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Indian Express
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Why are movie tickets so expensive? A cinephile's plea for affordability
It was the year 2006. Krrish had hit the theatres, and it was the first time my parents were taking me to watch a movie on the silver screen. Paras Cinemas, Nehru Place, now known as INOX Paras, was then a single-screen theatre. We bought the tickets in 'black' and three of them cost just Rs 210. I still remember Hrithik Roshan leaping onto a horse and then into the sky — it was the exact moment the seven-year-old me fell in love with cinema. And in that love, theatres played a starring role. From Saif Ali Khan racing for redemption in Ta Ra Rum Pum to Brad Pitt 'flying' in his F1 car; from Shah Rukh Khan being reborn in Om Shanti Om to Shah Rukh Khan being reborn again as Pathaan; from Harry Potter defeating Voldemort to Iron Man snapping his fingers to end Thanos, theatres have given me countless moments to hold on to. Sitting in a dark room with strangers, watching stories unravel on a giant screen, was more than just the trivial act of moviegoing. For me, it was a ritual — a highly rewarding one. But then I grew up. And with adulthood came the moment that every cinephile dreads: paying for the tickets myself. Theatres once gave me my first taste of stories that felt larger than life. They gave me magic and belongingness. Now, they give me anxiety and a bill. This summer alone has been a blockbuster for the box office with Superman, F1, Mission: Impossible, Metro In Dino, and Saiyaara. But for anyone like me who enjoys movies the traditional way, on the big screen, it's also been the costliest one yet. For the first time, I wasn't just excited about new releases; I was also calculating whether I could afford to watch them. Superman tickets alone were priced anywhere between Rs 400 and Rs 1,600. I never thought much about ticket prices until recently. Now, I plan around them. I wait for discount days. I resurrected an old bank account just because it gave me a 50 per cent cashback. I have become that person who refreshes the coupon section on apps before deciding whether I can afford to watch a movie on release day. Often, I find myself texting friends, not just to share the film but to ask, 'Want to come? There's a buy-one-get-one offer.' I never used to care about going alone. Now, I feel like I need company, just to split the cost. And that hurts. I have always been someone who lives for the 'first day, first show'. But now, major chains have started offering Rs 99 – Rs 149 ticket prices on Tuesdays to boost footfalls, and I often find myself waiting till the fifth day and catching the last show just so I don't burn a hole in my wallet. The excitement of walking into a packed house on Friday has now been replaced by the disappointment of waiting for Tuesday. Let's not forget that the ticket price is just the beginning. Add Rs 100 for parking, Rs 700 for popcorn — more if you dared to ask for cheese or caramel or a drink — and of course, taxes. Suddenly, your simple plan to watch a movie turns into an over Rs 1,000 experience. And this is if you are going alone. If you are going with someone, it may as well be a small budget holiday. The annual 'Box Office Report' by the Mumbai-based research firm, Ormax Media, reveals a telling figure. In 2022, the average price of a movie ticket was Rs 119. In 2023, it rose to Rs 130. And in 2024, it touched Rs 134. That's a 12.6 per cent rise in just two years, and a whopping 45.6 per cent increase from 2015. Now, it must be noted that box office earnings have also grown in that period. In 2024, films earned Rs 11,833 crore (though this was marginally less than 2023's Rs 12,226 crore). This marked a 42 per cent rise over 2015 earnings. However, footfall is yet to recover to its pre-pandemic levels. Just before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, box office footfall was at a high of 103 crore in 2019, which has fallen to 88.3 crore in 2024, even lower than the 94.3 crore in 2023. The report notes, 'This underscores the increasing dependence of the box office on rising Average Ticket Prices (ATP) in recent years.' It's not just casual moviegoers feeling the heat. Even those immersed in the film ecosystem are being priced out. Anshul Gupta, a journalist based in Delhi-NCR, summed it up best: 'I have watched 24 films in theatres already this year — 34, if you count all the media screenings and film festival movies. In short, I watch a lot. Doing this in Delhi-NCR in 2025 is an expensive hobby. Being in the media business, I am still able to watch a few through the screenings but I think looking for coupons, card discounts and other 'jugaads' every time when a tentpole film releases is getting on my nerves.' To understand how the situation plays out in other cities, I reached out to Abhinav Chakraborty, a senior journalist based in Chennai and a fellow film enthusiast. Chakraborty self-admittedly watches one movie in the theatre almost every week. When asked whether pricing impacts his viewing habits, he responded, 'Yes, it does. I grew up in Mumbai where tickets are much pricier, especially on the first weekend. Compared with that, Chennai's ticket prices don't exceed Rs 250 at any point (not applicable for IMAX, of course). So while I only looked at