I'm a Master in India

Indian films are divided into five different distribution areas based on geography, and to ensure a smooth release and maximize profits, one must negotiate with distributors in each region individually.

The target audience for "Praise to the Invincible Mother" was clear before filming: Central and North India.

Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Haryana...

These are all populous states in India; as long as the film is popular here, even if it can't be released in South India, it won't affect the film's profitability.

To help the film find suitable distributors, the director, Shiv, personally made a trip to Uttar Pradesh.

According to the normal operating procedures of Bollywood, he should have been in Mumbai, waiting for distributors to come to him.

Mumbai is the entertainment center of all India, and distributors of all kinds shuttle daily between the directors' residences in Bandra and Juhu.

But what can you expect when "Praise to the Invincible Mother" is a religious film?

The entire crew was waiting for the box office split from North India to settle their salaries.

Shiv is the soul of the team, and he must ensure the film gets a wide release in North Indian cinemas.

Getting approval from the Film Censor Board only means you are qualified to be released.

The real operators who get films into cinemas are distributors; they have the cinema channels for the corresponding regions.

Soon after Shiv arrived in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, a distributor proactively sought him out.

This distributor, Balaram, didn't say a word and directly handed over a blank check.

"Sir, name your price.

I will never forget your directed 'Shameless'!

The story inside was too tragic!

Such things shouldn't happen; that was a masterpiece, I will never forget it!"

"Shameless" was Shiv's previous film, which told the story of the adult industry, where men were willing to buy and women were sold, with an extreme number of restricted scenes.

Yet, it was suggestive, hinting at things without explicitly showing them; whether it was tragic or not is debatable, but this didn't affect Balaram's flattery.

In the Indian film industry, talking business must be emotional, and shameless flattery is a necessity.

Shiv looked at Ron beside him helplessly, as if to say: See, Bollywood is full of greedy people!

"Sorry, Balaram, 'Praise to the Invincible Mother' is not selling one-time distribution rights; we are going through theatre chains."

"Theatre chains!"

Balaram shrieked, "Sir, please listen to me, the situation in Uttar Pradesh is very complicated.

Many theaters are hidden in villages, and you can't count how many people bought tickets.

Some villains even default on payments!

The reason I want to distribute this film is not for money, nor for faith, but out of respect for you."

Balaram spoke with genuine emotion, flattering Shiv in every possible way.

His words implied that even if he knew the film wouldn't be a box office hit, if it was directed by Shiv, he would take it on even at a loss.

"Balaram," Ron almost laughed at this distributor, "Uttar Pradesh is not that dangerous, I can guarantee it."

"Sir, you are..."

His shrewd eyes flickered.

"I am from Uttar Pradesh; you know Varanasi, right?"

"Oh! Mad East."

"Yes, exactly.

My family has a machine gun team, a full thirty men, each with an AK.

If you are worried about villains defaulting, I can have them follow you to collect the debts, how about that?"

"Sir, you are really joking."

Balaram kept wiping his sweat.

"You've seen the sample copy of 'Praise to the Invincible Mother', right?"

Ron asked.

"Of course, Director Shiv's work is beyond doubt."

"We'll follow the rules, ten percent distribution fee.

Also, what I just said still stands; if you have any problems in Uttar Pradesh, go directly to the Sur family."

For Bollywood films, distributors usually take ten percent of the total box office revenue from theatre chains.

In his own backyard, there was no reason for Ron not to take a cut.

Even for populous states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar, he planned to follow this model.

For other places beyond their reach, selling the distribution rights was not out of the question.

"Some shots in the film are quite explicit; I'm very worried about censorship.

But it doesn't matter, I know an official..."

Balaram tried to coax.

"Here is the license from the Uttar Pradesh Film Censor Board."

Ron waved the stamped page at him.

Balaram was deflated; he had no bargaining chips left.

"Listen, buddy, this isn't just a simple mythological film.

It blends various elements like romance, action, and religion.

This is a blockbuster; the audience will feel they got their money's worth, believe me."

This time it was Ron doing the coaxing; the script for "Praise to the Invincible Mother" was actually quite good, it had all the characteristics of a low-budget film.

Thriller, eroticism, and tantric elements were all present, a triple threat!

"You know better than us the impact of religious films in Uttar Pradesh; there are nearly 100 million Hindus here."

Balaram was hit where it itched; he certainly understood the audience in Uttar Pradesh.

Especially the men, they would definitely go crazy for certain shots in it.

"Going through theatre chains is no problem, not just Uttar Pradesh, but Bihar, Jharkhand, are all in my distribution area.

