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Manipal University, MBA in Media & Entertainment
2012
COMPARATIVE STUDY OF HORROR FILMS MARKET (HOLLYWOOD AND BOLLYWOOD) IN INDIA.
Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the award of the Degree of Master of Business istration in MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT
By NEELAPU VIKASH RAO
Manipal University Bangalore Campus December 2011
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CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the dissertation entitled ―COMPARATIVE STUDY OF HORROR FILMS MARKET (HOLLYWOOD & BOLLYWOOD) IN INDIA‖ submitted by NEELAPU VIKASH RAO, In partial fulfilment of the requirement for the award of degree MASTER OF BUSINESS ISTRATION IN MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT to Manipal University Bangalore campus is a record of the candidate‘s own work carried out by him under my supervision. The matter embodied in this dissertation is original and has not been submitted for the award of any other degree.
Date :________________
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Acknowledgements We are extremely grateful to Ms Pa Srinivasan and Ms. Shinu Abhi for giving us the opportunity to work on this dessertation. Their constant guidance and motivation have helped us learn valuable lessons in research.
We would also like to thank our friends and family who stepped up to the occasion and helped us in data collection and took our research one step forward.
Special thanks to our celebrity interviewees, without whose input our research would have lacked the industry insight that it requires.
Thanks.
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S.No.
Title
Page No.
1
Certificate
2
2
Acknowledgements
3
3
Executive Summary
5
4
Introduction
6-8
5
Introduction to the problem
9-10
I. Title of the study II. Statement of the problem III. Objectives of the study IV. Scope of the study V. Limitations of the study
7
Industry / Company profile I.
Industry
Profile
10-13 and
Company Profile II. 8
Products/services profile
Review of Literature I. II. III.
13-16
Operational definitions Literature review Theories applicable to the study
9
Research Methodology
16-17
10
Data Analysis
18-21
11
Comparative study and growth of
21-25
Bollywood & Hollywood horror films. 12
Summary
26-27
10
Conclusion
28-30
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Executive summary The market: Horror is a genre that never goes out of style. These films provide best risk/reward ratio in the movie industry, and often enjoy box office success and video/DVD sales without major stars. They have lower budget than other genres and have a loyal audience in a most desirable demographic (18-35 year old)
The industry: low budget horror movies are major economic forces within the film industry. Haunted 3D in 2010 grossed Rs. 14.30 crores in week 1. 1920 took it over 4 crores in the 1st week in the year 2008, Darna Zaroori Hai in 2006 crossed 3.2 crores in the 1st week again. All these films were produced for under 1 crore approximately.
Global box office revenue of the entire industry is projected to grow US$ 10 billion to US$ 18 billion between 2000 to 2010, according to Baskerville communication. The National Association of the Theatre Owners (NATO) reported annual domestic ticket sales of $7.5 billion by the end of past decade, a 55 percent increase since 1990. The top 10 countries house 80 percent of the world screen count, while the United states, China and India for 67 percent of the global screen count.
Risk factor: although investors have the potential of making huge profits in the movie industry, the business of producing and distributing low budget films involves certain risk that are uncommon in most business. Such a venture is only suitable for person who do not require liquidity in their investments and who are prepared to lose the entire investment. No assurance can be give for the economic success of any motion pictures specially ‗horror films‘ which has a limited audience. If distributed there is no guarantee that the film will make money for the investors, the success of the project depends on many intangible factors including, but not limited to, public acceptance, which cannot be predicted. Therefore, investors should consider these factors carefully before making a decision to purchase any interest in the film project.
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INTRODUCTION Acc. to Willinsky – Lloyd : Horror is a genre that never goes out of style. These films provide the best risk/reward ratio in the movie industry, and often enjoy box office success and video/DVD sales without major starts. They have lower budgets than other genres, and they have a loyal audience in most desirable demographic (18-35 years old). The theme of nightmares, the psychological thrillers and terror, raise the dopamine level of our mind, it focuses or rivets our attention and captures our, albeit, base instinct, and forces us to undivided attention. In some ways, the conventions of realistic fiction and drama may impose serious limitations on a story. For one thing, if you play by the rules and respect the preparation and pace required to establish realism, it takes a lot longer to make a point than it does, say, in fantasy. At the same time, it is possible that this very work that contributes to a story's realism may weaken its grip on the unconscious. Realism is probably the best way to dramatize argument and ideas. Fantasy may deal best with themes which lie primarily in the unconscious. I think the unconscious appeal of a ghost story, for instance, lies in its promise of immortality. If you can be frightened by a ghost story, then you must accept the possibility that supernatural beings exist. If they do, then there is more than just oblivion waiting beyond the grave."
It is difficult to do justice to horror films in Bollywood with the lack of documentation and material available on the subject. Therefore, this article has been written almost entirely on the basis of memory. As a result there will be certain oversights but the idea is to pay some kind of homage to a genre that has managed to maintain its niche in India‘s massive film industry. The earliest ‗horror‘ films in Indian cinema revolved around themes of reincarnation and rebirth. Basically they were the typical old-fashioned ghost story. The attempt was not to scare as mush as to give the love story a new dimension. The most famous is probably Kamaal (Pakeezah) Amrohi‘s debut film Mahal, where the story lies in moving into an abandon mansion with a tragic history. Atmospherically photographed in the German expressionist style appropriately by the German cameraman Joseph Wirsching the film is heralded as an all time classic.
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the 1980s saw Indian horror become synonymous with low budget schlock churned out by the famous Ramsay Brothers. This family of filmmakers cornered the low budget market and for decades to come managed to produce horror film after horror film. The films were safe bets at the box -office often making their money back in their first week or then grossing impressively at the smaller rural 'B' and 'C' centres. Somewhat unfortunately, it did mean that the horror genre became ghettoized and never really broke out of that narrow mould. The horror film genre continued to remain stuck in a warp which saw films that were made on a shoe string budget, had amazingly awful special effects and repeated all the same people film after film. And yet the films had great entertainment value and at least offered something different from the mainstream.
In an industry known to be formulaic, making a horror film can be quite a terrifying proposition
When Karan Johar decided to produce the big-budget Kaal, he itted that he was petrified of the horror film genre. Whether the film's story scared him is not known, but its distributors sure had a frightening experience after its release. Making horror films is not very high on Hindi film-makers' agenda, and apart from the Ramsay films spanning three decades — the 70s, 80s, and 90s — there have only been a handful that spring to mind. Ram Gopal Varma, who has given the genre a new lease lately, disagrees. "Fear is a universal emotion. And you would be surprised to know that many so-called 'high-society' multiplex audiences are extremely superstitious and believe in ghosts and spirits," says Varma, whose latest film Phoonk (releasing on Friday) deals with black magic. Varma was one of the few directors to have dabbled in a horror film early on in his career with Raat, and in spite of not achieving massive success in the genre, he has been dishing out horror films once every few years. Vaastu Shastra, Darna Mana Hai and its sequel, Darna Zaroori Hai, may have done average to bad business, but 2003's Bhoot was a hit. ―A number of horror films were announced after Bhoot's success, none of which saw the light of the day due to lack of buyers," says Deepak Ramsay, of the aptly named production house
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Ramsay House Of Horrors, who now carries forward the family tradition of making horror films. "We make much fewer films now. However, we still stick to our old formula of casting newcomers, coupled with a small budget and a strong story to back it up," says Ramsay, who directed the small-budget Aatma in 2006. Few know the ingredients for a successful horror film. The one-dimensional motive of creating 'fear' is something that a viewer, shelling out big bucks for a film has more often than not, rejected. Maybe that's why, when the Bhatts decided to make the 'supernatural thriller', Raaz, they ensured the audience got more than jus a few hair-raising moments. "Raaz had some great music and was packaged as a 21st Century film. Every time you say 'horror' in Hindi films, you think of C-grade films with bad special effects," says Mahesh Bhatt, who wrote the film. He believes that it was the blend of Indian mythology and a Western approach that did the trick. "We plan to take that forward with our next, Raaz — The Mystery Continues," says Bhatt. Varma, however, has stuck to a more traditional approach of making horror films — where creating fear is the most important motive. And he believes that doing that takes some effort, and talent. "Unlike in romantic or comedy films, you need a certain amount of technical finesse while directing horrors. Besides, you need to have an interest in the genre itself," says Varma. That fact is: Not many are willing to put money in the genre due to its poor track record. Raj Kumar Gupta, who directed the critically-acclaimed Aamir, says that in an industry governed by success, you need one hit horror film to make it the 'hot' subject among film-makers. "If one works, there'll be a slew of them made in its wake," says Gupta, who its that he wouldn't mind making a horror film if he gets his hands on a 'scary' enough script.
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Title of the study: COMPARATIVE STUDY OF HORROR FILMS MARKET (HOLLYWOOD AND BOLLYWOOD) IN INDIA.
Statement of the problem: Hindi ‗horror‘ films have been operating mostly in the ―B‖ grade halls, offering a sleazy kind of entertainment to a lower class audience. Such films have suffered from all sorts of problems arising out of working in the underbelly of the industry. These used to be typically low budget films. But recently, one can observe a change in the production of horror films. Films dealing with supernatural subjects have been catching up with their romantic or other generic counterparts. But what is more interesting about this phenomenon is the use of sound in them. There is much debate whether Indian films can be classified into genres, but definitely there are instances where a certain group of films can be clubbed together according to thematic preoccupations. The Indian horror film, in that sense, can constitute a generic object for us. Why do audiences in India prefer Hollywood horror films than Bollywood horror films?
Objectives:
To study the loyal demography of horror movies.
To study the international industry (market and business model) of horror movies (horror movies have lower budget than other genres.)
To understand the scope of production and distribution of horror films.
To study the risk factors involved in horror movies.
To understand the audience‘s perception for the Bollywood horror films.