morning shows back in Mumbai, here I can go watch movies according to my convenience.' Chakraborty added, 'I believe the range of movie ticket prices in Delhi is similar to that in Mumbai, which would make moviegoing every weekend unviable.' Affordable ticketing doesn't just allow you to watch a movie; it encourages a habit of watching. It aids a culture of moviegoing and helps build a community. If Chennai can cap prices and still run successful shows, why can't the other northern and western regions follow suit? Just recently, Karnataka announced a price cap of Rs 200 on movie tickets. That's a move in the right direction. But when I tried to get a sense of how theatre chains view this issue, the responses were guarded. I reached out to a few cinema managers, but none were willing to comment. A duty officer at PVR Cinemas, Mall of India, said people may not be frequenting theatres because 'there is an abundance of content'. 'Because of OTT and YouTube, the audience has content on their phones,' he added. But that doesn't offer the complete picture. As Chakraborty pointed out, lower ticket prices encourage him to watch films he might not even be interested in initially. A 2023 research by Ormax Media shows that while the 'appeal' of a movie stays stable when the ticket prices increase in multiples of Rs 25, there is a 15 per cent fall in appeal when the price point moves from double-digit to triple-digit figures (i.e. Rs 50 to Rs 100). The trend continues across multiples of Rs 100, with the appeal dropping by 18 per cent between Rs 100 and Rs 400. This is true for a regular film. For event films such as Pathaan or Tiger 3, with large-scale releases, the appeal is often higher despite expensive tickets. However, the appeal does drop between Rs 50 and Rs 400. Though ticket prices may not result in a dramatic decline in the appeal of a movie, they certainly have an impact. It shows that the shrinking footfalls at theatres may not be just about a lack of interest, but also a lack of access. When tickets cost as much as a decent dinner, experimentation dies. Curiosity becomes a calculated risk. There's also a burgeoning idea of 'premium moviegoing experience' with recliner seats, curated menus, and call-a-waiter buttons. Some halls resemble luxury hotels more than cinemas. However, the experience isn't for everyone and may even be exclusionary. So here's a simple request to the powers that be: let movies be movies again. Let them be accessible, affordable, and democratic. Don't make us choose between passion and practicality. Because when cinema becomes a luxury, it stops being culture and starts being a commodity. Let me buy that ticket without flinching. Let me sit in the dark with strangers and feel wonder, not worry. Let me be that seven-year-old again, watching Hrithik Roshan fly, not calculating if I can afford to watch him land.
India Today
21-07-2025
- Business
- India Today
From Bollywood to dal-chawal, Mango Millionaire makes money feel relatable
What does Ta Ra Rum Pum, Three Idiots, and Deewaar have to do with personal finance? Quite a lot, if you ask Radhika Gupta and Niranjan Awasthi. In Mango Millionaire, the authors ditch the usual graphs and grim forecasts for something far more familiar: Bollywood references, dinner-table wisdom, and metaphors from daily life that make money feel less a personal finance space crowded with jargon and generic advice, Mango Millionaire stands out with its refreshing simplicity. It doesn't aim to impress with terminology or push readers into anxiety about missed financial goals. Instead, it reads like a conversation - one that's friendly, rooted in everyday life, and quietly a familiar name in the world of mutual funds, and Awasthi, who also works with Edelweiss, bring a tone that's far from corporate. They aren't preaching from a podium. Their writing feels like a chat between two friends over chai, the kind that makes intimidating ideas feel understandable. The book uses plain language without talking down to the reader. Its goal is to make money feel manageable, not perfect, just doable. The storytelling draws from what's familiar: Bollywood scenes, dal-chawal, family budgets, and the ever-reliable Great Indian Thali. These references aren't just for show. They bring abstract concepts - like risk appetite or diversification - into the real world. When a movie like Ta Ra Rum Pum shows up in the narrative, it feels like a nudge, not a Mango Millionaire isn't all style. It has structure and sound advice at its core. Topics like savings discipline, debt, aspirational inflation, and emergency funds are explained with clarity and care. There's no pressure to be perfect. The message is simple: begin where you are, with what you makes the book resonate is how gently it handles doubt. It gives readers space to have made mistakes, to start late, to take small steps. It doesn't promise a perfect portfolio. It offers the end, Mango Millionaire is less a finance manual and more a friend/mentor for the everyday investor. It speaks the language of lived experience. If you've ever felt like personal finance books aren't written for people like you, this one might just change your mind.- Ends
Hindustan Times
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Fans can't stop comparing Brad Pitt's F1 to Saif Ali Khan's Ta Ra Rum Pum and the comment threads are HILARIOUS!
