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Mint
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Mint
The Beat Report: The theatre vs OTT debate actually isn't a debate at all
NEW DELHI : In The Beat Report, Mint's journalists bring you unique perspectives on their beats, breaking down new trends and developments, and sharing behind-the-scenes stories from their reporting. Subscribe to the newsletter here to get it in your inbox. Dear reader, I am Lata Jha, the media and entertainment correspondent for Mint. Earlier in July, I dragged myself out of bed at 7am on a Saturday to make it to an early morning show of Brad Pitt's sports drama F1. I know nothing about motor racing or fast cars, but had heard so much about the film that I had to watch it (even if it meant going for the first show of the day). I am someone who's at the movies every single week. Yet, I can say one thing with certainty: I don't remember the last time I saw a theatre this packed and a crowd this enthralled. Imagine that for an English-language film that wasn't even dubbed for Indian audiences! It's not like F1 won't be available on streaming or rental platforms soon, or that multiplexes suddenly decided to be kind and price tickets lower than usual. The truth is, there will always be an option to watch a film outside of the cinema, and let's be real, going to the movies is an incredibly expensive, time-consuming affair. If some films still click in theatres, it's the film speaking for itself, right? Which, honestly, makes the whole debate about movie theatres vs. streaming platforms feel a bit pointless. The bigger question we should be asking is: Why aren't there enough films that make going to the theatre genuinely worth it? The numbers tell a story The problem for Bollywood is stark. Ormax, the media consulting firm, reckons that 2024 was a pretty good year for the Indian box office, with just a minor 3% drop in collections. But for Hindi cinema, collections dropped a lot more: 13%. And nearly one-third of this came from dubbed South Indian films! Look at only original Hindi films, and the decline was 37%. Ouch. Without a doubt, costly multiplex tickets and only a handful of "tentpole" movies continue to hurt Bollywood. No wonder, the first half of 2025 saw a meagre 10-20% revenue increase over the same period last year, my recent reporting for Mint has shown. Some films did light up the box office, like Vicky Kaushal's Chhaava, Ajay Devgn's Raid 2, and comedy drama Bhool Chuk Maaf. Still, trade insiders are flagging far-weaker-than-expected returns for big-star titles like Sikandar, Housefull 5, and Kesari Chapter 2. This really highlights the urgent need for a more consistent stream of theatrical hits. What this all boils down to is that the box office is operating in an extreme and polarized way post-covid. Hits are soaring to unprecedented heights, while flops aren't even lasting beyond their opening weekends. (I covered this in detail in my story here.) What's at play then? Are audiences getting super-selective about theatres? Or are they avoiding any particular genres? Do theatres stand a chance if producers delay OTT releases? Why does a film like F1 work, despite high prices and an imminent OTT release? Do stars even matter, looking at Saiyaara's roaring success with two newcomers? Anyone involved in the business will tell you there's no real formula for coming up with a film that can make the tedious trip to the theatre seem worth it. But some inspiration can come from south Indian cinema, where not only are prices capped (in Tamil Nadu and now Karnataka), but even small-budget films consistently do well. It's important for films to speak the emotional language of its viewers, and deliver content that is culturally rooted and authentic to local sensibilities, a lesson that Mumbai-based filmmakers have taken long to learn. Bollywood, which largely operates in close-knit privileged cliques, has little patience to either nurture writers who want to tell newer, earthy stories or (in the words of a studio executive I met recently) 'have an understanding of life beyond Juhu and Bandra". Niche and elite themes rarely entice the average viewer or family enough for them to buy a cinema ticket. Single-screen owners also point out the other big issue: a complete absence of awareness among viewers, as many studios focus marketing campaigns on big metros or digital media. Tier-2 and tier-3 audiences remain oblivious to film releases. All in all, I feel filmmakers, particularly in the Mumbai industry, must think on their feet and come up with better reasons for audiences to brave traffic, pay for expensive tickets and popcorn, and come to theatres. And of course, you'll agree, a cola-popcorn combo that doesn't cost a kidney wouldn't hurt! That's it for today. Here's a selection of related stories that you can read over the weekend to dig deeper into the trends shaping the film industry in 2025:
Mint
02-08-2025
- Business
- Mint
The Beat Report: The human story behind the once-in-a-decade TCS layoffs—and how I covered it