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Scope of the study: This research would give a clear understanding of the horror film industry of both Bollywood as well as Hollywood. This findings would help the audiences to understand the market of Bollywood horror films and give a clear idea about the business and reasons behind this sudden upsurge of the films which can be loosely clubbed under the ‗horror‘ genre.
Limitations of the study Whether the concerned people would use our findings is a matter of worry and doubt. Since Some research findings on this topic are well known people could lose interest in answering our research procedure. The industry may not find anything novel in our findings. Since most audiences are in favour of horror films, the questionnaire results would not tell what lies beneath the iceberg.
Industry profile: Bollywood Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Bollywood is the largest film producer in India and one of the largest centers of film production in the world. The term "Bollywood" has origins in the 1970s, when India overtook America as the world's largest film producer. Credit for the term has been claimed by several different people, including the lyricist, filmmaker and scholar Amit Khanna,and the journalist Bevinda Collaco. History: Raja Harishchandra (1913), by Dadasaheb Phalke, was the first silent feature film made in India. By the 1930s, the industry was producing over 200 films per annum. The first Indian sound film, Ardeshir Irani's Alam Ara (1931), was a major commercial success.There was clearly a huge market for talkies and musicals; Bollywood and all the regional film industries quickly switched to sound filming. In 1937, Ardeshir Irani, of Alam Ara fame, made the first colour film in Hindi, Kisan Kanya. The next year, he made another colour film, a version ofMother India. However, colour did
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not become a popular feature until the late 1950s. At this time, lavish romantic musicals and melodramas were the staple fare at the cinema. Genre conventions: Bollywood films are mostly musicals, and are expected to contain catchy music in the form of song-and-dance numbers woven into the script. A film's success often depends on the quality of such musical numbers. Indeed, a film's music is often released before the movie itself and helps increase the audience. Indian audiences expect full value for their money, with a good entertainer generally referred to as paisa vasool, (literally, "money's worth"). Songs and dances, love triangles, comedyand dare-devil thrills are all mixed up in a three-hour-long extravaganza with an intermission. Such movies are called masala films, after the Hindi word for a spice mixture. Like masalas, these movies are a mixture of many things such as action, comedy, romance and so on. Most films have heroes who are able to fight off villains all by themselves Bollywood plots have tended to be melodramatic. They frequently employ formulaic ingredients such as star-crossed lovers and angry parents, love triangles, family ties, sacrifice, corrupt politicians, kidnappers, conniving villains, courtesans with hearts of gold, long-lost relatives and siblings separated by fate, dramatic reversals of fortune, and convenient coincidences. There have always been Indian films with more artistic aims and more sophisticated stories, both inside and outside the Bollywood tradition. They often lost out at the box office to movies with more mass appeal. Bollywood conventions are changing, however. A large Indian diaspora in English speaking countries, and increased Western influence at home, have nudged Bollywood films closer to Hollywood models. Film critic Lata Khubchandani writes,"..our earliest films...had liberal doses of sex and kissing scenes in them. Strangely, it was after Independence the censor board came into being and so did all the strictures." Plots now tend to feature Westernised urbanites dating and dancing in clubs rather than centering on pre-arranged marriages. Though these changes can widely be seen in contemporary Bollywood, traditional conservative ways of Indian culture continue to exist in India outside the industry and an element of resistance by some to western-based influences. Despite this, Bollywood continues to play a major role in fashion in India. Indeed some studies into fashion in India have revealed that some people are unaware that the changing nature of fashion in Bollywood films which are presented to them
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are often influenced by globalisation and many consider the clothes worn by Bollywood actors as authentically Indian.
Bollywood horror films have been a sub-genre of the Indian film industry since its early days. In common with horror films from other countries the films generally consist of darkness, an old mansion, or an evil being in search of power or revenge. Although critics have cited the films' violence, the films have garnered a niche audience and surprisingly some of them have become mainstream hits. If one carefully analyzes the evolution of the horror genre in Bollywood, it is observed that the earliest horror movies turned out to be super hits at the box office, but the filmmakers of the 80s and 90s were not able to do justice to such movies, since they lacked good scripts, proper research, direction and resources which is a prerequisite to make a good horror movie.
The earliest groundbreaking Hindi horror film Mahal was released in 1949. Directed by Kamal Amrohi, it had reincarnation as its theme, and was one of the biggest box-office hits of the year. The 1960s witnessed two major blockbusters; Biren Nag‘s Bees Saal Baad (1962) and Raja Nawathe‘s Gumnaam (1965) that topped the box-office charts. Moving to the era of 70s, the horror movies were usually based on the concept of the supernatural. The two films by Rajkumar Santoshi featuring a huge ensemble cast; the 1976 Nagin and the 1979 Jaani Dushman were major success and super hits at the box office. 1980s Gehrayee (inspired by The Exorcist) based on the subject of possession, is one of the finest and the most remarkable horror films to emerge from Bollywood, which invested more in its plot and superb performance of the actors, than the gruesome horror techniques and nasty exorcisms.
The 80s and 90s marked the entry of various new filmmakers who came up with numerous low-budget films. Ramsays in particular cornered the low-budget market for horror movies and continued producing such movies for years. Starting with their initial success Do Gaz Zameen ke Neeche in 1972, they kept the trend alive for almost two decades, few of them being Bandh Darwaaza, Veerana, Sannata, Purani Haveli, Guest House, Tahkhana, Shaitani Ilaaka, Purana Mandir etc.
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The movies ran on an average basis and often grossed good collections at the box office The creations were mostly B-grade films with low-budget, inexperienced cast which undeniably failed to make a mark on the screen. The stories had nothing unusual to offer, the plot being usually of distorted faced creatures and evil spirits haunting the villages or an ancestral bungalow. The opening scene would usually be a dark-stormy night, pouring down ominous hosepipes of rain, with the howling of dogs and wolves as the background music. The ghosts wore those typical, ugly rubber-masks, seemed to have been bought from some substandard shop. And they would end with a ridiculous exorcism being carried out by some brainless, ultra-idiotic personalities (Read tantriks). Most popular attraction about these movies was women with microscopic-mini skirts accompanied by the shower and bedroom scenes featuring unattractive bimbos with voluptuous bodies. The cheesiest things perhaps were the names, some of them being Shaitaani Khopdi, Khooni Aankhen, Chudail No.1, Bhayaanak Panjaa, Khooni Dracula and the like. Can you imagine yourself watching such nasty flicks?
Then came Raaz in 2002, a thrilling and musical remake of the Hollywood flick What Lies Beneath. The approach employed by Vikram Bhatt here was much better than the usual Hindi horror movies. There were no ghastly rubber masks, nor was there much of nudity (though the movie did have a few steamy scenes). The cast‘s acting was far better than expected, though viewers ended up laughing at a few scenes than getting scared. There was an exorcism, but the customary tantrik with a long-beard and black robe was replaced by a modern, scholarly Professor who also possesses a sixth-sense. The film made for a good onetime watch. At present, Ram Gopal Varma seems to be monopolizing the Indian horror film market. It is evident that he spent considerable time in watching the foreign classics like Poltergeist, Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Evil Dead, The Exorcist, Amityville Horror, Childs Play, The Eye and so on. His creations, which include Raat(1991), Kaun(1999), Bhoot(2003), Darna Mana Hai(2003) ,Vaastu Shastra(2004), Naina(2005), Darna Zaroori Hai(2006) and the newly released Phoonk, are clearly a very Indianish blend of scenes carefully morphed from all these films. But thanks to the strong performances by the actors, good direction, subtle special effects and chilling sound effects, the movies have done fairly well at the box office and proved successful in sending chills down quite a few spines.
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Literature review The Hindi Horror Movie Genre In the past, Hindi horror movies haven't fared quite as well as the musicals churned out of Bollywood every year. The reputation of these once poorly made films seemed to follow them throughout the decades and Hindi horror filmmakers have been working overtime to put that reputation behind them. Some moviegoers even classified these films that were produced with the purpose of scaring them, into the comedy category due to their weak plot lines and laughable effects. All this is gradually changing, though it may be quite some time before the horror films are as slickly produced as the Bollywood musicals that have experienced an enormous amount of success worldwide. Older Hindi Horror Movies The plot lines in older horror movies made in Bollywood were centered around classic ghost stories about reincarnated souls. In the late 1970's and 1980's, the plot lines in the films took a turn from spooky ghost stories to movies featuring serial killers and the like. This is also the time period where the most well known Hindi horror film directors, the Ramsay brothers, surfaced as the so-called "kings" of the "B-movie" horror genre in Bollywood. Ramsay Brothers Movies
These brothers whipped out hundreds of horror movies over the decades. Almost all of the Ramsay brothers' films followed relatively the same format:
A scantily clad heroine
A scantily clad best friend of the heroine
A muscular hero
A flashback montage in the beginning
Dark and spooky places
Ominous mood music that plays throughout the film
Scary monsters
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The death of someone in the beginning that swears revenge on the people who have done wrong by him (or her) in the beginning of the film.
Even though the plots of these movies all seemed to be the same, people never became bored of Ramsay brothers produced horror movies. Thus they became known as the "kings" of the horror movie genre. Even with this measured amount of success with these films, they were still considered to be "B" type movies and not the special effects extravaganzas of the typical western horror film. Present Day Hindi Horror Films The success of the Ramsay brothers' movies began ebbing a bit in the 1990's. Audiences began yearning for more sophisticated films to scare them. Horror films began evolving out of the sort of "monster movies" to supernatural and psychological thrillers. Of course, the Ramsay brothers continue to make the "monster movie" type films, which continue to have a strong and loyal following.
