Is the pay-per-view model of Salman Khan’s Radhe truly a game-changer?

OTTplay talks to trade analysts and filmmakers to measure the impact the pay-per-view release model would have in reviving the entertainment industry which is limping back to normal,

Even if Salman Khan’s Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai didn’t have a track titled Zoom Zoom, all eyes in the film industry were on the figures that the movie would generate from its pay-per-view (PPV) model of release. The Prabhu Deva directorial, which released on Zee5 on May 13, managed to rake in 42 lakh views on the first day, according to the OTT platform, and a further 47 lakh views over the weekend, as per consulting firm Ormax Media. But what does this mean for the PPV model?

Was Radhe’s PPV release game changing?

While Salman’s Eid releases have managed to rake in an average of Rs 20-25 crore as first-day box office collections from theatres in the previous years, the makers were aware that these numbers would take a hit this year. Though the initial plan was to follow a hybrid model – simultaneous release in theatres, OTT and TV, it fell through with the second wave of COVID-19 shutting down most theatres and forced the makers to stick strictly to a PPV release.

Did the PPV format help in recovering the investments made by ZEE5? Manish Kalra, chief business officer of ZEE5, tells us, “Sometimes business decisions are taken keeping the future in mind. To be trendsetters, one must have a vision for the times to come where bottom lines are not the only deciding factors. Our key goal with Radhe was to ensure a Salman Khan film, with its countrywide mass appeal, reaches every viewer keen to watch the blockbuster. With this objective in mind, we opted for a multi-format model, releasing the film in theatres worldwide and on ZEE5 and ZEEPlex.”

But are the numbers garnered by Radhe’s OTT release game changing? Trade analyst Komal Nahta doesn’t think so. “The movie has garnered 42 lakh views on its first day and these include previous subscribers who were allowed to watch free of cost, and not just new subscribers. Also, 42 lakh views is not a huge number, especially for a movie with Salman, who has a fan following that no other hero can boast of. Therefore, I don’t see it becoming a regular model,” he says.

Ask him if other big films such as Akshay Kumar’s Sooryavanshi or Ranveer Singh’s ‘83 would be urged to take a similar route and Komal says, “Had Radhe garnered double or triple its current numbers, then they might have contemplated it. These numbers from Radhe are not ‘unthinkable’. This was expected.”

Another film trade analyst Taran Adarsh says that for a lot of producers Radhe’s PPV figures doesn’t change anything. “It’s still a wait-and-watch situation. Whether the movie is a success or not, would be best answered by Zee5, based on their investment and the returns they are expecting. But at the moment, no producer has officially gone ahead and said they will follow a similar PPV strategy to release their movie,” he explains.

‘PPV can emerge as an additional revenue channel’

While many are still circumspect about the potential of PPV, Bollywood filmmaker and producer Raja Krishna Menon is of the opinion that it “will become an important revenue stream”. “PPV has the potential to become as big, if not a bigger, revenue generator as theatres. It replicates the ticket buying model with a reach that outstrips that of theatres. That’s a huge bonus for films but I still believe it won’t replace theatres; it would emerge as one more way to monetise a film,” he says.

Meanwhile, the film’s quality will play a decisive role in making a PPV model viable, says director Priyadarshan, whose big-budget National Award-winning film Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham’s release has also been delayed by over a year now. “There’s this risk that only when films become huge hits, more users will show interest in paying to watch them in a PPV model. Unlike in theatres, the moment the word of mouth gets out that the movie is not worth the money, the entire interest is lost. Even social media campaigns can’t save it. And when such films flop, it leads to massive losses not just to the producers but also the OTT platforms,” he says.

But what the PPV model guarantees is that makers would assure a minimum quality of content, says Tikli and Laxmi Bomb director Aditya Kripalani. “If PPV releases become a trend, it would be very powerful because then it really becomes about what the audience wants to see, and there’s almost nobody deciding in the middle,” he says, throwing his weight behind the model.

A case for the hybrid model of release

Ask Manish if ZEE5 is bullish on more PPV releases on its platform and he says, “Despite the pay-per-view model being in its nascent stage in India, the numbers, and the overwhelming response that we have received for Radhe is a testament of the appetite audiences across the country possess. The model enables cinema lovers to view latest blockbusters from the comfort of their homes, at one price point across the country, while providing one of the widest platforms to film makers to showcase their stories. We are currently in early stages of discussion but are certainly looking forward to releasing more films in this hybrid format.”

While PPV has enough reasons to make producers wary of the model, a hybrid style of release, which Radhe had initially opted for, has its fair share of benefits, says Komal. “If Radhe had implemented the initial plan with theatres across the country operating even at limited capacity, the minimum share of distributors would have been Rs 70-80 crore. This means the collections would have been Rs 175-200Cr. So, that money is completely lost and hence the viability of PPV has gone for a complete toss. However, if the hybrid model worked, it would have made even the makers of Sooryavanshi and ’83 to consider that option,” he says.

Taran, however, says that in the case of Radhe, even a hybrid release might not have spelled magic in the box office. “Having seen the movie, it could have worked, perhaps in single screens where it would have generated sufficient curiosity. But personally, if a film is weak in merit, it will find it hard to sustain the momentum in the long run, irrespective of the model of release,” he concludes.

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