Bollywood rings up mobile coffers
In the past two weeks, every Indian voyeur who owns a mobile phone capable of downloading MMS messages has been busy downloading a video clip of Bollywood starlet Mallika Sherawat allegedly caught in an explicit sexual escapade with a Caucasian male.
The actress has denied her involvement, but there is no doubt that the mobile phone is being used by Bollywood for a range of offerings that have provided an extremely lucrative revenue stream.
At the top of the list is downloadable ring tones of popular movie tunes. These come with enticing contests, where lucky winners get to spend a day with the leading lady of the respective film. More than 100,000 fans downloaded the theme song of the film Dhoom, filling the coffers of its producers, Yash Raj Films.
'For us, it is a new medium to connect with our viewers and monetise the medium as well,' says Rajat Barjatya, executive director at movie production house Rajshri Films, which recently signed with mobile content provider Mauj.com to design games, wallpapers and screensavers for some of its hits.
Bollywood is targeting mobile phone users due to their sheer growth, from 30 million as of September last year to more than 40 million users today.
Operators are also upgrading their services in this segment.
The India unit of Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd has developed a Bollywood portal that offers downloads, interviews and gossip from the entertainment industry. Reliance World offers movie trailers for download.
Industry estimates forecast the niche segment will to grow to 1.3 billion rupees ($232.7 million) this year, up from 450 million rupees last year.
Vishal Gondal, chief executive of Indiagames, a content developer for computer and mobile games, said the mobile phone had become an entertainment device.
'Hence it is logical for services like movies, sports and music to share space on this platform. And Bollywood has always cut across all boundaries in the country,' he said.