I know the owner of every cinema in North India, but you have to agree to one condition."

He said.

"What condition?"

Ron and Shiv asked in unison.

"Sell me the distribution rights for the northeastern states as a package."

Balaram spoke with a lot of confidence.

His channels are spread throughout North India, and he knows which films are popular in which regions.

The northeast region has always been less valued in Bollywood due to its limited land and population.

But it is precisely such places that distributors keep a close eye on as a juicy target.

The production side is unwilling to waste effort on theatre chains, but they can.

As long as they pay a small package fee to buy the distribution rights, the film market in these areas will be dominated by them.

Ron agreed to Balaram's request; they indeed didn't have the energy or the channels to focus on the theatre chain revenue in those places.

After a final round of bargaining, Balaram bought out the distribution rights for the northeastern states for 800,000 rupees.

"When can the film copies be delivered?"

Balaram was already a little impatient.

"A week; we also have some promotional methods prepared, which may require your cooperation."

Shiv replied.

"No problem, I have good relationships with many newspapers."

This was already Balaram's duty as a distributor.

Having finalized the cooperation details, both sides immediately got busy.

Balaram was responsible for contacting theatre chains and newspapers for promotion, while Ron and the others had to ensure the copies were delivered on time.

The cost of producing a 35mm film copy is about 20,000 rupees, and there are thousands of cinemas and tens of thousands of screens across India.

Of course, it's impossible to give one to each; the production cost would be terrifyingly high.

The usual practice is for a certain region to share a few copies.

Only luxury cinemas in big cities like Mumbai and New Delhi get independent copy allocations.

"Praise to the Invincible Mother" is a low-budget film and wasn't expected to have a large-scale release in South India, so all copies are shared by a few cinemas.

Based on the market size of North India, thirty-something copies are sufficient.

Indian films don't all launch on a single day; it varies from state to state, and a film can often play on this subcontinent for two or three years.

First, it's Uttar Pradesh, then Bihar, and so on; a few dozen copies can meet the screening needs.

Speaking of which, to produce these copies, the entire crew's salaries are still unpaid, including the director, male and female leads.

This isn't because Ron is stingy, but because that's how Bollywood does it.

If the film is a hit, everyone is happy.

If the film loses money, don't even mention salaries.

Ultimately, over the past few months, Ron has been getting a free ride.

However, Shiv wasn't flustered at all; he had already heard good news before coming.

"Our film's cost has been recouped!"

"How so?"

Ron had been in Uttar Pradesh recently and wasn't aware of things in Mumbai.

"Tips Music Company bought the rights to the film's music cassettes, 2 million rupees!"

"Wow, Mary and the others are still quite capable."

"The two ladies are indeed厉害 (厉害 - capable/skilled); that Taurani is a tough character, few people get the better of him."

"Now I believe this film will definitely make a profit."

This was a pleasant surprise, but also one of Bollywood's characteristics.

The earliest financiers of an Indian film are actually the record companies that buy the music rights.

Indians love song and dance, and of course, they love music.

Bollywood music drifts from speakers in every street and alley.

Even children in the slums can skillfully sing the theme song shortly after the film is released.

Usually, as long as the recorded songs aren't too bad, record companies are interested in the music cassettes of Bollywood films.

"Praise to the Invincible Mother" has five songs, and the singers are also somewhat famous.

Ron had heard them once before, and he had to admit, the Indians are indeed skilled in music.

Those few songs were really good, with catchy melodies and memorable hooks.

The only drawback was the small number of songs.

Ideally, record companies hope a film has eight songs so that both sides of the music cassette can be recorded.

Mary's original plan was to fill one side of the music cassette and simply replace the other side with background music.

But when she returned to Bollywood for post-production, she decided to add a few more songs temporarily.

So, Lanka and Urmila were roped in again, one song each, plus a chorus.

By the time filming wrapped, both sides of the cassette were filled.

This was another creative invention forced by the lack of budget.

The male and female leads singing didn't require extra payment; it was included in their salaries, which was much cheaper than hiring singers.

Now the money-saving trick worked, and 2 million rupees were easily obtained.

Ron called Mary, and she said she would bring the copies to Uttar Pradesh in two days.

As a first-time producer, she naturally wanted to be present at the release.

However, Lanka and Urmila didn't need to come; there is no concept of a roadshow in India currently.

Given the nature of Indians, if they saw female stars, especially in rural areas, who knows what might happen.

So, promotion relies entirely on newspapers and three-wheeled carts going into the countryside, hawking the film.

Ron had already booked seats at the best cinema in Varanasi.

For the first movie, of course, there had to be a sense of ceremony!