Shahrukh Khan more popular than Tom Cruise

A year ago, Shahrukh Khan was asked how he felt about a report that 3.2 billion people knew him, while only 2.7 billion across the world knew Tom Cruise. Replying with his trademark humility, Khan pointed out that Cruise still made more money thanks to Hollywood's marketing and pricing power. "So there, we do fall short," he had said.

But, recent indications show that King Khan will have less room to complain in the years to come. Bollywood cash flow has just begun to build up in tandem with its effort to build global scale and reach. And last month, there was an opportunity to guage the current market appeal of both Khan and Cruise. Lions for Lambs, directed by Robert Redford and starring Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep released about the same time as Om Shanti Om (OSO), directed by Farah Khan and starring Shahrukh Khan and debutante Deepika Padukone. Cruise's movie, which had consumed $35 million in production, garnered $10.3 million in 45 markets on its opening weekend. Khan's movie, also his home production, grossed $19 million worldwide in its opening weekend.

But the most thumping show of the rising might of Indian films came Tamil Superstar Rajinikant's Sivaji, which collected between Rs 100-150 crore worldwide — the highest for any Indian film so far. While OSO and Sivaji are just like oases in a desert, they show that Indian movies have it in them to be global offerings.

Bollywood is sure to make a determined bid to narrow its revenue gap with Hollywood, experts say. Advances in digital technology have brought down the cost of prints — a big cost element — by as much as 90%. That has made it easier for Indian film producers to put out many more prints for distribution. So a movie like OSO is today able to release with a simultaneous print run of 1,400, of which 500 are digital.

One reason is the improving economies of scale. Multiplex cinemas are spreading across the nation, even in smaller towns. In fact, multiplex halls average Rs. 150 per movie. "With increased prints come more collections, especially in the Bombay circuit, Central Province and Central India," says Rajesh Mishra, chief operating officer, UFO Moviez, which has installed digital outfits in 903 cinemas across 23 states. Digital distribution has raised revenue per film. If the last year's big ticket films were sold in the range of Rs 4-6 crore to distributors for Bombay, the territory with the highest earnings, the tag has gone up to Rs 11 crore this year. This can only increase considering industry estimates that the reach of multiplexes is going to increase from 400 to 2,000 by 2011.

The spread of Internet and mobile phone usage, coupled with the Indians' everlasting passion for music, will ensure new media revenues grow for Bollywood. Digital music revenue is expected to touch Rs 3,601 crore by 2009, compared with Rs 450 crore in 2005, according to a PwC study. More and more firms are tapping this potential. For instance, Eros Entertainment derived 11% of its April-September total revenue from new-media opportunities.