In our new newsletter 'The Beat Report", Mint's journalists bring you unique perspectives on their beats, breaking down new trends and developments, and sharing behind-the-scenes stories from their fieldwork. This week's report is by Jas Bardia, who covers the IT sector for Mint. Subscribe here to get the newsletter in your inbox. Off days for journalists are rare. Mostly, we are on the move, and on the chance day we do take an off for a swig or two, the merriment lasts only until some fresh earth-shattering news emerges. Last Sunday (27 July) was one such day. Despite Bengaluru traffic, my trip home from the downtown diner didn't take me much longer than it'd take to gulp half a pint. Yes, it was quick; very quick. Why, you ask. Because Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) had just announced—through another media outlet—that it was going to lay off 2% of its global workforce, or about 12,200 people. This was the story of layoffs at the country's largest information technology services company, an event many thought was impossible. We had to talk to experts—and the real humans in the firing line—to piece together what happened, and what lay ahead. And we had to be quick if a story was to see the light of day for Monday's edition. This newsletter is the story of the human face of a looming layoff. (Here's what I wrote with my colleague, Varun Sood.) *** Soon, the phone calls started. The mandate was clear: get a complete picture of the events leading up to 27 July and dig up notes on companies that have dropped the slightest hints of layoffs. We reached out to everyone, from middle and senior employee levels who stood affected, to those likely tasked with formulating and pushing across the marching orders. (In a media statement that afternoon, TCS said this was part of its 'reskilling and redeployment initiatives" as it was on a journey to become a 'future-ready" organization. It said it would be releasing those staff 'whose deployment may not be feasible".) The mood at TCS in the six days since then has been that of uncertainty, stress and anxiety. Analysts and fearful employees across the rank and file of TCS are coming to terms with the gravity of this announcement; just weeks ago, they had heard of deferred wage hikes and a new bench policy that essentially restricts staff from staying without a project for more than 35 days. 'Layoffs' is a dirty word. Rarely do companies announce layoffs publicly, that too through the media. Did something change for a company that had stayed away from culling roles for the longest time? Observers feel so. The 613,000-strong TCS workforce thought job stability was guaranteed, even at the cost of low salaries. For them, Sunday was a rude awakening. One employee told me he had EMIs and loans to repay; another was anxious about how he'd sustain his family of four. Another said, 'We first settle for lower pay, then they forcibly move us to the bench where we can't remain for 35 days, and now this. It seems like the company is now directly asking us to move out rather than just moving us to the bench." Yet another employee, a project manager with about 13 years of experience, said the school fees of his two children hinged on his job at TCS. A 43-year-old said he had to now start hunting for new jobs in case he was let go. This was a view many others echoed. 'I never thought I'd be hunting for jobs at the age of 43, that too when I'm at TCS," he said. *** TCS's tough call also set off uncertainty into the minds of the scores of IT professionals working in other companies. This is partly because of a herd mentality that companies follow. When the leader of the pack does something, the rest tend to follow suit. 'We are now scared of losing our jobs. What happened with TCS might now happen with us," an employee at a rival firm told us. Another said TCS had lost its allure as an employer: 'We all think of joining TCS eventually when we become a little senior because it is a source of pride to work for the largest outsourcer and also we are guaranteed stability. But not any longer." Covering something like this for the first time, I was faced with a dilemma. Dispensing my duties and at the same time broaching the topic of layoffs in my conversations was tough. Delivery and project managers who had spent years in the company could now lose their job. Those in their 40s and above were even more anxious about finding a new job, as they compete with digitally agile freshers. Sifting through emotion was a challenge that we had to overcome as employees started drawing all sorts of inferences. While some said they would be in the firing line because of a tiff with their managers, others felt they would lose their roles for not abiding by the company's five-days-a-week work-from-office policy. While existing employees had a sword over their heads, fresh talent also started to get concerned. 'We might not get onboarded even though we received offer letters," said one graduate. A second graduate started doubting TCS's plans to hire about 42,000 freshers, which led me to do this second story with my colleague, Devina Sengupta. For any of the country's millions of graduates, bagging a job in a Tata Group company would imply a guaranteed job, even at a time when automation tools might replace the tasks they would be hired to do. That doesn't seem to be the case any more. *** By the end of the day, we had enough to file a story—from the background to the details of what may have transpired. Truth be told, this was my first time covering layoffs of this scale, and boy, was it intense! Industry executives say the last time TCS did such an exercise was in 2014-15, when Ajoy Mukherjee, then HR head, announced plans to let go of 25,000 people. I was in the 10th grade back then, and had no clue about what a 'layoff' meant. And here I was, trying to keep a calm head while segregating the news from the noise, and while listening to heartbreaking stories of anxiety about livelihoods. While the impact of the current layoffs is not known yet, time will determine the outcome. For now, do keep an eye out for more such insightful, sharp and timely stories from Mint that answer your burning questions on a daily basis—sometimes even before you know you have them!
