With debates on OTT v/s theater in the film industry,as a man who has seen changing service platforms to public, let me draw a parallel to the auto stand service and the apps based auto service. I might not be able to fathom the feelings of theater owners who say that they were ones responsible to building a STAR and in the same breath ask for fees to be reduced and yanking off films after a weekend as popcorn sales dropped but insisting that no producer should go to a OTT without showing his film in the theater.
A decade back, one can get auto in Chennai only if the neighbourhood stand is empty. You cannot flag off a passing auto just because you feel the stand auto guy in charging too much. Any passing auto stops despite this stops , there is stand guys yelling at him. So I walked back and took my scooter out and rode away or walked far away from the stand and picked up a passing auto or a standalone auto parked away from the stand. The guys realized that they were losing money and stopped haggling over rates. Meters were then and now also ornamental. Yet another rule was that if the stand is empty, no outside auto can park and pick up service. Reason is that all stand guys are honest guys and certified by local police station.
Now if you go to a star hotel and ask the stand guy to wait in the parking lot, the security says sorry no auto allowed to park. Fine. You go park at the entrance. Guys parked outside say buzz off. Which means you have to hire an auto parked outside the hotel. If you are going in private taxis ( not yellow (cabs) to hotels, there is no problem. Then came Fast track,a spoilsport. This guy had umpteen cars parked in various parts of the city with one toll free number. You call him and the car comes and drops you and goes off. Before you start out from hotel you give a call and the cab comes to pick you up. The rates were on meters and tariffs. Only thing was that the car was garishly painted Fast Track.
So Fast track after making a study of booking patterns had cars parked near star hotels for quick service. The auto drivers and those who had car rental agreement service with hotels bashed the Fast track guys. So for certain hotels, we were told that to call only after we came to the foyer.
Slowly Hotel car rental and Fast track took a back seat with app based cab/ auto services. Now the auto stand guys ( most of the youngsters having moved over to Ola and Uber) now make a different pitch. They are like the Kirana stores. They know the address of the people you visit , they wait and even carry bags to the doorstep. They also pick stuff on the way when they are on another errand. So no meters but customers are happy . So are the young customers as they get a last minute booze bottle picked up from TASMAC). So stand guys reinvented themselves.
Ola/ Uber are here to stay. All those guys who had taken contracts in Chennai airport is losing out to apps guys. The apps guys were not allowed to be parked inside but it has changed. Now only the MGR Central Station is still the bastion of the old haggling auto and yellow cabs and their set of red scarf coolies. Soon things may change,
So like the stand auto guys and local grocery shops ( who rebuild their customer base due to Covid 19 and got on to home delivery apps without paying anything), so called multiplexes will have to reinvent to strike a chord with the customers. By merely saying if you give to OTP, then your entire family will be banned is foolish. Will Bollywood ban Kanganan Raut for acting in a film meant for OTP? If you have taken money from distributor or theater saying you are making a film for big screen and then shift to OTP, you are in the wrong. The distributor and theater lobby came out with a clause that if no money is outstanding to them, you can sell satellite telecast rights for immediate release. Why a change of heart for OTP ?
You made VHS cassettes a monster and later ran to sell video rights. You made satellite TV another monster and now you run to sell TV rights ? Now you make OTP a monster. Do you know that Hindi digital and dubbing rights are a major source of money to producers ?
Now I understand why Sivaji clan decided to have no theater in the Shanti complex.
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