Small money, big dreams

If there is one thing that keeps Manipuri digital films alive more than anything else, then it is the sheer love of the art by its patrons and filmmakers. This may be true of any other film industry. But if you look at the size of the industry and the time, energy and enthusiasm that Manipuris put in the production of films, one thing would strike an observer: so much for so little stakes.

Consider the budget of an average Manipuri film budget. A modest amount of 5-6 lakhs is a respectable allocation for a film that is entirely shot in Manipur. Stars’s salaries which usually take a lion’s share of a film budget are incredibly low in Manipur. Leading Manipuri actors in the equivalent league of Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukherjee take home—hold your breath—a mere fifteen to thirty thousand. Directors are luckier with fifty thousand followed closely by editors and script writers.

This sounds crazy. But not so crazy if you look closer. Manipuri digitals are usually made so fast that actors—and they are few in number—make up for the peanut paychecks they receive in increased volume. It is common for a star to sign as many as five films at one time and work for all of them simultaneously with acrobatic shooting schedules. Some films are made as quickly as in 15 days!

The real problem however is not the schedules of the actors but the inordinate time it takes for a finished film to go to the theatres. A producer has to wait for at least two years before she gets to screen her film in a theatre.

The paucity of screening halls is caused by the decline in the exhibition business during the celluloid days when there were few films to show because of low rate of production. The balance sheets of the exhibitors were understandably in the red. Many theatres had to shut down and turn into schools, shopping plaza and offices.

That slump has now turned into sunny outlook. With the advent of the digital film boom, the few remaining theatres are doing a great business, often finding it difficult to accommodate the digital films that are being churned out at the neck-breaking speed.

At the beginning of this write-up, I said so much effort was invested for so little stakes. The most that a producer can expect from a film as profit is in the range of one to three lakhs. And it is a difficult call for the producers to predict the outcome of a film at the box-office, as is the case with any film anywhere in the world. Out of ten films, only about two will turn up profits, three will get even and the rest will go to the dumps.

One strategy that producers employ is to spread the risk. A newly released film will be first released in theatres in Imphal only. If it gets favourable word-of-mouth publicity, the producers would seek to cash on it and eventually release the prints at the theatres in sub-urban and rural areas where the film would have already created a “wave” as one prominent film director told me. If it sinks at the box office in Imphal, the film would be released elsewhere as a new package completely disassociated from the dismal performance at Imphal.

The entire cycle from Imphal premiere to the openings in far flung theatres is complete in about six months. A simple arithmetic would put the duration from production to final box office collections at around 3 years (1-6 months for production, 2 years for booking a place in a theatre and 6 months for screening the film at all theaters).

No producer would be forthcoming on the precise amount of profits made out of a film. This reluctance is in part due to the fears on the part of the producer to honour financial obligations due to the supporting actors (leading actors are always given special treatment). It is not uncommon for a producer to default on payments due to small actors and instead treat them to a sumptuous dinner with some gifts. These are treated as favours that would be returned in some form—a tacit understanding that nothing is for free.

The following is a budget break-up of an average Manipuri digital film:
(Figures in thousand)

Leading actor: 15-30
Actor in supporting roles: 2-5
Script writer: 15
Director: 50-60
Editor: 20-30
Costumes: 10
Music: 40
Light: 30-35
Make-up person: 15
Transportation: 50
Equipments: 20-30
Arrangement shoots (like wedding, rainy scenes etc.): 20-50
Marketing: 50
Contingencies: 50

To sum up, anybody with a few spare cash can produce a film in Manipur. It’s not the important point though. What’s remarkable is why Manipuris get so excited about dedicating themselves to such a low-margin and high-risk venture as filmmaking that promises nothing more than a few pittance in profit at best. The answer is, Manipuris love arts, music, dance and theater; and cinema provides the ultimate platform that happily blends all these. Above all, they love experiments.

Not surprising for a state that has produced such theater legends as Ratan Thiyam and Kanhailal.