In Indian film industry, the yardstick of sweepstakes changes with time. Earlier, great music was the standard of box-office success and later on ‘silver jubilee’ became the measure of a stunning hit. In today’s world of eager corporate movie makers, the benchmark of triumph boils right down to a neat number: Rupees one hundred crore.

The unique selling point of the filmmaking profession is the never ending process of learning, which usually is not a ‘luxury’ for any learner. In order to constantly learn and grow, one has to be compelled to keep moving. We ought not to ape others, however, we should definitely learn from existing well run systems.

Interestingly, according to a newspaper’s survey conducted on our film industry, it was found that between 30-40% of the income potential in the industry was lost owing to the shortage or an inadequate understanding of the legal terminology including various rights that are prevailing within the show business. The industry, which is also known as Bollywood, has matured from strength to strength with the arrival of globalisation. In many quarters, the small entrepreneurs are taken over by corporatised firms. Although there has been corporatisation within the industry, yet the knowledge as to legal aspects has not been up to the desired international standards. This has led to the continuance of old customs and usage being employed in various legal documents within the film industry.

Apart from lack of adequate analysis and recent updates, even simple contracts and agreement don’t get executed until the completion of the project. This often leads to misunderstanding, conflicts and never ending battles, resulting in delay of justice along with being time consuming and prove terribly pricy in the long haul.

The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1983 does provide for a mechanism by which such issues can be first referred to conciliation. The award passed therein would be legally binding and enforceable on the parties to dispute. Usually on international film co-productions, Indian producers and staff experience an overdose of legalities while managing and interacting with foreign artists and technicians. None of the foreign artists are willing to discuss or negotiate directly with the producers regarding their terms and conditions and all negotiations are finalised with the agents or their legal consultants. This ‘overdose’ of legalities is what ultimately prevents the foreign artists from ‘overdose’ of misunderstandings, arguments and legal hassles. These professional and practical measures need to be inculcated in the industry as well, in order to eliminate any issues that may arise right from the beginning.

Wastage owing to incomplete film projects forms the major chunks of 30-40% of the income potential. Filmmakers in Maharashtra are still being governed by the Bombay Entertainment Duties Act, 1923. This is a classic example of lack of attempt to effectively use legalisation as a mean of achieving adequate benefits for the entertainment industry. The rate of taxation these days continues to be a crippling 40- 50% for films shown in cinema houses and multiplexes, far more than the rates of taxation in other states of India. For example, the entertainment duty levied in the Punjab state is usually nominal or virtually negligible and this makes it possible for producers to make profits on their films and manage to survive in the industry.

There is a pressing need for higher understanding of taxation, intellectual property rights, foreign exchange rules, in addition as local laws, not just for the producers and directors but also for actors, technicians, who very often have issues arising out of no or insignificant knowledge of these laws, resulting in them facing issues inadvertently.

The Government of India via the ministry of Human Resource Development has made efforts to publish a handbook of copyright law in order to spread awareness of the rights of the stakeholders in Indian film industry to whom the law applies. With the amendment in the copyright act, there is an urgent need for artists as well as producers and other connected creators to understand the changes in the law and how it affects their talent and skills which eventually are their source to a living.

It might therefore be in the interest of all conceived to make themselves legally literate and that can be done with the help of the law administrators working as legal consultants to the industry.