Some Movies to Check Out Here's a short list of some websites where you can check out a few clips and trailers from a few different types of Hindi horror films and maybe get a few suggestions along the way:
The Hot Spot Online
The Bollywood Horror Society
Bollywood Sargam
Calcutta Tube
Planet Bollywood
Something for Everyone The production of Bollywood horror films has definitely come a long way and they may still have a ways to go before they reach the sophistication of western produced horror films. You have to , these films don't have the multi-million dollar budget that most American made films have, so they really shouldn't be compared side by side. Hindi movies generally
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have about one-tenth of the budget that American made horror movies have. Even with the much smaller budget, the films produced are, if anything, entertaining. It doesn't matter if you love the monster type movies akin to an Attack of the Killer Tomatoes western produced film or if you love scary movies more along the lines of psychological or supernatural thrillers, Bollywood horror films definitely have a little something for everyone to enjoy.
Hypothesis: The hypothesis is that the audience would prefer to watch Hollywood horror films than Bollywood horror movies.
Sampling: 1. The sample size taken for this paper is 100 respondents. 2. The respondents are from various cities in India – Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Manipal, New Delhi.
Tools for Data Collection: The major tool used for this report was online questionnaire. In addition to this, we conducted telephonic conversations.
Methods of Data Analysis:
Interpretation of Interviews and Articles.
Data Presentation and Statistical Analysis.
Research Methodology: The type of research and research design: 1. Exploratory 2. Descriptive 3. Causal
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Our research is fundamentally exploratory and causal in nature. It involves an analysis of: what-why -when-where-who-how a descriptive type of research would help us in:
1. Description of population characteristics 2. Estimates of frequency of characteristics 3. Discovery of associations among variables
Causal effects are a primary study. The types of research1. Reporting 2. Descriptive 3. Explanatory The research environment-field conditions formal survey and interviews with directors/cast & crew and audiences of horror films observation of the audience's likes, I am conducting an analysis and assessment to understand the ‗reason why do people watch horror films and what are the conventions the audience look forward to watch a horror films‘.
The types of marketing research done1. Film promotion research: to track the efficacy of promotions through various media, to get attention, communicate the message, build the brand's image and motivate the consumer to purchase the product or service. 2. Brand attribute research: what are the key traits that describe the brand promise that lure the audience? 3. Commercial eye tracking research: examine film promotions, film distribution, websites, etc, by analysing visual buying behaviour of the consumers. 4. Cool hunting: to make observations and predictions in changes of new or existing cultural trends in areas such as fashion, music, films, television, youth culture and lifestyle. 5. Buyer decision processes research: to determine what motivates people to buy and what decision making process they use. 6. We are studying the audience level of attention, motivation, entertainment and communication, as well as breaking down the movies flow of attention and flow of emotions.
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7. Segmentation research: to determine the demographic, psychographic and behavioural characteristics of potential buyers. 8. Online : groups of individuals who have accepted to respond to research online.
Our stages of research: purpose-population-procedure-publication Where: Purpose: covers the objectives Population: prompts the researcher to consider the target audience, customer Procedure: concerns data capture, processing and analysis Publication: communicating results by written report and spoken presentation summary of findings, analysis and suggestions.
Data Analysis
According to the graphical representations of Age groups and their preference to watch horror films. Horror movies have designated target audiences of the age group between 21 to 30 years old.
2% 4%
Age group 14%
80%
A 16-20 B 21-30 C 31-40 D 40 & abv \
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From the graphapical representation and analysis of what scares people the most in a horror film? We found that people get invoked to the atmosphere of ‗dread‘ with more real life situation documentary in a horror films
What scares you the most in a horror film? 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
39.5% 25% 14.5%
Mysterious Creatures
11.8%
Psycho Killers
Cannibals
9.2% Real life situations
others
From the cross tabulation and graph representation of within horror movies, what are their favourite genre of the audiences?
The factor analysis of attitudes related to the favourite genre after studying the ranking preferences of the audiences, we understand that people mostly prefer Monster based movies followed by Blood and Gore and so on with the least ranked is Psychological.
45 40 35 30
Rank 1
25
Rank 2
20
Rank3
15
Rank4
10
Rank5
5 0 Blood and Psychological Gore
Thriller
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Monster based
Paranormal
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When asked people do u think that Bollywood creates as horrifying horror films as Hollywood?
Clearly 91% with no bias and inclination towards the Indian cinema people said NO.
Do you think Bollywood creates as horrifying horror films as Hollywood? 6%
Yes
94%
When asked “What do you think Bollywood movies are based on”??
And the options given to them were as follows: 1. Original script 2. Real life situation 3. Copied from Hollywood 84.3% said ―It‘s copied from Hollywood‖.
Bollywood Scripts are based on?? 11.8
3.9 Original script Real life situation Coppied from Hollywood
84.3
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The factor analysis of the attitudes and preferences of the audiences, If given a choice to between an Hollywood horror film and Bollywood horror film?
The graphical representation says:
PREFRENCE 10% Hollywood Horror Movies Bollywood Horror Movies 90%
Comparative study and growth of Bollywood & Hollywood horror films The downfall of Bollywood horror films with the re-definition of ―spookisim‖ by Ramsay brothers who actually defined the B-grade film genre with some pathetic movies, some of which were actually runaway successes, the movie plot revolved around evil spirits and deformed creatures terrorizing villages. The most popular targets were thinly clad women. In between the horror (if there was any) there was a liberal sprinkling of sex and as much nudity that could un-censored! It was their ―success‖ formula which they rarely deviated from. Well the situation did not improve in late eighties when lazy rip-offs from Hollywood were made. We had the classic Exorcist remade as Jaadu Tona!Poltergeist was remade as Raat by none other than Ram Gopal Verma. Where in Hollywood, horror and thrillers were emerging
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as a competing and memorable genre with path breaking films like Rosemary‘s Baby, Psycho, Hell Raiser, The Shining and Frankenstein to name a few; in Bollywood we saw this genre being cornered by low budgets, stereotyping and bad filmmaking. In 1999, we saw Ram Gopal Verma return with the psychotic thriller Kaun? which was like fresh air for this dying area of films with Urmila Matondkar‘s performance. However, later years were disappointing. The Bhatt camp produced the famous Raaz which was an adaptation of What Lies Beneath. There was a string of some bad films like Hum Kaun Hai starring Amitabh Bachchan which was a blot on The Others, Hawastarring Tabu, which I never saw and some others which no one really bothered about. In the recent past, we have seen only Ram Gopal Verma trying to come up with horror movies which really don‘t scare you but just disturb you enough to make you think why you come to see this movie in the first place. Bhoot was an exception due to good acting, but as far as the plot is concerned, the lesser said the better. Then of course, the Darna Mana Hai series, Vaastu Shastra and Darling proved to be detrimental to the careers of the actors concerned. I would like to remind you of the apple story in the former which was ―really‖ scary! This was some movie which dragged people to the theatre after a person suffered a heart attack while watching it. Bless the poor soul! Question is: did he suffer from fear or sheer agony of the movie? Well the director does not want to give up. Seems he is not going to till he gets a forced super hit (no pun intended). Here I find it necessary to mention the recent Phoonk which was actually the inspiration to write this article. Apart from the weird name, it really has not much in it. And I don‘t know how critics are giving it positive reviews as it has nothing new. Probably they are tired of ripping apart all movies that have come their way this year or maybe it has been really a long time since some horror film hit the silver screen.
In a bid to overcome the punishing losses it suffered last year, the Hindi film industry is turning to a new genre of films - horror movies - to lure fans back to the cinema halls. But while Bollywood directors might have summoned the courage to break away from story lines with time-tested formulas, whether they can tell a scary tale on the big screen well enough remains to be seen.
Films like Raaz (Secret), Makdee (Spider) and Raat (Night), which dabble with the supernatural, have all done well at the box office. The runaway success last year of Raaz - it
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made Rs 280 million (US$6 million) on its Rs 50 million investment and is said to be among the most profitable movies made in recent years - appears to have ignited the idea that scaring sells. And now comes the huge success of Bhoot (Ghost). Over the first weekend of its release, Bhoot recovered the Rs 65 million invested in its making. Bhoot confirmed the signals sent out by Raaz last year that audiences were sick of saccharine-sweet love stories and wanted something different. Frightening audiences out of their wits, moviemakers realized, would not be such a bad idea after all. At least 10 horror films are scheduled for release this year. In Hawa (Wind), the rapist is a sinister spirit. In Saaya (Shadow), a surgeon's dead wife tries to reach out to him. Rudraksh (Seed), the source of the demon king Ravana's powers, sets off genetic mutation. The horror films that have been lined up for release from the year 2002 have much in common. For one, several of them are suspiciously similar to Hollywood films. Raaz was a remake of What Lies Beneath,Hawa is similar to The Entity and Anjaane (Unknown) is inspired byThe Others. Besides, all of them are being made with small budgets and tight schedules. Shooting for Saaya was completed in less than two months and on a budget of Rs 25
million, Anjaanewas
made
on
a
budget
of
Rs
40
million.
In the past, Bollywood's horror movies were set in remote bungalows; the ghost was usually a woman, long hair flowing, floating around in a white sari at night. Weird things happened only on stormy nights. The current wave of horror films is set in real surroundings - a flat in middle-class Mumbai or Delhi. The face of the supernatural is often unseen, the sound and visual effects more sophisticated. The recipe for a horror movie does not necessarily include blood-soaked teeth or chopped limbs. As Namrata Joshi points out in Outlook, "The idea is not to offer horror neat but as the main ingredient of a heady, entertaining cocktail."
Bollywood is turning to the paranormal to pull it out of the red, which is a rather scary thought.
