'After Saiyaara, a lot of confidence has come in. Hindi is now looking good, especially with Dhurandhar 2 expected in March.'
OTT users have crossed the 600 million mark which is around 41 per cent of India's population.
It's 'not looking like a Diwali lineup, which is usually grand and has superstar movies.'
More screens, more films, and longer windows will convert to more people watching, assuming they know a film is releasing, points out Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.
Non-fiction continues to grow with the most-watched unscripted show, Bigg Boss OTT S3 getting more than half the viewership that Panchayat (S3) got.
More than 157 million Indians watched at least one film in the theatre in 2023.
This is the fourth time in three decades that Aamir Khan and Akshay Kumar have had movie releases on the same day.
'There is so much talk about Netflix and what they should be doing.' 'In two years, SonyLIV has done what Netflix should be doing.'
'Just the fact that the biggest language at the box office was Telugu and not Hindi is startling.'
Netflix is reminiscent of Star TV in the 1990s: Very Western in its gaze, very expensive, and clueless, notes Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.
Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, and Hyderabad account for 33% of the total active paid subscriptions.
'This is the best time to do a pan-Indian film.'
For advertisers, the cricket carnival remains the single-biggest impact window.
Audiences are missing theatres desperately and will go back to them within two-three weeks of them reopening. All those hours of films on television and OTT have not reduced the audience's need for the theatrical experience.
'This is a blip in the 100-year history of cinema.'
Most of India knows Deep Sidhu as the man who planted the Sikh religious flag on Red Fort.
Whether it is non-Hindi films dubbed in Hindi or Hindi dubbed in other Indian languages or English dubbed in Indian languages, the whole multilingual film is bringing more ticket sales.
The problem is not that more people are not watching more TV, but that they are not finding anything of interest on Hindi television, says Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.
After a miserable two years of flopping films and stagnant revenues, what has changed for the film industry?
'We need more universal films like Dangal, Sultan or Padmavat that work across single screens and multiplexes.'
Business is better than usual in Bollywood.
Cartoon characters created and developed in local animation studios are enchanting Indian kids like never before, says Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.
Analysts say that Republic TV has to hit the top spot in the shortest possible time if it has to make a dent in the ad market and break even, writes Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.
Such is Sharma's clout that very few are willing to take sides in this controversy. 'It's like talking about Salman Khan.' 'No one wants to ruffle feathers.'
More Indians are watching films across screens, TV, online and other platforms than ever before. Whether it is by tackling costs, processes or revenues, the trick is to find a way of making money from all of them, says Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.
The four major Hindi general entertainment channels -- STAR Plus, Sony, Colors and ZEE -- have all launched music and dance reality shows in the 9-pm slot on weekends.
Kapil Sharma, the anchor of Comedy Nights with Kapil, is the hottest property on Indian television today
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