Mint
26-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Mint
The Beat Report: How we chased rain, courts, and Prada to unpack the Kolhapuri chappal saga
MUMBAI : In "The Beat Report", Mint's journalists bring you unique perspectives on their beats, breaking down new trends and developments, and sharing behind-the-scenes stories from their fieldwork. Subscribe to the newsletter here to get it in your inbox. It takes anywhere between a few days to several weeks to write one Mint Long Story, sometimes even longer. For each story, we chase sources, meet disparate people, pore over sheets of paper, and often visit faraway places to piece together a story for ourselves. So, we thought: isn't the telling of a Long Story a story worth telling in itself? What does it take to come up with an idea worthy of 2,000 words that would be worthy of your time and attention? And how do Mint's reporters bring those 2,000 words to life? And so, occasionally in 'The Beat Report", that's what we will do: we'll share with you the backstory behind our stories—sometimes fun, maybe sometimes scary, but hopefully always fascinating. Here, our reporters will take you on their reporting journey, piecing together what they did behind the scenes resulting in some of our best, most extensive Long Story pieces. With this, we hope to show you the effort we put into writing each of our stories and how exciting (and sometimes strange) reporting from the ground can be! For this edition, my colleague Devina Sengupta and I take you to the bylanes of Kolhapur and markets of Mumbai as we put together the story of the Kolhapuri chappal. Read our story here: Prada wore them. Kolhapur made them. Inside India's fight for a lost sole In July only one sight and sound dominates Maharashtra: rain. Nearly 400 km apart, both of us fought against sheets of rain to get to people and places tied to the story of the Kolhapuri chappal, that 12th-century traditional sandal that hit global headlines earlier this month from the fashion runway of Milan. Devina spent eight hours driving through Maharashtra's treacherous ghats to reach Kolhapur, the district that is home to the leather Kolhapuri chappals. With a little help from our sources, she had already fixed meetings with artisans and their families who lived in and around Kolhapur city. They were generous, inviting Devina into their homes and shops, offering endless cups of tea in the dreary wet weather, and introducing her to their families, all involved in making and selling the chappals. Devina even scored two news breaks in this trip: one, that Prada was sending representatives to Kolhapur to meet the artisans (read here), and two, that exporters serving other international brands such as Urban Outfitters and Abercrombie & Fitch were also looking into buying chappals from the district. As her conversations veered from business to craft to community, the vibe often got sombre; younger generations shared their frustration of trying to modernise the Kolhapuri chappal trade and their fears for the future. The impact of caste discrimination was unspoken but it lingered, trickling in through moments, such as when a local told Devina that the Creta-owning Kolhapuri chappal businessmen weren't allowed in the village's main temple. It's common for reporters to keep each other updated as they do field reporting from different places. Devina and I checked in on each other with frequent calls. In this exchange, she was up with notes from her reporting trip well past midnight. Meanwhile, it was pouring in Mumbai as well and I was fumbling with a little-known app called Vconsol MHC on my phone. In another ten minutes, the two-judge bench presiding over courtroom number 46 were going to listen to a PIL against Prada SpA for allegedly stealing the Kolhapuri chappal. But the court's Zoom link didn't work that day, and this app (suggested by our reporter Priyanka Gawande) was my last hope of not missing the hearing altogether. Thankfully, it worked. Why not just visit the High Court in person? Most courtrooms don't allow mobile phones or any electronic devices, and taking notes on paper as lawyers and judges go back and forth is nearly impossible unless you've had some courtroom practice. I had already interviewed Ganesh Hingmire, the advocate who had filed the PIL. In fact, he had introduced Devina to Anurag Kokitkar, one of the Kolhapuri entrepreneurs she writes about in our Long Story. Ganesh ji gave me plenty of reading material, including his original PIL and a working paper