Sales of Media at Cinema Theatres

Sale of ringtones/Audio CD's/Cassettes and memorabillia are generally assosiated with the retail format in a showroom specifically meant for selling a range of Musical collections like a Musicworld or through a book store like a Landmark or a Crossword. I have always wondered why these shops dont set up licenced outlets in cinema halls for selling music/ringtones as an additional channel on a revenue share basis with Theatres.

I am more likely to buy the Audio CD of Raavan after I come out of the theatre, if I found the movie or the songs a great experience, while I walk out from the hall to the parking lot. This pathway is monetised currently by painting the walls of some brand, but a more related monetisation is through the sale of media related to the movie being screened.

If I attend a Raavan movie, its high probability that I am a fan of Mani Ratnam's previous works or A.R.Rahman's previous audio masterpiences, which would command an impulse buy. This is a wonderful window of oppurtunity for theatres to also increase their revenue base, especially if the theatres have a national prescence. This platform could sell movies/audio CD's, pen drives of ringtones and MP3 Music(if piracy hurts, then put it in a DRM format).

I dont know if there is any entry barrier for Theatres to start this line of business, but I'd defintely be more curious to know more on this topic.

Dasaavatharam-A Review

I went for the movie last sunday in Oberoi mall in Goregaon. To me, I had great expectations from Kamalahasan after watching Vettayadu Vilayadu. The movie starts of very well with the 12th century scene, and some great screen play. The movie looks like its going to be a sci fi thriller, after the monkey dies due to the chemical. But some dumb direction gives way to some insipid scenes which drag the movie. First of all, God knows how the fake CIA agent gets to know that Kamal has gone to India, and follows him right there. Ok, its a movie, so everything happens as planned :-), but Asin's entry to me is the turning point of the movie. I have never got more irritated than ever seeing Asin repeat the same dialogues again and again in a screetchy tone.

The ending also is slightly numb and crazy and the movie fails in getting across a theme to end the movie with. So to say in MBA jargon, the movie's positioning is faulty. The last 30 minutes are a huge drag and the last scene with K.S.Ravikumar dancing and the so called behind-the-scenes shots are emabarrasing and plays down the story aspect of the movie, by concentrating on the great houdini act of Kamal with his make up.

The make up also looks bad for some characters like the Afghan character, and the false CIA agent. One just feels that the movie is let down only by poor direction, which are like seething holes in bridal wear. The plus points of the movie are its screen play and Kamalahasan's acting. Nothing to beat him in this department. I enjoyed his character as Balram Naidu and the Tamil Orator. The slapstic and situational comedy in the movie are good, and help you forget the drag in the movie for some time. Kamal's versatility does pull along the movie, but movies were never one man armies, and Dasaavataram, if truth be told was like the Indian Cricket team of the 90's(Overdependence on Tendulkar).

Verdict- Watch the Movie Once- Think 10 times before doing that!