| Ever-rising dollar badly scorches Punjabi film industry |
26th Oct 2013
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A still from Des Hoyaa Pardes
he Punjabi film industry might be releasing more than 50 films a year, but the tumbling Indian currency is slowly beginning to play havoc with the ambitious dreams of Punjabi producers. Guardian20 spoke to some of the producers who all seemed to suggest that this change has shot up the production cost of films by 20-25 per cent.
Actor, producer Darshan Singh Aulakh of Darshan Aulakh Productions said, "Foreign locations have always fascinated the audience and is one of the reasons why producers shoot numerous scenes and songs at different international locations earlier. But with the Indian rupee losing its value, production cost has gone up quite a bit forcing many to shoot at exotic locations in India only."
Ravi Jain, CEO Cosmic Studios and producer of Ishq Garaari, argues, "The expenditure on international shoots has gone up and that directly affects the profits. In short, the expenditure of a movie which was 3-4 crore has gone up by 20-25 per cent but the profits have not increased accordingly."
The timing of this slump is tragic since Punjabi cinema had only recently begun to establish itself abroad because of which the number of prints too had gone up substantially.
The shooting of a song on an international location that used to cost 15-20 lakhs now costs 50-60 lakhs. Aulakh adds, "Despite the increase in the production costs, the profits have reduced and with no support from the Punjab or the Chandigarh administration shooting abroad has become a tough task."
Angad Singh, owner of Angad and Nice Heart Productions and producer of Dil Sadda Lutteya Geya, states, "The value of the final product in the overseas market has decreased. The product that was valued at 50 lakhs earlier has now reduced to 30-35 lakhs. Nowadays, the only support we get abroad is the subsidy on the shooting fee provided by the Government in some countries as we promote their tourism."
"Rupee's nose-dive has affected the producers' pocket in a big way. A promotional tour that used to cost 15-20 lakhs now cost 20-25 lakhs which adds up to the cost of the movie and directly impinge on the producer's expenses," says Niting Narang, CEO The Ideaz Factory.
Despite the soaring cost of production a lot of producers play it safe and choose interesting new international locations to shoot parts of their films. Vikram Bansal, director and producer of Yaaran Da Katchup maintains, "I believe this price change affects the producers who shoot at locations where they pay in dollars but it hardly matters if you shoot in a country where you are paying a different currency. We recently shot in Thailand and paid in Baht which did not affect our budget. Such countries provide you an international location that adds to the movie without driving a hole in your pocket."
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