The other day, a prominent Telugu film distributor suggested that inflated collections are announced to satisfy the egos of heroes. He implied that most so-called profitable ventures are actually loss ventures for distributors. Hardly a handful of movies give profits to distributors in a year.
If the situation is this bad, a layman should wonder, why are these distributors even continuing in this industry? How come the budgets of movies increase film after film? When someone is making profits at the expense of these distributors, why are they tolerating it? If they are tolerating all this because they have no option, why don't they quit the industry and be done with it? In fact, the other day, a senior distributor said that the family members of almost all distributors are unhappy that they continue to be in the industry that burns their money.
Most big movies must be making profits, but these are being pocketed by heroes, directors and producers - in the form of remunerations or revenues. Possibly, most of the time, the claimed budget figures are false. Budgets are inflated everytime. Movies rights are sold outright or on commission basis to distributors in such a way that the terms are always stacked against them (the distributors). Why do distributors settle for such humiliating terms? Because they are loaded with cash and they don't know anything better in life. It takes enormous stupidity to stake everything in an industry where the success rate is not even 10% for distributors.
The glamour of cinema keeps the distributors invested despite low returns. And this foolishness is what heroes/producers/directors make the most of. At movie events, though, everyone speaks like a compassionate cinema patriot to whom money doesn't matter, showing off values they don't possess.
