Lenin famously said there are decades when nothing happens and there are weeks when decades happen. Reforms unthinkable in normal times get through in times of crisis. Post release of the Hema committee report, Mollywood is in a flux and these are the weeks where some radical reforms are possible and what follows is a blueprint for a financial reboot of Mollywood.
Problems with the upfront payment model The latest instance of a hero returning money to the producer/distributor of a flopped movie was Vijay Devarakonda for the Telugu movie ‘Family Star’. It collected only 70% of the production cost of Rs.50 Crore.
The biggest cost of most of the movies is star remuneration and as it is paid before movie release, the only hope of the producer of a movie which flops is on the magnanimity of the star to return a part of his/her compensation. A shift to revenue sharing model can solve this problem. For example, on signing up for a movie, its hero can be paid 10% of his current rate upfront and balance as share of revenues from the box office.
Hence, someone charging Rs 5 Crore may be paid Rs 50 lakhs upfront and the remaining as share of revenues, percentage of which is agreed upfront. This makes the star a stakeholder in the movie’s success and he will turn in his best performance for it. What’s more, in the pre and post release promotions of the movie too he will be an active participant.
Revenue sharing model can be extended to the director, story/script writer, cinematog.