The press tour for Brad Pitt's F1, now in theatres, was grand enough to have most thinking it was some sort of camouflage for an at best, mid film. Thankfully, that wasn't the case. F1 has been zooming into the hearts of critics and audience alike, the grandeur of it's press tour befitting the dramatic arc the plot itself follows. Brad Pitt in a promotional still from F1 (2025); Saif Ali Khan in a promotional still from Ta Ra Rum Pum (2007)(Photos: X) There may be recurring chatter about the film reaching its critical potential simply for how unexplored the space of Formula One racing in cinema is, of course coupled with all the opinions regarding Brad being labelled an 'abuser' in relation to ex-wife and actor Angelina Jolie and their six kids. But, from the cinematic perspective, a good film is a good film. That being said, the world may be experiencing F1 in theatres now, but the Indian audience, as per their own admission, has already been there, done that back in 2007. Our 'Brad' was Saif Ali Khan and our 'F1' was Siddharth Anand's Ta Ra Rum Pum! Now if you think this is an asinine comparison, a few edits in you're going to be buying into the conspiracy theory. Check it out for yourself! Now just to put things in perspective, the actual plots of both the films are wildly different. F1 features Brad as fallen Formula One driver Sonny Hayes who finds himself back in the world of racing after a struggling F1 team loops him in. Also starring in F1 is Damson Idris as Joshua Pearce, the hotshot rookie on the new team. Javier Bardem and Simone Ashley co-star with a cameo from Lewis Hamilton. Ta Ra Rum Pum on the other hand, features Saif Ali Khan as RV, an up-and-coming car racer who hits rock bottom after meeting with an accident. The film follows his redemption arc as his family supports him back to his glory. Rani Mukerji co-stars. No reason we can't watch both! F1 is currently running in theatres while Ta Ra Rum Pum can be streamed on OTT.
Time of India
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Siddharth Anand's playful tweet has fans calling Saif Ali Khan's ‘Ta Ra Rum Pum' their ‘F1'
The internet is having a field day ever since director Siddharth Anand shared a playful tweet about his film 'Ta Ra Rum Pum'. This comes right when fans have been busy comparing the Bollywood movie to Brad Pitt's new Hollywood film 'F1'. Memes are flying all over social media, and Siddharth's post has only added more fuel to the fire. Siddharth Anand joins the fun Siddharth Anand, who directed the 2007 sports drama 'Ta Ra Rum Pum' starring Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukerji, seemed to enjoy all the jokes online. Taking to X, he wrote, 'TaRaRumPum you lovely beast !' He did not give any more details, letting fans' imaginations run wild. This little shout-out was enough to get everyone talking. — justSidAnand (@justSidAnand) The story of 'Ta Ra Rum Pum' 'Ta Ra Rum Pum' was about a car racer whose life changed after a near-death accident. Though he returned to the track after a year, the trauma never left him. The film did reasonably well at the box office and became a semi hit. Over the years, many people have kept the film close to their hearts. The Brad Pitt 'F1' wave Fast forward 18 years, and now Brad Pitt is starring in a movie called 'F1'. This film shows him as a former Formula One driver who returns to the elite racing world in his 50s to help a friend. The sports drama also highlights how he lifts his team's spirits. 