Advertisement

India cinema-goers’ pivot to streaming films online instead: ‘a disaster for Bollywood’?

  • A string of Hindi-language films proved to be box-office bombs last year amid a change in viewing habits spurred on by pandemic-era cinema closures
  • Producers are pinning their hopes on an industry turnaround, even as analysts warn that young people ‘have forgotten how to go to cinemas’

Reading Time:4 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
2
The hard times for Bollywood have triggered a debate on whether Indian audiences will ever return to the big screen in the same way, but there are signs that a recovery is likely by next year. Photo: AFP

Before the pandemic forced all the cinemas in New Delhi to shut, Vivek Mehta used to watch a movie every weekend and share his thoughts about it in a WhatsApp group called “First Day First Show”.

Advertisement

Cinemas in the Indian capital reopened over a year ago but Mehta has been to a theatre only once in the last six months, to watch the Hindi-language film Drishyam 2.

Nowadays, he prefers to stay at home and make use of the plethora of video-streaming platforms operating in India – a habit he says almost became an addiction when the country was under Covid lockdown. “I watch Iranian, Spanish, Dutch, and Latin-American films, besides others,” he said.
A worker disinfects socially distanced seats at a cinema in Jammu, India, in October 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE
A worker disinfects socially distanced seats at a cinema in Jammu, India, in October 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE
Like Mehta, the viewing habits of countless Indians have changed amid the pandemic – a phenomenon that’s giving producers in the US$2.5 billion Bollywood film industry sleepless nights, as box-office receipts have long been its biggest source of income.

Cinemas in India were either closed or else ordered to only operate at half capacity for much of 2020 and 2021. They have been gradually making a comeback since, but not to the extent that industry executives had expected amid a string of high-profile flops.

“[It] has been a disaster for Bollywood. For every one hit, there have been 10 flops,” said Tarun Adarsh, a film trade analyst, in December. Most of the films failed to connect with audiences because they were made before the pandemic, when producers were betting on top film stars to ensure box-office success, he said.

The allure of star power alone no longer appears to sway India’s film lovers, who are exposed to a wider array of storylines and visuals in the movies through video streaming platforms.

Advertisement