India's independent cinema scene is facing an unprecedented crisis as critically acclaimed films that shine on international festival circuits struggle to find screening slots in domestic theatres, despite a significant shortage of new commercial movie releases. The situation has reached a tipping point, prompting 46 independent filmmakers to unite and demand fair opportunities for their productions.
The Screening Struggle Intensifies
Last week marked a significant moment in Indian cinema as nearly four dozen independent filmmakers issued a joint statement calling for equal screening opportunities. This collective action came immediately after director Kanu Behl's film Agra received severely limited and inconvenient showtimes, despite generating substantial audience interest and extensive media coverage.
The filmmakers highlighted systematic challenges facing small and mid-budget productions across languages. These films routinely face morning-only or weekday-only slots, sudden show cancellations, and complete lack of transparency in programming decisions. The joint statement emphasized how theatres consistently prioritize big-budget releases over critically acclaimed independent content.
Post-Pandemic Reality Check
Industry experts point to a fundamental shift in audience behavior since the COVID-19 pandemic. Before 2020, independent films could rely on word-of-mouth and critical reviews to attract a niche but loyal audience segment. However, this audience base has largely migrated to OTT platforms, creating a vacuum in theatrical viewership for non-mainstream content.
The numbers tell a sobering story. Director Neeraj Ghaywan's Homebound, which served as India's official entry for Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards and had backing from Karan Johar's Dharma Productions, concluded its theatrical run in September with collections of just ₹3 crore. Similarly, Manoj Bajpayee-starrer Joram, despite screening at multiple international festivals, managed only ₹40 lakh in Indian cinemas during 2023.
The trend continues with recent critically acclaimed productions. All We Imagine As Light, which won the prestigious Grand Prix at Cannes in 2024, met with the same disappointing theatrical fate in India.
Distribution and Marketing Challenges
Theatre owners and distributors present a different perspective on the crisis. Rahul Puri, managing director of Mukta Arts and Mukta A2 Cinemas, emphasizes that the core issue lies in distribution strength and marketing capabilities rather than intentional exclusion.
The real challenge involves spending ₹6-8 crore on comprehensive marketing campaigns covering print, television, radio, and digital advertising including YouTube and social media promotions. For films typically made on budgets of ₹3-4 crore, this means potentially doubling the production cost just on marketing and distribution logistics.
Puri advocates for collective bargaining among independent filmmakers, noting that individual films cannot fight this battle alone. He stresses the need for a unified approach to distribution network establishment and revenue sharing negotiations with cinema chains.
Changing Audience Expectations
Bhuvanesh Mendiratta, managing director of Miraj Entertainment Ltd, observes that post-pandemic theatrical viewership has become more discerning. Audiences now seek special experiences whether through big spectacles or powerful, word-of-mouth-driven films.
Successful examples like 12th Fail and The Kashmir Files demonstrate that smaller stories can still achieve box office success when properly nurtured in cinemas. The opportunity exists, but it requires strategic release windows and targeted marketing to let these films breathe on the big screen.
The Social Media Conundrum
While filmmakers like Kanu Behl have successfully generated online support among cinephiles, theatre programming experts caution that social media buzz doesn't automatically translate into theatrical footfalls. Show allocation decisions depend on actual audience enquiries at specific locations, requiring sufficient demand to justify entire screenings.
Film producer Shariq Patel, who toured multiple festivals with Joram during his tenure at Zee Studios, notes the psychological barrier: Many viewers perceive these films as suitable for home viewing on OTT platforms once they identify them as festival-style content. For most Indian audiences, cinema still primarily means entertainment.
The industry now faces crucial questions about whether social media campaigns can effectively catalyze small film distribution or if structural changes in distribution models are necessary to preserve diverse cinematic voices in Indian theatres.
