Have movie rights crossed the Rs100-crore mark?

Some in the industry believe it’s a publicity stunt, others disagree

The producers of Salman Khan’s Veer, directed by Anil Sharma, are claiming that they have already been offered Rs150 crores for its world wide rights.Vipul Shah’s London
Dreams starring Salman and Ajay Devgan has claimed to be already sold for Rs120 crores to Studio 18. Aamir Khan’s Ghajini is claimed to have already been sold for Rs93 crores. Rakesh Roshan’s Kites, was claimed to have been almost sold to Eros International for a whopping Rs120crores and it is said that the deal fell through because Roshan thought it deserved more!

While the claims are reaching sky high and beyond, the question is how far are they true? Not true, says veteran distributor and owner of Gaiety Galaxy theatres, Manoj Desai. He says, “Claims are made to make the film garam. It is yet to reach the kind of amount that is being floated around. It’s done to help business. If a small distributor from Nasik plans to buy a film for Rs1 lakh, after the hype, he might shell out Rs3 lakhs.”

More than the business, the money involved is hyped to create a buzz about the film, says trade analyst Amod Mehra. He says, “All these claims are totally created by the PR people. These figures are unthinkable. I challenge anyone to prove having received offers for such obscene amounts.” However, distributor Rajesh Thadani of Nimbus says these figures are highly believable. He says, “Considering that the last few films were sold for Rs70-90 crores, crossing Rs100 crores shouldn’t be a surprise. There could be some personal arrangements between the producer and the distributor, but that apart, these figures are true. Distributors can foresee the market is growing rapidly. Satellite, video and overseas rights are fetching phenomenal amounts. So the money is huge.”    
    s_shubha@dnaindia.net