Honestly, I really don't see Ajay as some messiah out to improve the big bad world of Bollywood where everything can be fair and all. He's doing this because his film is not the getting the kind of release he wants. Do we really think that if SOS was clashing with some Tushar Kapoor film, Ajay would NOT get the majority of the screens and thus "monopolize" the market for himself? I certainly don't see him complaining then. I don't even think he would complain if he had gotten to the screens first.
His partners Viacom and Eros are dead silent on the issue...Eros probably because of this:
Komal Nahta ?@KomalNahta
1 exhibitr sittng in my ofice says,Eros (distributr of SOS)had also clubbed Ra.1,Rockstr,Desi Boyz last yr.while signing deals with cinemas.
It's stupid to take someone to court for doing the same thing you did simply because they were smart enough to do so 3-4 months earlier before you even bothered.
Secondly, I really don't see this helping out any small time filmmakers who can't get a wide release because of clashes with big PH's. So let's say, the government agrees such tie-in agreements are illegal, then what? PH's will approach exhibitors for each film separately and they will still get the majority of the screens.
Suppose you're the exhibitor and you have a big PH like Eros, YRF, Viacom, UTV with films starring big stars like SRK,Sallu, Aamir, Ajay, Akshay, Katrina, etc...vs a comparatively small film with not-so-well known directors, cast...Which one are you going to preference to? Obviously the one with the big names right? Which one is the audience most likely to watch? The film with big names obviously. It may not be fair to all parties involved, but it's the truth...not only of BW but every business in the world. Consumers give preference to names they know, not those they don't. So if we want the "underdogs" to get preference, then the whole system itself has to be changed...which is well, easier said than done. These small fights won't do anything to make the industry "fairer," at least not in my opinion.
Edited by chocolover89 - 11 years ago