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Why have horror films continued to find decent audiences at a time when many are shunning movie theaters? With all the talk of a box-office slump afflicting Hollywood in the year 2005, the lowly horror flick, which often lacks big special effects, bankable stars and favorable reviews from critics, has been a bright spot for the industry. "The Exorcism of Emily Rose," which debuted three weeks ago, has been a surprise hit for Sony(Research), generating nearly $63 million in ticket sales. Earlier this year, a remake of "The Amityville Horror" did about $64 million while "The Ring Two," a sequel to the 2002 blockbuster, brought in about $75 million. "Horror is one of those genres that have a seemingly inexhaustible supply of audience," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations Co, a box-office tracking firm. "And this year there has been a preponderance of ones that have done well." Robert Routh, a media analyst with Jefferies & Co., said that the subject of horror films lend themselves to more creative advertising campaigns. In addition, there's often a greater onus on making sure the story is interesting since horror movies usually don't rely on well-known movie starts. "The key is quality. Who plays what part is not as big of a driver that leads people to the box office as it is in an action/adventure film," said Routh. With this in mind, horror movies are also a boon for many studios. Since production costs are relatively low, it's a lot easier to make a healthy profit on a horror movie. "Horror always has a consistent audience. That doesn't often translate into blockbuster numbers but since they tend to be cheaper anyway, they don't need to do over $100 million," said Brandon Gray, president and publisher of Box Office Mojo, a movie research company.
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Take last year's "Saw." It was the first movie for its writer and director and its main star was Cary Elwes, a relatively well-regarded actor, but not someone in the league of Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt. "Saw" only cost an estimated $1.2 million to make but generated more than $55 million in box office receipts in the United States, according to Box Office Mojo. Lions Gate is obviously hoping to strike gold with the sequel and the small studio has a history of taking chances on horror movies. The studio released "The Devil's Rejects" this summer, a movie made by musician Rob Zombie. Although that generated just $17 million at the box office, it only cost an estimated $7 million to make. Lions Gate also had a hit with last year's minimalist shark attack movie "Open Water," which featured two unknown actors and cost just $500,000. It did about $30 million at the U.S. box office. "Lions Gate has generally been successful with horror and it's not surprising. Horror is the sort of thing that smaller independents have historically done well," said Dennis McAlpine, an independent media analyst. He pointed to how New Line Cinema, which is now a part of Time Warner (Research), made a name for itself in the 1980s with its popular "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series. (Time Warner also owns CNN/Money.) But Dergarabedian said that horror success isn't limited to independents. He said Sony has done a solid job of producing and marketing hits through its Screen Gems label.
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Summary Horror, at least after pornography, is perhaps the least reputable among all categories of film. The emotions it deals with are often tied up intimately to the body – rather than to the mind or the soul and these might be understood as unpleasant – fear, disgust and revulsion. Yet, there is a huge appetite for horror which continues even when other popular genres in cinema have lost their attraction. One of the key elements in most horror films is the ‗monster‘ – the horrific or repulsive object that no horror film can do without. I will try to investigate the reasons behind this sudden upsurge of the films which can be loosely clubbed under the ‗horror‘ genre. But I do not intend to limit the study to horror, but will try to address a larger domain, i.e., the realm of ‗dread‘. While doing so, I will also touch upon films that use sound to invoke the atmosphere of ‗dread‘. One could take into any mainstream Hindi film having some emphasis on the sound design to create the atmosphere of ‗dread‘. But before I start my analysis, I would like to suggest a distinction between two , ‗dread‘ and ‗fear‘, which will help me explain my point. Let me say what I mean by the distinction between ‗dread‘ and ‗fear‘. By ‗fear‘, I point to emotions of a more visceral kind, something like a physical threat, which does not leave its impact on a psychological level for a prolonged period. I do not mean fear does not have any psychological impact or it does not have any psychological basis attached to it. I am trying to point out that ‗fear‘ is more inclined towards an instant reaction and is definitely a short-lived one. In short, ‗fear‘ is more of a bodily reaction. ‗Dread‘, on the other hand, is a purely psychological phenomenon. It is meant to stay and it is often culture and class specific. ‗Dread‘ does not lie in the threat of being physically hurt, but in the anticipation of an unknown attack. I will try to elaborate on these further as the discussion proceeds. It is evident from the nature and subject of the films that there is a definite difference between films with supernatural subjects and those dealing with other subjects but using sound to invoke ‗dread‘. Therefore, I have tried to treat these two categories differently. Firstly, I will take up the case of horror films. The primary purpose of these films is to frighten the audience. Now, in the process of frightening people, horror films use two methods: either create some kind of a monster, or adopt a device to produce some kind of shock, Indian horror films can be divided distinctly in two different generations depending on their visual style, treatment and target audience. But what intrigues me is the marked shift in Page 26
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sound design over the last few years in horror films. Definitely, there is a shift in the visual style as they move from monsters to shock, from visceral ‗fear‘ to psychological ‗dread‘. But to study the change in sound design I would draw attention to the devices used to create ‗dread‘ and ‗fear‘ on screen. The Bollywood horror genre has changed significantly since the days of women screaming in bikinis. A sign of these changing times are the incoming fright flicks, armed to the teeth with new technology such as 3D to scare the pants of the modern audience. One such advocate is filmmaker Vikram Bhatt, whose next is touted to be the first Indian horror film in 3D.―It‘s been my most challenging and fulfilling movie. It was all new, the style was new, the technology was new,‖ he proclaims. Also on the horizon is filmmaker Ekta Kapoor‘s paranormal film. Ekta had described its original presentation, ―The way the film was run is a grabbed footage feed.‖ This style means the footage appears like an amateur home video. The method, which involved 24 cameras positioned at various angles in the house, is pioneering in Bollywood. The appearance of the footage as raw makes the story more believable because it downplays the presence of a movie crew and suggests it had happened in real life. Ekta had further stoked these fires saying, ―The footage is based on a true story.‖ The method used to film the horror flick has invoked comparisions to its Hollywood counterpart Paranormal Activity. But ask trade analyst Komal Nahta about the revolutionising of the horror genre with the latest technology, and he assesses that technology alone cannot be relied on to make a successful fright flick.
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Conclusion The Bollywood horror genre has changed significantly since the days of women screaming in bikinis and a sign of the times is the incoming fright flicks, armed to the teeth with new technology such as 3-D to scare the pants of the modern audience. One such advocate is Haunted 3D, that is credited asIndia‘s first stereoscopic 3D film and masterminded by horror maestro Vikram Bhatt. The director boasts just under 30 years of experience but still regards the film with precedence, ―Haunted is my most challenging and fulfilling movie. It was all new, the style was new, the technology was new. It is a unique milestone in Indian cinema,‖ he proclaims. Leading man Mahaksahy Chakraborty attests to the change in requirements of shooting in 3D, ―At first it was difficult to cope with 3D standards; you have to change how you talk, how you stand, and your body language. It was ten times tougher than a normal film.‖ According to Chakraborty, the hard work paid off. ―Haunted is absolutely revolutionary, it‘s ten leaps ahead by being in 3D and five leaps ahead in the Indian horror genre.‖ He believes the film‘s themes are a far cry from the blood and guts of Bollywood‘s Old School horror, which had earlier populated Bollywood. ―Haunted is very eerie, there are a lot of silences and it thrives on the emptiness of horror, leaving the audience guessing ‗what‘s going to happen next‘,‖ he describes. Also on the horizon is Ragini MMS, featuring a couple on a romantic getaway that is terrorized by a supernatural spirit. The producer, Ekta Kapoor, had described its original presentation, ―the way the film was run is a grabbed footage feed.‖ This style means the footage appears like an amateur home video. The method, which involved 24 cameras positioned at various angles in the house, is pioneering in Bollywood. The appearance of the footage as raw makes the story more believable because it downplays the presence of a movie crew and suggests it had happened in real life. Kapoor had further stoked these fires saying, ―The footage is based on a true story.‖ Though novel to Bollywood, Ragini’s has drawn comparisons with the Hollywood counterpartParanormal Activity because it was filmed in a similar format and even has the same storyline. Although itting Ragini was inspired by the way Paranormal Activity was filmed, Kapoor had denied any further likenesses.
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Ragini is another example of Bollywood filmmakers revolutionizing the horror genre by adopting innovative practices and Kapoor was reportedly optimistic for success, stating confidently, ―Ragini MMS will be the scariest movie to date in India.‖ Trade analyst Komal Nahta believes Haunted 3D will benefit from the novelty factor of being the first Indian film shot in 3D, but says horror films cannot count on technology alone for frights. ―Everyone is relying on technology to add to the horror but first and foremost the subject of the film must be horrifying, it needs a good story.‖ Also, the Hollywood movies do not lose touch from reality which Bollywood movies do very easily. Hollywood movies have good actors and mostly that is why the actors don‘t need too much make up because the acting does wonders whereas in Bollywood movies too much make up and the urge to prove to be better actor than the other spoils the soup. More than just making a big budgeted horror movie the west tries to make small budget movies with strong scripts and new talent so that the movie feels fresh. In Bollywood however the actors are repetitive and major actors are roped in or movies to make an effect on the box-office but the story and script are very weak! Hollywood movies are preferred any day rather than Bollywood movies because there are not much clichés and most of them are based on original script and real life situation and has something different to offer in every movie, whereas Bollywood continues with its love story and singing behind the trees and its USP that is melodrama which Indian audience is tired of watching. In spite of an apt with new technologies like 3D, better sound effects and VFXs Bollywood horror movies have failed to create an impact on Indian audiences. ―Everyone is relying on technology to add to the horror, but first and foremost the subject of the film must be horrifying, it needs to have a good story.‖
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For references please visit: http://movies.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Hindi_Horror_Movies http://entertainment.oneindia.in/bollywood/news/2011/vikram-bhatt-dub-voice-haunted220211-aid0097.html http://www.weknowfunny.com/HorrorBusinessPlan.pdf http://www.phalanx.in/pages/article_i006_nation_and_transgression.html http://www.jmionline.org/jmi6_8.html http://money.cnn.com/2005/09/30/news/fortune500/horror/index.htm
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COMPARATIVE STUDY OF HORROR FILMS MARKET (HOLLYWOOD AND BOLLYWOOD) IN INDIA.
Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the award of the Degree of Master of Business istration in MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT
By NEELAPU VIKASH RAO
Manipal University Bangalore Campus December 2011
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CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the dissertation entitled ―COMPARATIVE STUDY OF HORROR FILMS MARKET (HOLLYWOOD & BOLLYWOOD) IN INDIA‖ submitted by NEELAPU VIKASH RAO, In partial fulfilment of the requirement for the award of degree MASTER OF BUSINESS ISTRATION IN MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT to Manipal University Bangalore campus is a record of the candidate‘s own work carried out by him under my supervision. The matter embodied in this dissertation is original and has not been submitted for the award of any other degree.
Date :________________
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Acknowledgements We are extremely grateful to Ms Pa Srinivasan and Ms. Shinu Abhi for giving us the opportunity to work on this dessertation. Their constant guidance and motivation have helped us learn valuable lessons in research.
We would also like to thank our friends and family who stepped up to the occasion and helped us in data collection and took our research one step forward.
Special thanks to our celebrity interviewees, without whose input our research would have lacked the industry insight that it requires.
Thanks.
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S.No.
Title
Page No.
1
Certificate
2
2
Acknowledgements
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3
Executive Summary
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Introduction
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Introduction to the problem
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I. Title of the study II. Statement of the problem III. Objectives of the study IV. Scope of the study V. Limitations of the study
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Industry / Company profile I.
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Company Profile II. 8
Products/services profile
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Operational definitions Literature review Theories applicable to the study
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Research Methodology
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Data Analysis
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Comparative study and growth of
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Bollywood & Hollywood horror films. 12
Summary
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Executive summary The market: Horror is a genre that never goes out of style. These films provide best risk/reward ratio in the movie industry, and often enjoy box office success and video/DVD sales without major stars. They have lower budget than other genres and have a loyal audience in a most desirable demographic (18-35 year old)
The industry: low budget horror movies are major economic forces within the film industry. Haunted 3D in 2010 grossed Rs. 14.30 crores in week 1. 1920 took it over 4 crores in the 1st week in the year 2008, Darna Zaroori Hai in 2006 crossed 3.2 crores in the 1st week again. All these films were produced for under 1 crore approximately.
Global box office revenue of the entire industry is projected to grow US$ 10 billion to US$ 18 billion between 2000 to 2010, according to Baskerville communication. The National Association of the Theatre Owners (NATO) reported annual domestic ticket sales of $7.5 billion by the end of past decade, a 55 percent increase since 1990. The top 10 countries house 80 percent of the world screen count, while the United states, China and India for 67 percent of the global screen count.
Risk factor: although investors have the potential of making huge profits in the movie industry, the business of producing and distributing low budget films involves certain risk that are uncommon in most business. Such a venture is only suitable for person who do not require liquidity in their investments and who are prepared to lose the entire investment. No assurance can be give for the economic success of any motion pictures specially ‗horror films‘ which has a limited audience. If distributed there is no guarantee that the film will make money for the investors, the success of the project depends on many intangible factors including, but not limited to, public acceptance, which cannot be predicted. Therefore, investors should consider these factors carefully before making a decision to purchase any interest in the film project.
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INTRODUCTION Acc. to Willinsky – Lloyd : Horror is a genre that never goes out of style. These films provide the best risk/reward ratio in the movie industry, and often enjoy box office success and video/DVD sales without major starts. They have lower budgets than other genres, and they have a loyal audience in most desirable demographic (18-35 years old). The theme of nightmares, the psychological thrillers and terror, raise the dopamine level of our mind, it focuses or rivets our attention and captures our, albeit, base instinct, and forces us to undivided attention. In some ways, the conventions of realistic fiction and drama may impose serious limitations on a story. For one thing, if you play by the rules and respect the preparation and pace required to establish realism, it takes a lot longer to make a point than it does, say, in fantasy. At the same time, it is possible that this very work that contributes to a story's realism may weaken its grip on the unconscious. Realism is probably the best way to dramatize argument and ideas. Fantasy may deal best with themes which lie primarily in the unconscious. I think the unconscious appeal of a ghost story, for instance, lies in its promise of immortality. If you can be frightened by a ghost story, then you must accept the possibility that supernatural beings exist. If they do, then there is more than just oblivion waiting beyond the grave."
It is difficult to do justice to horror films in Bollywood with the lack of documentation and material available on the subject. Therefore, this article has been written almost entirely on the basis of memory. As a result there will be certain oversights but the idea is to pay some kind of homage to a genre that has managed to maintain its niche in India‘s massive film industry. The earliest ‗horror‘ films in Indian cinema revolved around themes of reincarnation and rebirth. Basically they were the typical old-fashioned ghost story. The attempt was not to scare as mush as to give the love story a new dimension. The most famous is probably Kamaal (Pakeezah) Amrohi‘s debut film Mahal, where the story lies in moving into an abandon mansion with a tragic history. Atmospherically photographed in the German expressionist style appropriately by the German cameraman Joseph Wirsching the film is heralded as an all time classic.
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the 1980s saw Indian horror become synonymous with low budget schlock churned out by the famous Ramsay Brothers. This family of filmmakers cornered the low budget market and for decades to come managed to produce horror film after horror film. The films were safe bets at the box -office often making their money back in their first week or then grossing impressively at the smaller rural 'B' and 'C' centres. Somewhat unfortunately, it did mean that the horror genre became ghettoized and never really broke out of that narrow mould. The horror film genre continued to remain stuck in a warp which saw films that were made on a shoe string budget, had amazingly awful special effects and repeated all the same people film after film. And yet the films had great entertainment value and at least offered something different from the mainstream.
In an industry known to be formulaic, making a horror film can be quite a terrifying proposition
When Karan Johar decided to produce the big-budget Kaal, he itted that he was petrified of the horror film genre. Whether the film's story scared him is not known, but its distributors sure had a frightening experience after its release. Making horror films is not very high on Hindi film-makers' agenda, and apart from the Ramsay films spanning three decades — the 70s, 80s, and 90s — there have only been a handful that spring to mind. Ram Gopal Varma, who has given the genre a new lease lately, disagrees. "Fear is a universal emotion. And you would be surprised to know that many so-called 'high-society' multiplex audiences are extremely superstitious and believe in ghosts and spirits," says Varma, whose latest film Phoonk (releasing on Friday) deals with black magic. Varma was one of the few directors to have dabbled in a horror film early on in his career with Raat, and in spite of not achieving massive success in the genre, he has been dishing out horror films once every few years. Vaastu Shastra, Darna Mana Hai and its sequel, Darna Zaroori Hai, may have done average to bad business, but 2003's Bhoot was a hit. ―A number of horror films were announced after Bhoot's success, none of which saw the light of the day due to lack of buyers," says Deepak Ramsay, of the aptly named production house
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Ramsay House Of Horrors, who now carries forward the family tradition of making horror films. "We make much fewer films now. However, we still stick to our old formula of casting newcomers, coupled with a small budget and a strong story to back it up," says Ramsay, who directed the small-budget Aatma in 2006. Few know the ingredients for a successful horror film. The one-dimensional motive of creating 'fear' is something that a viewer, shelling out big bucks for a film has more often than not, rejected. Maybe that's why, when the Bhatts decided to make the 'supernatural thriller', Raaz, they ensured the audience got more than jus a few hair-raising moments. "Raaz had some great music and was packaged as a 21st Century film. Every time you say 'horror' in Hindi films, you think of C-grade films with bad special effects," says Mahesh Bhatt, who wrote the film. He believes that it was the blend of Indian mythology and a Western approach that did the trick. "We plan to take that forward with our next, Raaz — The Mystery Continues," says Bhatt. Varma, however, has stuck to a more traditional approach of making horror films — where creating fear is the most important motive. And he believes that doing that takes some effort, and talent. "Unlike in romantic or comedy films, you need a certain amount of technical finesse while directing horrors. Besides, you need to have an interest in the genre itself," says Varma. That fact is: Not many are willing to put money in the genre due to its poor track record. Raj Kumar Gupta, who directed the critically-acclaimed Aamir, says that in an industry governed by success, you need one hit horror film to make it the 'hot' subject among film-makers. "If one works, there'll be a slew of them made in its wake," says Gupta, who its that he wouldn't mind making a horror film if he gets his hands on a 'scary' enough script.
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Title of the study: COMPARATIVE STUDY OF HORROR FILMS MARKET (HOLLYWOOD AND BOLLYWOOD) IN INDIA.
Statement of the problem: Hindi ‗horror‘ films have been operating mostly in the ―B‖ grade halls, offering a sleazy kind of entertainment to a lower class audience. Such films have suffered from all sorts of problems arising out of working in the underbelly of the industry. These used to be typically low budget films. But recently, one can observe a change in the production of horror films. Films dealing with supernatural subjects have been catching up with their romantic or other generic counterparts. But what is more interesting about this phenomenon is the use of sound in them. There is much debate whether Indian films can be classified into genres, but definitely there are instances where a certain group of films can be clubbed together according to thematic preoccupations. The Indian horror film, in that sense, can constitute a generic object for us. Why do audiences in India prefer Hollywood horror films than Bollywood horror films?
Objectives:
To study the loyal demography of horror movies.
To study the international industry (market and business model) of horror movies (horror movies have lower budget than other genres.)
To understand the scope of production and distribution of horror films.
To study the risk factors involved in horror movies.
To understand the audience‘s perception for the Bollywood horror films.
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Scope of the study: This research would give a clear understanding of the horror film industry of both Bollywood as well as Hollywood. This findings would help the audiences to understand the market of Bollywood horror films and give a clear idea about the business and reasons behind this sudden upsurge of the films which can be loosely clubbed under the ‗horror‘ genre.
Limitations of the study Whether the concerned people would use our findings is a matter of worry and doubt. Since Some research findings on this topic are well known people could lose interest in answering our research procedure. The industry may not find anything novel in our findings. Since most audiences are in favour of horror films, the questionnaire results would not tell what lies beneath the iceberg.
