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Cyber marketing: 2DMovie.com. has a wide variety of Malayalam films, old and new.

A few months ago, the site won the Internet rights of ‘Ore Kadal,’ directed by Shyamaprasad, The film has been well received on the Internet as well. Films such as ‘Soorya Kireedom’ and ‘Ottakkayyan’ have also been released on the site soon after the theatre release of the films.

Jesinlal James, producer of the award-winning film ‘Oridam,’ says that he started the website after discovering the possibility of selling movies and reaching out to a world-wide audience through the Internet, while marketing his film.

“2DMovie.com was launched a year back. It now offers Malayalam movie buffs across the world a chance to buy their favourite titles. The response from non-resident Indians across the globe has been encouraging and efforts are on to offer producers another source of revenue by selling the Internet rights, at the release of the film,” he says.

Vindhyan, producer of ‘Ore Kadal,’ feels that “there are several ways to market films effectively, but most of us are unaware about its possibilities. If Internet rights can generate more revenue and take the film to more people, all those involved in the film industry should try to learn more about it. We have received enquiries about the film from various places in the world and I think the Internet may have helped in this.”

Director Vinayan, who is also chairman of the film technicians’ organisation, MACTA, says: “If Internet rights could come up as another source of income for the producers, there should be a discussion on it by every one involved in the industry. I think a timeframe like a few months after the release of the film could be insisted upon, if needed, before the film is made available on the Internet.”

Agrees director Rosshan Andrrews: “If the Internet rights can provide finance and take the film to an international audience, the pluses and minuses of the issue should be studied thoroughly.”

But the major concern is that of piracy. “There should be proper technological support and stringent laws to take care that this will not result in more piracy,” says Rosshan.

“In the site, movies can either be rented, which means it can be viewed for a week, or it can be purchased. There are also certain restrictions that prevent further copying of the downloaded material. To my surprise, after the United States, the greatest demand for the films is from the Gulf, though pirated discs flood the markets soon after the release of films there.

“Again, there are options by which the download of films in India can be restricted, as we did in the case of ‘Ore Kadal’,” says Jesin. There are also quite a number of films that can be downloaded for free.

Pradeep Nair, director of ‘Oridam,’ who is handling the creative aspect of the site, says such websites could function as an archive that can be accessed from any corner of the globe. He feels that most filmmakers are sceptical about this medium due to the ignorance of its prospects.

“There is no denying the fact that films are being made for viewing in theatres, and all other alternative channels can’t match that experience. But with piracy being so rampant, the most effective alternative could be to provide best quality prints of the film to the maximum number of audiences at the time of its release , when everyone is eager to watch it,” says Pradeep Nair.

Jesinlal adds that the concept of selling Internet rights is well known in the West but is still in its infancy in India. Besides selling the Internet rights of films to the site, the producers can opt for revenue sharing as well. He says that there is a huge demand for movies made by filmmakers like Padmarajan, Bharathan and Aravindan.

“My aim is to provide free downloads or movies at minimal rates, as the ad revenue goes up,” he says.

With more competition in this segment of selling Internet rights of films in the future, the producers could look forward to have found a new source of revenue.

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