FILMS SEEK ‘COVER’ AGAINST PROTEST

Mumbai: In 2006, Aamir Khan’s ‘Fanaa’ was boycotted in Gujarat after the actor spoke up for the Narmada Bachao Andolan. In early 2008, Ashutosh Gowarikar’s ‘Jodhaa Akbar’ bled after groups of Rajputs objected to its ‘‘distortion of historical fact’’. Most recently, there have been reports that a group of Sikh activists in the north was readying to agitate against Vipul Shah’s ‘Singh Is Kingg’ because they were unhappy with the way the community had been depicted.
Politics and public sentiment, Bollywood has learned the hard way, can wind it at the box-office. With community protest increasingly becoming part of the noise accompanying a film release, the industry has decided to hedge its bets. And what better way than buying insurance cover. Most new Bollywood films are insured against everything from bans to terrorism, says producer Punkej Kharbanda, who made the controversial Matrubhoomi (A Nation without Women).
As a result of this new edginess, Alliance Insurance Brokers Pvt Ltd, which deals with media-related risk, is doing brisk business. According to its director Aatur Thakkar, the policy rates depend on the type of movie being insured and on the agreement between producer and distributor. ‘‘But an average of 0.5% to 1% would be the correct indicative premium amount. So if ‘Fanaa’ is budgeted at Rs 30 crore, the insurance cover would be approximately Rs 15 to Rs 20 lakh,’’ he says. ‘‘Similarly, if ‘Jodhaa Akbar’ cost Rs 55 crore to make, the cover would amount to Rs 25 to Rs 30 lakh.’’
‘‘One reason why there are no exact insurance figures available is because producers buy cover on an approximate and not actual budget,’’ says a trade insider. Apart from traditional cover for cast/key members, props and equipment, raw stock, negatives and extra expenses, a film producer is also protected if a movie is hit by adverse weather or if there is an illness in the family.
‘‘Another attractive policy,’’ says leading Bollywood lawyer Shekhar Menon, ‘‘is the Multimedia Liability Insurance (Errors and Omissions) which protects directors from a quiver of legal claims, including those arising from defamation, libel or slander; copyright infringement (such as in the Raakesh Roshan-Ram Sampat Krazzy 4 spat or the Manoj Kumar-Shah Rukh Khan Om Shanti Om encounter); trademark infringement; invasion of privacy, plagiarism; emotion distress; negligence and even imprisonment.’’
An industry source says the producer of Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag had a cover of Rs 10 lakh under a general insurance policy, but when he was taken to court by Sascha Sippy, he was advised to take multimedia liability insurance. ‘‘Unfortunately, most producers approach an insurance firm at the last minute with policy requests,’’ says an insurance agent.

Source: The Times of India