Industry profile: Bollywood Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Bollywood is the largest film producer in India and one of the largest centers of film production in the world. The term "Bollywood" has origins in the 1970s, when India overtook America as the world's largest film producer. Credit for the term has been claimed by several different people, including the lyricist, filmmaker and scholar Amit Khanna,and the journalist Bevinda Collaco. History: Raja Harishchandra (1913), by Dadasaheb Phalke, was the first silent feature film made in India. By the 1930s, the industry was producing over 200 films per annum. The first Indian sound film, Ardeshir Irani's Alam Ara (1931), was a major commercial success.There was clearly a huge market for talkies and musicals; Bollywood and all the regional film industries quickly switched to sound filming. In 1937, Ardeshir Irani, of Alam Ara fame, made the first colour film in Hindi, Kisan Kanya. The next year, he made another colour film, a version ofMother India. However, colour did
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not become a popular feature until the late 1950s. At this time, lavish romantic musicals and melodramas were the staple fare at the cinema. Genre conventions: Bollywood films are mostly musicals, and are expected to contain catchy music in the form of song-and-dance numbers woven into the script. A film's success often depends on the quality of such musical numbers. Indeed, a film's music is often released before the movie itself and helps increase the audience. Indian audiences expect full value for their money, with a good entertainer generally referred to as paisa vasool, (literally, "money's worth"). Songs and dances, love triangles, comedyand dare-devil thrills are all mixed up in a three-hour-long extravaganza with an intermission. Such movies are called masala films, after the Hindi word for a spice mixture. Like masalas, these movies are a mixture of many things such as action, comedy, romance and so on. Most films have heroes who are able to fight off villains all by themselves Bollywood plots have tended to be melodramatic. They frequently employ formulaic ingredients such as star-crossed lovers and angry parents, love triangles, family ties, sacrifice, corrupt politicians, kidnappers, conniving villains, courtesans with hearts of gold, long-lost relatives and siblings separated by fate, dramatic reversals of fortune, and convenient coincidences. There have always been Indian films with more artistic aims and more sophisticated stories, both inside and outside the Bollywood tradition. They often lost out at the box office to movies with more mass appeal. Bollywood conventions are changing, however. A large Indian diaspora in English speaking countries, and increased Western influence at home, have nudged Bollywood films closer to Hollywood models. Film critic Lata Khubchandani writes,"..our earliest films...had liberal doses of sex and kissing scenes in them. Strangely, it was after Independence the censor board came into being and so did all the strictures." Plots now tend to feature Westernised urbanites dating and dancing in clubs rather than centering on pre-arranged marriages. Though these changes can widely be seen in contemporary Bollywood, traditional conservative ways of Indian culture continue to exist in India outside the industry and an element of resistance by some to western-based influences. Despite this, Bollywood continues to play a major role in fashion in India. Indeed some studies into fashion in India have revealed that some people are unaware that the changing nature of fashion in Bollywood films which are presented to them
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are often influenced by globalisation and many consider the clothes worn by Bollywood actors as authentically Indian.
Bollywood horror films have been a sub-genre of the Indian film industry since its early days. In common with horror films from other countries the films generally consist of darkness, an old mansion, or an evil being in search of power or revenge. Although critics have cited the films' violence, the films have garnered a niche audience and surprisingly some of them have become mainstream hits. If one carefully analyzes the evolution of the horror genre in Bollywood, it is observed that the earliest horror movies turned out to be super hits at the box office, but the filmmakers of the 80s and 90s were not able to do justice to such movies, since they lacked good scripts, proper research, direction and resources which is a prerequisite to make a good horror movie.
The earliest groundbreaking Hindi horror film Mahal was released in 1949. Directed by Kamal Amrohi, it had reincarnation as its theme, and was one of the biggest box-office hits of the year. The 1960s witnessed two major blockbusters; Biren Nag‘s Bees Saal Baad (1962) and Raja Nawathe‘s Gumnaam (1965) that topped the box-office charts. Moving to the era of 70s, the horror movies were usually based on the concept of the supernatural. The two films by Rajkumar Santoshi featuring a huge ensemble cast; the 1976 Nagin and the 1979 Jaani Dushman were major success and super hits at the box office. 1980s Gehrayee (inspired by The Exorcist) based on the subject of possession, is one of the finest and the most remarkable horror films to emerge from Bollywood, which invested more in its plot and superb performance of the actors, than the gruesome horror techniques and nasty exorcisms.
The 80s and 90s marked the entry of various new filmmakers who came up with numerous low-budget films. Ramsays in particular cornered the low-budget market for horror movies and continued producing such movies for years. Starting with their initial success Do Gaz Zameen ke Neeche in 1972, they kept the trend alive for almost two decades, few of them being Bandh Darwaaza, Veerana, Sannata, Purani Haveli, Guest House, Tahkhana, Shaitani Ilaaka, Purana Mandir etc.
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The movies ran on an average basis and often grossed good collections at the box office The creations were mostly B-grade films with low-budget, inexperienced cast which undeniably failed to make a mark on the screen. The stories had nothing unusual to offer, the plot being usually of distorted faced creatures and evil spirits haunting the villages or an ancestral bungalow. The opening scene would usually be a dark-stormy night, pouring down ominous hosepipes of rain, with the howling of dogs and wolves as the background music. The ghosts wore those typical, ugly rubber-masks, seemed to have been bought from some substandard shop. And they would end with a ridiculous exorcism being carried out by some brainless, ultra-idiotic personalities (Read tantriks). Most popular attraction about these movies was women with microscopic-mini skirts accompanied by the shower and bedroom scenes featuring unattractive bimbos with voluptuous bodies. The cheesiest things perhaps were the names, some of them being Shaitaani Khopdi, Khooni Aankhen, Chudail No.1, Bhayaanak Panjaa, Khooni Dracula and the like. Can you imagine yourself watching such nasty flicks?
Then came Raaz in 2002, a thrilling and musical remake of the Hollywood flick What Lies Beneath. The approach employed by Vikram Bhatt here was much better than the usual Hindi horror movies. There were no ghastly rubber masks, nor was there much of nudity (though the movie did have a few steamy scenes). The cast‘s acting was far better than expected, though viewers ended up laughing at a few scenes than getting scared. There was an exorcism, but the customary tantrik with a long-beard and black robe was replaced by a modern, scholarly Professor who also possesses a sixth-sense. The film made for a good onetime watch. At present, Ram Gopal Varma seems to be monopolizing the Indian horror film market. It is evident that he spent considerable time in watching the foreign classics like Poltergeist, Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Evil Dead, The Exorcist, Amityville Horror, Childs Play, The Eye and so on. His creations, which include Raat(1991), Kaun(1999), Bhoot(2003), Darna Mana Hai(2003) ,Vaastu Shastra(2004), Naina(2005), Darna Zaroori Hai(2006) and the newly released Phoonk, are clearly a very Indianish blend of scenes carefully morphed from all these films. But thanks to the strong performances by the actors, good direction, subtle special effects and chilling sound effects, the movies have done fairly well at the box office and proved successful in sending chills down quite a few spines.
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Manipal University, MBA in Media & Entertainment
2012
Literature review The Hindi Horror Movie Genre In the past, Hindi horror movies haven't fared quite as well as the musicals churned out of Bollywood every year. The reputation of these once poorly made films seemed to follow them throughout the decades and Hindi horror filmmakers have been working overtime to put that reputation behind them. Some moviegoers even classified these films that were produced with the purpose of scaring them, into the comedy category due to their weak plot lines and laughable effects. All this is gradually changing, though it may be quite some time before the horror films are as slickly produced as the Bollywood musicals that have experienced an enormous amount of success worldwide. Older Hindi Horror Movies The plot lines in older horror movies made in Bollywood were centered around classic ghost stories about reincarnated souls. In the late 1970's and 1980's, the plot lines in the films took a turn from spooky ghost stories to movies featuring serial killers and the like. This is also the time period where the most well known Hindi horror film directors, the Ramsay brothers, surfaced as the so-called "kings" of the "B-movie" horror genre in Bollywood. Ramsay Brothers Movies
These brothers whipped out hundreds of horror movies over the decades. Almost all of the Ramsay brothers' films followed relatively the same format:
A scantily clad heroine
A scantily clad best friend of the heroine
A muscular hero
A flashback montage in the beginning
Dark and spooky places
Ominous mood music that plays throughout the film
Scary monsters
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Manipal University, MBA in Media & Entertainment
2012
The death of someone in the beginning that swears revenge on the people who have done wrong by him (or her) in the beginning of the film.
Even though the plots of these movies all seemed to be the same, people never became bored of Ramsay brothers produced horror movies. Thus they became known as the "kings" of the horror movie genre. Even with this measured amount of success with these films, they were still considered to be "B" type movies and not the special effects extravaganzas of the typical western horror film. Present Day Hindi Horror Films The success of the Ramsay brothers' movies began ebbing a bit in the 1990's. Audiences began yearning for more sophisticated films to scare them. Horror films began evolving out of the sort of "monster movies" to supernatural and psychological thrillers. Of course, the Ramsay brothers continue to make the "monster movie" type films, which continue to have a strong and loyal following.
Some Movies to Check Out Here's a short list of some websites where you can check out a few clips and trailers from a few different types of Hindi horror films and maybe get a few suggestions along the way:
The Hot Spot Online
The Bollywood Horror Society
Bollywood Sargam
Calcutta Tube
Planet Bollywood
Something for Everyone The production of Bollywood horror films has definitely come a long way and they may still have a ways to go before they reach the sophistication of western produced horror films. You have to , these films don't have the multi-million dollar budget that most American made films have, so they really shouldn't be compared side by side. Hindi movies generally
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Manipal University, MBA in Media & Entertainment
2012
have about one-tenth of the budget that American made horror movies have. Even with the much smaller budget, the films produced are, if anything, entertaining. It doesn't matter if you love the monster type movies akin to an Attack of the Killer Tomatoes western produced film or if you love scary movies more along the lines of psychological or supernatural thrillers, Bollywood horror films definitely have a little something for everyone to enjoy.
