The Indian film industry, renowned for its rich cultural impact and glitzy outputs, has emerged stronger post COVID-19 with a new focus on modern filmmaking techniques and distribution models, according to experts from the University of South Australia and the University of Adelaide.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic the sector was in dire need of embracing digitisation and branching out from traditional modes of revenue generation, says UniSA arts management expert Professor Ruth Rentschler OAM and the University of Adelaide's Dr Rajeev Kamineni from the Adelaide Business School.
The Indian movie industry is one of the world's most prolific sectors with almost 2000 movies released each year. At the onset of the pandemic in 2020, the Indian media and entertainment industry revenues declined 24% to the 2017 level of US$18.9 billion.
A few years on and the industry has recouped and rejuvenated, with popular streaming services allowing Indian films to reach new and wider audiences worldwide. The Indian media and entertainment sector posted a robust 21% growth in 2022 and crossed the US$24 billion mark in annual revenue for the first time. The sector is still set for substantial growth, with a projected 10.2% increase, reaching more than US$30 billion) in 2024.
India is the most populous nation in the world and has one of the highest levels of income inequality, with 220 million of its people living below the poverty line. The pandemic reshaped the Indian film industry and affected those involved in the sector from stars to studios. Cinemas and movie theatres closed, major film festivals either downsized, went digital, were postponed, or cancelled.
The closure of movie theatres had an enormous impact at the height of COVID. Movie theatres were one of the main sources of entertainment for the working poor and the cost of internet services and smartphones to deliver streaming services were beyond reach.
Dr Kamineni, who has produced 14 Indian films over the last decade, says the digital divide is still strong in India but more people are now able to access streamed movie content on their mobile phones.
The pandemic has also boosted the popularity of 'regional cinema' with films in various Indian languages finding success both domestically and internationally, he says. Regional cinema - as opposed to mainstream cinema - are films that are produced in a specific region and often associated with the language and culture of that region.
"From the doom and gloom of COVID-19, the Indian movie industry has emerged stronger with a focus on innovation in storytelling, filmmaking techniques and distribution models," says Dr Kamineni.
"Additionally, the global reach of streaming platforms ensure that Indian films are reaching a wider global audience, opening new markets and revenue streams, plus the rise of regional cinema. The pandemic has boosted the popularity of regional cinema, with films in various Indian languages finding success both domestically and internationally."
Ruth Rentschler Professor in Arts and Cultural Leadership at UniSA says digital streaming services such as Amazon, Prime, Disney Plus and Netflix have changed the playing field of the Indian movie industry especially for film producers.
"The change to digital formats is further squeezing the film producer's space because artists and technicians now directly deal with digital streaming companies, they don't need the entrepreneurial ability of a producer to pull together a project. Hence, more and more films are being released directly onto digital platforms," she says.
"Revenue sources are good for artists and technicians, but independent film producers need to be resilient to evolve, carving a space for themselves where they're still relevant. Producers are now forced to sell their movies to digital platforms such as Netflix, bypassing regular movie distributors and exhibitors. As existing relationships diminish, new trusting relationships must be built for a largely family-owned and independently run sector."
Dr Kamineni and Professor Rentschler have reviewed the industry in their latest research paper No Lights, No Camera, No Action: Indian movie industry practitioner perspectives on life after the pandemic.
