Is The Multiplexes Versus Producers/Filmmakers A Family Dispute?

- Planet Bollywood Special Correspondant           Let us know what you think about this story

After all, producers/distributors and exhibitors are like brothers, aren’t they? But there’s one major difference between this family dispute and the family disputes one hears of and reads about in newspapers. Most other family disputes, in the worst scenario, can end up in division of the family property, assets and businesses. For ins­tance, if there’s no meeting point for two warring bro­thers of a family with varied business interest, they could split and divide the businesses bet­ween themselves. After that, each bro­ther would have to fend for himself.

The underlying assumption in this kind of settlement is that each of the two brothers is capable of surviving alone, without help from or dependence on the other. However, in the case of the present dispute between multi­ple­xes and producers/distributors, the ‘family’ cannot be split. Producers/ distributors can’t do without multiplexes just as multiplexes are worthless without films supplied to them by produ­cers/distributors. And so, in spite of the fact that the current problem is defying a solution, it must be understood that the solution has to come from within and that both the parties have to stay together.

Arbitration seems to be the best option in the present scenario. If the warring sides can’t think of an independent and intelligent person to act as an arbitrator or refree, they could as well appoint somebody like Shyam Shroff, Manmohan Shetty or Boney Kapoor for the job. In spite of these three persons having interest in production/distribution/exhibition, they can be expected to be very fair in their assessment of the situation and passing of the final order. Come on, produ­cers, dis­tributors and multiplex owners, the resolution is just around the corner. Why delay it?

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