Hypothesis: The hypothesis is that the audience would prefer to watch Hollywood horror films than Bollywood horror movies.
Sampling: 1. The sample size taken for this paper is 100 respondents. 2. The respondents are from various cities in India – Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Manipal, New Delhi.
Tools for Data Collection: The major tool used for this report was online questionnaire. In addition to this, we conducted telephonic conversations.
Methods of Data Analysis:
Interpretation of Interviews and Articles.
Data Presentation and Statistical Analysis.
Research Methodology: The type of research and research design: 1. Exploratory 2. Descriptive 3. Causal
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Manipal University, MBA in Media & Entertainment
2012
Our research is fundamentally exploratory and causal in nature. It involves an analysis of: what-why -when-where-who-how a descriptive type of research would help us in:
1. Description of population characteristics 2. Estimates of frequency of characteristics 3. Discovery of associations among variables
Causal effects are a primary study. The types of research1. Reporting 2. Descriptive 3. Explanatory The research environment-field conditions formal survey and interviews with directors/cast & crew and audiences of horror films observation of the audience's likes, I am conducting an analysis and assessment to understand the ‗reason why do people watch horror films and what are the conventions the audience look forward to watch a horror films‘.
The types of marketing research done1. Film promotion research: to track the efficacy of promotions through various media, to get attention, communicate the message, build the brand's image and motivate the consumer to purchase the product or service. 2. Brand attribute research: what are the key traits that describe the brand promise that lure the audience? 3. Commercial eye tracking research: examine film promotions, film distribution, websites, etc, by analysing visual buying behaviour of the consumers. 4. Cool hunting: to make observations and predictions in changes of new or existing cultural trends in areas such as fashion, music, films, television, youth culture and lifestyle. 5. Buyer decision processes research: to determine what motivates people to buy and what decision making process they use. 6. We are studying the audience level of attention, motivation, entertainment and communication, as well as breaking down the movies flow of attention and flow of emotions.
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Manipal University, MBA in Media & Entertainment
7. Segmentation research: to determine the demographic, psychographic and behavioural characteristics of potential buyers. 8. Online : groups of individuals who have accepted to respond to research online.
Our stages of research: purpose-population-procedure-publication Where: Purpose: covers the objectives Population: prompts the researcher to consider the target audience, customer Procedure: concerns data capture, processing and analysis Publication: communicating results by written report and spoken presentation summary of findings, analysis and suggestions.
Data Analysis
According to the graphical representations of Age groups and their preference to watch horror films. Horror movies have designated target audiences of the age group between 21 to 30 years old.
2% 4%
Age group 14%
80%
A 16-20 B 21-30 C 31-40 D 40 & abv \
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Manipal University, MBA in Media & Entertainment
From the graphapical representation and analysis of what scares people the most in a horror film? We found that people get invoked to the atmosphere of ‗dread‘ with more real life situation documentary in a horror films
What scares you the most in a horror film? 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
39.5% 25% 14.5%
Mysterious Creatures
11.8%
Psycho Killers
Cannibals
9.2% Real life situations
others
From the cross tabulation and graph representation of within horror movies, what are their favourite genre of the audiences?
The factor analysis of attitudes related to the favourite genre after studying the ranking preferences of the audiences, we understand that people mostly prefer Monster based movies followed by Blood and Gore and so on with the least ranked is Psychological.
45 40 35 30
Rank 1
25
Rank 2
20
Rank3
15
Rank4
10
Rank5
5 0 Blood and Psychological Gore
Thriller
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Monster based
Paranormal
2012
Manipal University, MBA in Media & Entertainment
When asked people do u think that Bollywood creates as horrifying horror films as Hollywood?
Clearly 91% with no bias and inclination towards the Indian cinema people said NO.
Do you think Bollywood creates as horrifying horror films as Hollywood? 6%
Yes
94%
When asked “What do you think Bollywood movies are based on”??
And the options given to them were as follows: 1. Original script 2. Real life situation 3. Copied from Hollywood 84.3% said ―It‘s copied from Hollywood‖.
Bollywood Scripts are based on?? 11.8
3.9 Original script Real life situation Coppied from Hollywood
84.3
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No
Manipal University, MBA in Media & Entertainment
2012
The factor analysis of the attitudes and preferences of the audiences, If given a choice to between an Hollywood horror film and Bollywood horror film?
The graphical representation says:
PREFRENCE 10% Hollywood Horror Movies Bollywood Horror Movies 90%
Comparative study and growth of Bollywood & Hollywood horror films The downfall of Bollywood horror films with the re-definition of ―spookisim‖ by Ramsay brothers who actually defined the B-grade film genre with some pathetic movies, some of which were actually runaway successes, the movie plot revolved around evil spirits and deformed creatures terrorizing villages. The most popular targets were thinly clad women. In between the horror (if there was any) there was a liberal sprinkling of sex and as much nudity that could un-censored! It was their ―success‖ formula which they rarely deviated from. Well the situation did not improve in late eighties when lazy rip-offs from Hollywood were made. We had the classic Exorcist remade as Jaadu Tona!Poltergeist was remade as Raat by none other than Ram Gopal Verma. Where in Hollywood, horror and thrillers were emerging
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Manipal University, MBA in Media & Entertainment
2012
as a competing and memorable genre with path breaking films like Rosemary‘s Baby, Psycho, Hell Raiser, The Shining and Frankenstein to name a few; in Bollywood we saw this genre being cornered by low budgets, stereotyping and bad filmmaking. In 1999, we saw Ram Gopal Verma return with the psychotic thriller Kaun? which was like fresh air for this dying area of films with Urmila Matondkar‘s performance. However, later years were disappointing. The Bhatt camp produced the famous Raaz which was an adaptation of What Lies Beneath. There was a string of some bad films like Hum Kaun Hai starring Amitabh Bachchan which was a blot on The Others, Hawastarring Tabu, which I never saw and some others which no one really bothered about. In the recent past, we have seen only Ram Gopal Verma trying to come up with horror movies which really don‘t scare you but just disturb you enough to make you think why you come to see this movie in the first place. Bhoot was an exception due to good acting, but as far as the plot is concerned, the lesser said the better. Then of course, the Darna Mana Hai series, Vaastu Shastra and Darling proved to be detrimental to the careers of the actors concerned. I would like to remind you of the apple story in the former which was ―really‖ scary! This was some movie which dragged people to the theatre after a person suffered a heart attack while watching it. Bless the poor soul! Question is: did he suffer from fear or sheer agony of the movie? Well the director does not want to give up. Seems he is not going to till he gets a forced super hit (no pun intended). Here I find it necessary to mention the recent Phoonk which was actually the inspiration to write this article. Apart from the weird name, it really has not much in it. And I don‘t know how critics are giving it positive reviews as it has nothing new. Probably they are tired of ripping apart all movies that have come their way this year or maybe it has been really a long time since some horror film hit the silver screen.
In a bid to overcome the punishing losses it suffered last year, the Hindi film industry is turning to a new genre of films - horror movies - to lure fans back to the cinema halls. But while Bollywood directors might have summoned the courage to break away from story lines with time-tested formulas, whether they can tell a scary tale on the big screen well enough remains to be seen.
Films like Raaz (Secret), Makdee (Spider) and Raat (Night), which dabble with the supernatural, have all done well at the box office. The runaway success last year of Raaz - it
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Manipal University, MBA in Media & Entertainment
made Rs 280 million (US$6 million) on its Rs 50 million investment and is said to be among the most profitable movies made in recent years - appears to have ignited the idea that scaring sells. And now comes the huge success of Bhoot (Ghost). Over the first weekend of its release, Bhoot recovered the Rs 65 million invested in its making. Bhoot confirmed the signals sent out by Raaz last year that audiences were sick of saccharine-sweet love stories and wanted something different. Frightening audiences out of their wits, moviemakers realized, would not be such a bad idea after all. At least 10 horror films are scheduled for release this year. In Hawa (Wind), the rapist is a sinister spirit. In Saaya (Shadow), a surgeon's dead wife tries to reach out to him. Rudraksh (Seed), the source of the demon king Ravana's powers, sets off genetic mutation. The horror films that have been lined up for release from the year 2002 have much in common. For one, several of them are suspiciously similar to Hollywood films. Raaz was a remake of What Lies Beneath,Hawa is similar to The Entity and Anjaane (Unknown) is inspired byThe Others. Besides, all of them are being made with small budgets and tight schedules. Shooting for Saaya was completed in less than two months and on a budget of Rs 25
million, Anjaanewas
made
on
a
budget
of
Rs
40
million.
In the past, Bollywood's horror movies were set in remote bungalows; the ghost was usually a woman, long hair flowing, floating around in a white sari at night. Weird things happened only on stormy nights. The current wave of horror films is set in real surroundings - a flat in middle-class Mumbai or Delhi. The face of the supernatural is often unseen, the sound and visual effects more sophisticated. The recipe for a horror movie does not necessarily include blood-soaked teeth or chopped limbs. As Namrata Joshi points out in Outlook, "The idea is not to offer horror neat but as the main ingredient of a heady, entertaining cocktail."
Bollywood is turning to the paranormal to pull it out of the red, which is a rather scary thought.
