Lights! Camera! Action!

The reel rolls and a whole new life emerges on that 70 mm screen. Man meets woman, dance around trees, climax arises, a villain makes entry, conflict emerges, tension seeps in and finally!!! The man gets his woman and they live happily ever after. THE END. The film is a HIT. It has received 90% opening. All seems well. Now its time to party. Champagne bottles are waiting to pop, the dance floor is on fire, energy levels are high and its time to celebrate.

Can life get better? Truly, no business like show business. But there can be a downside too. What if the audience walk out of the theatre before the curtain drops? What if the turnovers don't weigh much? What if business is bad? What if the film is written off? Risky Business right!!!

With huge sets, risky stunt scenes, expensive machinery, hi tech equipments, Indian Films have become an increasingly costly affair. The need of some kind of accountability was definitely felt. Something needed to be done to assure the producer about the hard work and infrastructure being put into creating that 3-hour dream world.

Film Insurance had already been introduced in the foreign film industry. With corporatisation entering the film world, a need of insuring films was felt.

At its initial phase, Insurance was considered a burden on the film's budget and some degree of hesitation was seen. However, things begin to change. During the making of 'Khalnayak', when Sanjay Dutt was arrested, director Subhash Ghai was prompted to insure his next film Taal. He paid 1.5 million as premium for the film, which valued at Rs 110 million. The outcome being so good, many more producers decided to insure their films. Take a look at the following table;

In later times, films like Chalte Chalte, Joggers Park, Kal Ho Naa Ho and many more were insured.

The Insurance cover includes compensation for delays or calamities like bandhs, floods and traffic interruptions, which can delay a film or cause losses. Insurance in Hindi Films can be grouped into;

Depending on the kind of film one is making policies are taken. Like the policy structure would be very different for a film like Devdas and Bheja Fry.

However, it has come into notice that the Indian Film industry is still very insurance shy. There is a perception in the film industry that, the premium outflow unnecessarily adds to the budget of the film and it is definitely avoidable. Again, United India's premium is pegged at approximately 1-1.5% of the film budget. This is comparatively lower than the 4-6% range of film completion bond guarantees abroad.

However, with increasing professionalism and more realism coming in the market, film insurance is definitely becoming the need of the hour. It is sad that inspite of some very big production houses accepting the insurance idea, the number stays continues to stay relatively small. This tendency needs to be changed. Ad films though, seem to be going on the right track. An advertising film featuring Hema Malini for Rahat Rooh Oil, is the first ad film to get insured. With the advent of new technology and dangerous stunts like the ones featured in the Mountain Dew, Bajaj Pulser, Birla Aditya Group, Nike, Thums Up and many more, it is nice to know that the Indian entertainment industry is gradually recognizing and accepting the concept of insurance.