After Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman promised to usher in a number of social reforms, the Saudi Arabian regime announced last week that it would reopen movie theatres in the country in March next year, lifting a 35-year ban. The Ministry of Culture and Information, Saudi Arabia has said that it intends to have close to 2,000 screens in the country by 2030. This move, according to experts in the Tamil film industry, is likely to increase the revenues of Tamil films in West Asia region by 20-25%, say market watchers.
With the emergence of a new market for movies, actor Rajinikanth’s 2.0 is likely to be the first major south Indian film to launch in the Saudi Arabian market and is likely to release in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.
Raju Mahalingam, creative head, Lyca Productions, felt that the overall revenue for a big film could increase by 30%. “Since the movie is going to release in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, we hope to release it in all three languages there also. A new market in West Asia, where a substantial number of Tamil and Malayalees stay, will be a big boost for our movies. I am hoping that there will be a 30% increase in revenue,” he said.
Stating that the industry would have to do a market study to gauge the true potential, actor Vishal, president, Tamil Film Producers Council, said, “West Asia is a huge market for the Tamil film industry. Saudi Arabia opening its doors will surely lead to an increase in revenue. We are also planning to study how this market is and what kind of movies we can show there. We can even co-ordinate with the film and tourism boards to take our movies there.”
The presence of a substantial population of people who speak Malayalam and Tamil will naturally expand the market, say many who have done business in West Asia.
Censor worries
Qatar-based Christy Siluvappan, producer of hit movies such as Kutram Kadithal and actor Jyothika’s Magalir Mattum , said Indian films will had a natural advantage.
“All Indian movies — Tamil, Telugu and Hindi movies — will naturally do well here. While it is hard to say whether it would be as big as the U.A.E market, it would certainly make an impact,” he said.
He also expressed a word of caution about the policies followed by the regime that could impact certain kinds of movies. “We don’t know what kind of restrictions will be placed on the movies by the censors,” he said.
Producer G. Dhananjayan said that the new market, in which a large number of Tamils and Malayalees have migrated for work, will largely benefit respective film industries.
“The revenues from West Asia will easily go up by 20% - 25% for both Tamil and Malayalam films. The Hindi film industry will be the biggest beneficiary in this region,” he said.
A film distributor, on condition of anonymity, said that it was too early to be excited. He said, “The theatres there closed screens in the 80s. Opening them now is like opening an old house after several years. They need to upgrade infrastructure, technology and sound systems. It takes more than six months to come out with a good theatre. So we need to wait and watch what the Saudi Arabia government is going to do.”