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Manipal University, MBA in Media & Entertainment
2012
Why have horror films continued to find decent audiences at a time when many are shunning movie theaters? With all the talk of a box-office slump afflicting Hollywood in the year 2005, the lowly horror flick, which often lacks big special effects, bankable stars and favorable reviews from critics, has been a bright spot for the industry. "The Exorcism of Emily Rose," which debuted three weeks ago, has been a surprise hit for Sony(Research), generating nearly $63 million in ticket sales. Earlier this year, a remake of "The Amityville Horror" did about $64 million while "The Ring Two," a sequel to the 2002 blockbuster, brought in about $75 million. "Horror is one of those genres that have a seemingly inexhaustible supply of audience," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations Co, a box-office tracking firm. "And this year there has been a preponderance of ones that have done well." Robert Routh, a media analyst with Jefferies & Co., said that the subject of horror films lend themselves to more creative advertising campaigns. In addition, there's often a greater onus on making sure the story is interesting since horror movies usually don't rely on well-known movie starts. "The key is quality. Who plays what part is not as big of a driver that leads people to the box office as it is in an action/adventure film," said Routh. With this in mind, horror movies are also a boon for many studios. Since production costs are relatively low, it's a lot easier to make a healthy profit on a horror movie. "Horror always has a consistent audience. That doesn't often translate into blockbuster numbers but since they tend to be cheaper anyway, they don't need to do over $100 million," said Brandon Gray, president and publisher of Box Office Mojo, a movie research company.
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2012
Take last year's "Saw." It was the first movie for its writer and director and its main star was Cary Elwes, a relatively well-regarded actor, but not someone in the league of Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt. "Saw" only cost an estimated $1.2 million to make but generated more than $55 million in box office receipts in the United States, according to Box Office Mojo. Lions Gate is obviously hoping to strike gold with the sequel and the small studio has a history of taking chances on horror movies. The studio released "The Devil's Rejects" this summer, a movie made by musician Rob Zombie. Although that generated just $17 million at the box office, it only cost an estimated $7 million to make. Lions Gate also had a hit with last year's minimalist shark attack movie "Open Water," which featured two unknown actors and cost just $500,000. It did about $30 million at the U.S. box office. "Lions Gate has generally been successful with horror and it's not surprising. Horror is the sort of thing that smaller independents have historically done well," said Dennis McAlpine, an independent media analyst. He pointed to how New Line Cinema, which is now a part of Time Warner (Research), made a name for itself in the 1980s with its popular "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series. (Time Warner also owns CNN/Money.) But Dergarabedian said that horror success isn't limited to independents. He said Sony has done a solid job of producing and marketing hits through its Screen Gems label.
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Manipal University, MBA in Media & Entertainment
2012
Summary Horror, at least after pornography, is perhaps the least reputable among all categories of film. The emotions it deals with are often tied up intimately to the body – rather than to the mind or the soul and these might be understood as unpleasant – fear, disgust and revulsion. Yet, there is a huge appetite for horror which continues even when other popular genres in cinema have lost their attraction. One of the key elements in most horror films is the ‗monster‘ – the horrific or repulsive object that no horror film can do without. I will try to investigate the reasons behind this sudden upsurge of the films which can be loosely clubbed under the ‗horror‘ genre. But I do not intend to limit the study to horror, but will try to address a larger domain, i.e., the realm of ‗dread‘. While doing so, I will also touch upon films that use sound to invoke the atmosphere of ‗dread‘. One could take into any mainstream Hindi film having some emphasis on the sound design to create the atmosphere of ‗dread‘. But before I start my analysis, I would like to suggest a distinction between two , ‗dread‘ and ‗fear‘, which will help me explain my point. Let me say what I mean by the distinction between ‗dread‘ and ‗fear‘. By ‗fear‘, I point to emotions of a more visceral kind, something like a physical threat, which does not leave its impact on a psychological level for a prolonged period. I do not mean fear does not have any psychological impact or it does not have any psychological basis attached to it. I am trying to point out that ‗fear‘ is more inclined towards an instant reaction and is definitely a short-lived one. In short, ‗fear‘ is more of a bodily reaction. ‗Dread‘, on the other hand, is a purely psychological phenomenon. It is meant to stay and it is often culture and class specific. ‗Dread‘ does not lie in the threat of being physically hurt, but in the anticipation of an unknown attack. I will try to elaborate on these further as the discussion proceeds. It is evident from the nature and subject of the films that there is a definite difference between films with supernatural subjects and those dealing with other subjects but using sound to invoke ‗dread‘. Therefore, I have tried to treat these two categories differently. Firstly, I will take up the case of horror films. The primary purpose of these films is to frighten the audience. Now, in the process of frightening people, horror films use two methods: either create some kind of a monster, or adopt a device to produce some kind of shock, Indian horror films can be divided distinctly in two different generations depending on their visual style, treatment and target audience. But what intrigues me is the marked shift in Page 26
Manipal University, MBA in Media & Entertainment
2012
sound design over the last few years in horror films. Definitely, there is a shift in the visual style as they move from monsters to shock, from visceral ‗fear‘ to psychological ‗dread‘. But to study the change in sound design I would draw attention to the devices used to create ‗dread‘ and ‗fear‘ on screen. The Bollywood horror genre has changed significantly since the days of women screaming in bikinis. A sign of these changing times are the incoming fright flicks, armed to the teeth with new technology such as 3D to scare the pants of the modern audience. One such advocate is filmmaker Vikram Bhatt, whose next is touted to be the first Indian horror film in 3D.―It‘s been my most challenging and fulfilling movie. It was all new, the style was new, the technology was new,‖ he proclaims. Also on the horizon is filmmaker Ekta Kapoor‘s paranormal film. Ekta had described its original presentation, ―The way the film was run is a grabbed footage feed.‖ This style means the footage appears like an amateur home video. The method, which involved 24 cameras positioned at various angles in the house, is pioneering in Bollywood. The appearance of the footage as raw makes the story more believable because it downplays the presence of a movie crew and suggests it had happened in real life. Ekta had further stoked these fires saying, ―The footage is based on a true story.‖ The method used to film the horror flick has invoked comparisions to its Hollywood counterpart Paranormal Activity. But ask trade analyst Komal Nahta about the revolutionising of the horror genre with the latest technology, and he assesses that technology alone cannot be relied on to make a successful fright flick.
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Manipal University, MBA in Media & Entertainment
2012
Conclusion The Bollywood horror genre has changed significantly since the days of women screaming in bikinis and a sign of the times is the incoming fright flicks, armed to the teeth with new technology such as 3-D to scare the pants of the modern audience. One such advocate is Haunted 3D, that is credited asIndia‘s first stereoscopic 3D film and masterminded by horror maestro Vikram Bhatt. The director boasts just under 30 years of experience but still regards the film with precedence, ―Haunted is my most challenging and fulfilling movie. It was all new, the style was new, the technology was new. It is a unique milestone in Indian cinema,‖ he proclaims. Leading man Mahaksahy Chakraborty attests to the change in requirements of shooting in 3D, ―At first it was difficult to cope with 3D standards; you have to change how you talk, how you stand, and your body language. It was ten times tougher than a normal film.‖ According to Chakraborty, the hard work paid off. ―Haunted is absolutely revolutionary, it‘s ten leaps ahead by being in 3D and five leaps ahead in the Indian horror genre.‖ He believes the film‘s themes are a far cry from the blood and guts of Bollywood‘s Old School horror, which had earlier populated Bollywood. ―Haunted is very eerie, there are a lot of silences and it thrives on the emptiness of horror, leaving the audience guessing ‗what‘s going to happen next‘,‖ he describes. Also on the horizon is Ragini MMS, featuring a couple on a romantic getaway that is terrorized by a supernatural spirit. The producer, Ekta Kapoor, had described its original presentation, ―the way the film was run is a grabbed footage feed.‖ This style means the footage appears like an amateur home video. The method, which involved 24 cameras positioned at various angles in the house, is pioneering in Bollywood. The appearance of the footage as raw makes the story more believable because it downplays the presence of a movie crew and suggests it had happened in real life. Kapoor had further stoked these fires saying, ―The footage is based on a true story.‖ Though novel to Bollywood, Ragini’s has drawn comparisons with the Hollywood counterpartParanormal Activity because it was filmed in a similar format and even has the same storyline. Although itting Ragini was inspired by the way Paranormal Activity was filmed, Kapoor had denied any further likenesses.
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Manipal University, MBA in Media & Entertainment
2012
Ragini is another example of Bollywood filmmakers revolutionizing the horror genre by adopting innovative practices and Kapoor was reportedly optimistic for success, stating confidently, ―Ragini MMS will be the scariest movie to date in India.‖ Trade analyst Komal Nahta believes Haunted 3D will benefit from the novelty factor of being the first Indian film shot in 3D, but says horror films cannot count on technology alone for frights. ―Everyone is relying on technology to add to the horror but first and foremost the subject of the film must be horrifying, it needs a good story.‖ Also, the Hollywood movies do not lose touch from reality which Bollywood movies do very easily. Hollywood movies have good actors and mostly that is why the actors don‘t need too much make up because the acting does wonders whereas in Bollywood movies too much make up and the urge to prove to be better actor than the other spoils the soup. More than just making a big budgeted horror movie the west tries to make small budget movies with strong scripts and new talent so that the movie feels fresh. In Bollywood however the actors are repetitive and major actors are roped in or movies to make an effect on the box-office but the story and script are very weak! Hollywood movies are preferred any day rather than Bollywood movies because there are not much clichés and most of them are based on original script and real life situation and has something different to offer in every movie, whereas Bollywood continues with its love story and singing behind the trees and its USP that is melodrama which Indian audience is tired of watching. In spite of an apt with new technologies like 3D, better sound effects and VFXs Bollywood horror movies have failed to create an impact on Indian audiences. ―Everyone is relying on technology to add to the horror, but first and foremost the subject of the film must be horrifying, it needs to have a good story.‖
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2012
For references please visit: http://movies.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Hindi_Horror_Movies http://entertainment.oneindia.in/bollywood/news/2011/vikram-bhatt-dub-voice-haunted220211-aid0097.html http://www.weknowfunny.com/HorrorBusinessPlan.pdf http://www.phalanx.in/pages/article_i006_nation_and_transgression.html http://www.jmionline.org/jmi6_8.html http://money.cnn.com/2005/09/30/news/fortune500/horror/index.htm
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