Actor Dharmendra with Zee chairman Subhash Chandra at a function to announce the Zee-Rajshri tie-up. (PTI)

Mumbai, Dec. 12: The corporatise-Bollywood brigade is making an attempt to regulate an area long neglected: the box office.

Hits or flops, the box office is bad news for them, cry producers, because thanks to cinema hall owners and distributors, they finally get very little revenue from the sale of tickets. So one item on the agenda of Zee Rajshri Distribution, formed this week when Zee Telefilms entered into an alliance with Rajshri Pictures for distribution of films in the country, is to straighten up the box office collections.

“There are leakages in the revenue that reaches the producer,” says Nitin Keni, CEO, films division, Zee Telefilms. “There is massive under-declaration of ticket sales by theatre owners and distributors,” he adds.

“The problem occurs mostly in B and C class centres (small towns and interiors), rather than in the cities, but theatre owners under-declare ticket sales by 30 per cent,” says Keni.

“There is under-declaration by distributors by another 30 per cent. This happens mostly because of the high entertainment tax in certain states. Cinema hall owners allow viewing of the movie against cash payment to avoid paying the tax,” he says.

“The problems stem from high entertainment tax and the exhibitor’s inclination to avoid tax payment,” agrees Amit Khanna, chairperson, Reliance Entertainment Pvt Ltd. “Under-declaration of box office receipts is the easiest way out. Unlike in the US, Europe or Japan, no professional market research company here compiles cinema attendance data,” he says.

But things look ready to change. “Given the huge potential, MR companies like Nielsens will soon start compiling the data,” says Khanna. Zee Rajshri Distribution has a gameplan ready at hand.

“Starting next month, we are going to link up through computerisation all the distribution offices of Rajshri,” says Keni. “In the second phase, starting one year later, we will start linking the distribution network with the cinema halls,” he adds.

Given that the theatres where under-declaration is rampant are mostly not in the cities, Keni says it will take some time, but he sees total computerisation of the distribution process is inevitable, even if that means a cinema hall “out there”.

Zee Rajshri Distribution will also ask the Centre to rationalise entertainment tax, making it uniform for all states. “It should not be more than 30 per cent in any state. The states where they are highest are Bihar and Gujarat.”

Keni says the new alliance will stem another problem: distributors’ payments. “Now distributors ‘adjust’ the revenue of one hit film against the failure of five. But we will not allow that.”

The good news is that while city theatres remain more or less accountable, total transparency in ticket sales collections has already begun with the multiplexes.

“In the multiplexes, everything is on the computer, so there is total transparency,” says Keni. “But it has already begun.”