that outlined his arguments for how Prada was, in his view, violating the rights of an entire community. Paperwork is a crucial source of information in stories like these. While the anecdotes and colour from ground reporting give the story soul, we need data and documentation to root it in hard facts. Since most Kolhapuri chappals are sold in 'unorganised' local shops, I wondered how to estimate the size of the trade. Then it struck me: Kolhapuri chappals have their own Harmonised System of Nomenclature (HSN) code for international trade! One look at the Department of Commerce website and I had the numbers to show what we had guessed already: Kolhapuri chappals weren't selling much abroad. What struck me most in the reporting of this story was that Prada was in the air in Maharashtra as much as the rain. Ironic, considering Prada does not even run a store in the country, unlike many of its luxury peers such as Gucci, Hermès, and Louis Vuitton. The shops in Kolhapur's chappal gully were obviously abuzz with the impact Prada had had. But I think this exchange, in a rain-soaked chappal shop on Linking Road where I was buying a pair, summarised it best: Vendor: 'I heard this Prada is selling Kolhapuri chappals for ₹2 lakh abroad?" Me: 'Yes, it's become big news. We are also reporting on it. Also, how much for this pink pair?" Vendor: '550 rupees. Final price."
Mint
26-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
Best of the Week: What really goes into a Mint story?
Have you heard of Inception, Christopher Nolan's 2010 film about dreams within dreams? Well, think of this as something similar, except it's a newsletter plug within a newsletter. If you're reading this, you already know the kind of journalism we do at Mint: in-depth, insightful stories that present a well-rounded picture, enriched with ground reporting and diverse voices. But have you ever wondered about the challenges our reporters face in bringing these stories to life? Now, you'll get a peek behind the curtain. Starting this week, Mint is launching The Beat Report, a behind-the-scenes look at how some of our best stories come together. From quirky anecdotes and on-field hiccups to newsroom banter and editorial debates, The Beat Report offers a glimpse into the process, the people, and the passion behind our journalism. We kick off with Soumya Gupta's account of how she and Devina Sengupta reported on Prada's impact on Kolhapur's traditional footwear artisans. It's a fascinating read; don't miss it. What happens when Milan's glitzy runway collides with India's rustic soul? A pair of 'toe-ring' sandals by Prada has stirred more than fashion chatter; it's sparked a cultural debate. In courtroom no. 46 of the Bombay high court, a fiery PIL questioned if Kolhapuri chappals were being culturally hijacked. While the case was dismissed, it revived hope for 100,000 artisans in Kolhapur. 'Our mother,' they call the leather. Yet, most earn ₹ 25,000 a month. Will global buzz lead to real change or just fade like last season's trend? The sandals are now in the spotlight. But will the hands that craft them ever get their due applause? Is inflation really under control, or are we just looking the other way? Headline inflation may look tame at 2.1%, but core inflation, the kind that sticks, has quietly crept from 3.6% to 4.5% since January. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may not directly target core inflation, but it watches it like a hawk. Why? Because when core rises, headline inflation usually follows. Could this ruin our hopes of more rate cuts? Maybe. Should we redefine what 'core' really means in today's changing economy? Absolutely. What if your X-ray could be read without the internet? That's exactly what pulled off, moving from cloud to 'edge AI', where scans are analyzed on-site, in seconds. No more network delays, no more treatment lags. But this shift isn't just about healthcare, it's quietly revolutionizing everything from surveillance cameras to smart meters across India. Why? Because India isn't built for cloud-first tech. Power cuts, patchy internet, cost sensitivity—it all screams edge-first. And guess what? A scrappy bunch of Indian chipmakers is now designing low-power processors in India, for India. Could this be our moment to lead a new AI era, one built for the Global South, from the ground up? What happens when festivals arrive early, summers cut short, and shoppers carry fatter wallets? A hiring boom! As India gears up for its biggest shopping season, e-commerce, logistics, and