'F1' has been praised by critics and audiences alike. Everyone is talking about how real and thrilling it feels, almost like you're sitting inside the car with the driver. Fans flood social media with comparisons It didn't take long for people to start drawing funny comparisons between 'Ta Ra Rum Pum' and 'F1'. Social media has been buzzing with memes, jokes and clever posts. It seems these memes also caught Siddharth Anand's eye, prompting him to tweet about his 'lovely beast'. Netizens react to Siddharth's tweet Fans could not stop reacting after seeing Siddharth's tweet. One person wrote, 'F1 this F1 that. this was my F1' Another said, 'Ta Ra Rum Pum is your best-directed film to date, and it truly deserves a sequel. I know you're not particularly fond of directing sequels, but if one ever gets made, no other director can do it justice the way you can. Please do consider it. The audience may have failed the film back in 2007, but this time, we'll make sure that its sequel becomes a blockbuster.' There were plenty of other cheerful reactions too. Someone pleaded, 'Re-release kardo Lord.' One person even suggested, 'You should release a sequel to this movie.' But not everyone was convinced by the light-hearted comparisons. A few fans felt that while 'Ta Ra Rum Pum' was entertaining, it was not quite in the same league as 'F1'. What's next for Siddharth Anand? While everyone is busy talking about 'Ta Ra Rum Pum' again, Siddharth Anand has his hands full with another massive project. He is currently shooting for 'King', which stars Shah Rukh Khan , Abhishek Bachchan and Suhana Khan, among others.
Hindustan Times
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Siddharth Anand acknowledges Ta Ra Rum Pum's comparisons to Brad Pitt's F1 with cheeky tweet; internet has a meltdown
It's not just random folks on the internet that is comparing Brad Pitt's new sensational racing drama F1 to Saif Ali Khan's Days of Thunder-coded 2007 film Ta Ra Rum Pum. The film's director, Siddharth Anand, has also acknowledged the memes. Saif Ali Khan's Ta Ra Rum Pum has been compared to Brad Pitt's F1, albeit jokingly. The filmmaker recently took to X (formerly Twitter) and posted a tweet praising Ta Ra Rum Pum, seemingly acknowledging the revival of its popularity after the release of F1. Ever since Joseph Kosinski's F1 has been released in theatres this weekend, the Indian internet has been making memes and jokes about how the Hollywood film is inspired by Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukerji-starrer Ta Ra Rum Pum. Seems like those memes caught Siddharth's attention as he on Tuesday dropped a post, calling Ta Ra Rum Pum a "lovely beast." Siddharth did not add any more context to his post, leaving the rest to imagination. The internet reacts That, however, did not stop fans from having a collective meltdown over the tacit acknowledgement. One reply read, 'Re-release kardo Lord.' Another fan wrote, 'It was the best film you made. I still have the film's DVD.' Another suggested, 'You should release a sequel to this movie.' Some, however, were a little less thrilled about the mock comparisons, saying that Ta Ra Rum Pum was not in the league of F1. Tara Rum Pum, released in 2007, follows the story of a race car driver, RV (Saif), and his wife Radhika (Rani), as they face life's highs and lows with their two children. The film, set in the US, sees RV return to NASCAR to pay off his debts. The film received mixed to positive reviews upon release and was a moderate box office success, grossing ₹ 72 crore worldwide on a ₹ 28 crore budget. F1, on the other hand, stars Brad Pitt as a former Formula One driver who returns to the elite racing league in his 50s to help a friend. The coming-of-age sports drama sees him lift his fictitious team's spirits. The film, which was shot during real F1 GPs, features authentic on-track racing from Brad and Damon Idris, and includes cameos from many drivers and team management. It has taken the biggest box office opening in Brad Pitt's career. Siddharth Anand's upcoming work Meanwhile, Siddharth is currently busy shooting for King, which stars Shah Rukh Khan, Abhishek Bachchan and Suhana Khan among others. King was supposed to be directed by Sujoy Ghosh earlier. However, Siddharth Anand, who directed SRK in 'Pathaan', later took over as the director. The film went on floors in Mumbai recently. (With inputs from ANI)
