hindustan Times:
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Economic analysis of independent film making in India

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