1. Introductory

1.1 The Indian Film Industry is one of the oldest segments of Indian entertainment industry. Films constitute about 27% of the entertainment industry in India. The film industry was given status of industry in the year 2000. In recent years, the Indian film industry has witnessed marked improvements on all fronts, viz., technology, themes, exhibitions, finances, marketing and business environment. Indian film industry is also getting corporatized. FDI in all film related activities such as film production, distribution, exhibition, marketing etc. is permitted up to 100% for all companies under the automatic route. The combined revenues of the Indian film industry, including box office and ancillary revenues, are estimated to have reached a figure of around Rs.109.2bn in the year 2009. The industry is estimated to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 9.1% to reach $3.4bn (Rs. 168.6 bn) by 2013 due to factors such as the expansion of multiplex screens, enhanced penetration of home video and increase in the number of film based TV channels fuelling demand for film content. (Source : Report of FICCI - KPMG, 2009)

1.2 One of the major reasons for a large number of