consumer firms are racing to onboard thousands of temp workers, up 20% from 2024. Flipkart, Amazon, and others are beefing up last-mile teams, especially in tier-2 and -3 cities, to meet festive demand. But here's the catch: It's mostly temp gigs. Will these festive hires find longer-term roles, or vanish with the decorations? With tax rebates giving spending a push and unsold ACs waiting for buyers, this season is more than just glitter. What if your scooter could yell at you for overspeeding, or worse, detect when your hands are off the handle? That's exactly what the Centre is now eyeing. After mandating ABS and BIS-certified helmets, the government may soon make speed alerts and hands-off riding detection compulsory for all new two-wheelers. The goal? Curb India's alarming road toll, nearly half of which involves two-wheelers. But safety comes at a price. With ABS already set to hike prices by ₹ 3,000-5,000 in 2026, are Indian consumers ready to pay more for protection? And more importantly, should safety even be optional in the world's largest two-wheeler market? Despite tepid demand, Indian companies saw profits soar in the June quarter, the sharpest in five quarters, thanks to falling raw material costs. An analysis of 182 firms showed profits rising 23% year-on-year, while revenue inched up just 5.4%. For non-financial firms, margins hit a three-year high as input costs dropped 14% annually and 15% sequentially. The profit bump came even as employee expenses surged due to annual appraisals. The question is: Will these cost-led gains last, or is this a temporary breather until demand truly revives? India is reshaping its HIV treatment strategy with a bold, decentralized approach that aims to reach over 2.5 million people living with the virus. The plan: Take antiretroviral drugs and care directly to patients via local Care and Support Centres, instead of making them travel to hospitals. Backed by a new mobile app and digital tracking, this could improve treatment access, reduce dropouts, and address stigma. With AIDS deaths still in the tens of thousands annually, the big question remains: can this hyper-local, tech-led model help India meet its ambitious 2030 elimination goal? India's big manufacturing bet, which was meant to rival China, is running into a people problem. Despite a youthful workforce and rising factory investments, manufacturers are struggling to recruit and retain workers. Attrition is rampant. Over half of India's temp factory workforce quits within a year. Some don't last even a month. The reasons are layered: culture shock, homesickness, poor housing, food issues, rigid factory routines, and better gig job alternatives with instant payouts. Despite higher wages than agriculture, formal factory work often feels more like punishment than opportunity. India is pushing to turn farm workers into factory hands, but can it fix the human side of industrialization in time? In 2025, India's central bank has gone full throttle to reignite lending, cutting the repo rate by a full percentage point, loosening liquidity norms, and signalling cheaper money for all. The expectation? A credit revival. The result? Still lukewarm. Despite the easing, bank credit growth has stayed muted at 9-11% year-on-year, well below past highs. Households and businesses aren't borrowing like they used to. Tighter norms in late 2023, global uncertainty, and sluggish consumer demand may be holding things back. Can lower rates and easier rules alone jumpstart India's lending engine, or are deeper structural issues in play? A new free trade agreement between India and the UK promises cheaper chocolates, cosmetics, and medical gear for Indian consumers, and duty-free access to British markets for Indian gems, textiles, seafood, and processed food. Scotch whisky and premium cars will also get cheaper over time, albeit under strict quotas. Dubbed one of India's most ambitious trade deals, the pact gives 45% of Indian exports tariff-free entry to the UK. In return, India slashes duties on many British goods, while protecting key sectors like dairy and smartphones. But not everything made the cut: No post-study work visas for Indian students, modest mobility liberalization, and no exemption from the UK's carbon tax. That's all for this week. I hope you have a pleasant weekend! If you have feedback, want to discuss food, or have anything else to say about our journalism, write to me at or reply to this email. You can also write to feedback@ Subscriber Experience Team
