With the evolution of the Indian cinema progressing towards better evolutionary developments day by day, the industry has also seen the rise of many stories and storytellers. And many at times, not all these stories reach the audiences through a traditional theatrical release. This is what BookMyShow and PVR Pictures backed Vkaao for the present changes. With its crowd sourced theatre on demand model, Vkaao continues to successfully give in a platform to a new league of film makers who are increasingly using this oportunity to get just the apt releases across PVR cinemas in the country so as to reach out to the right audience which is tapped using BookMyShow’s analytic capabilities. Vkaao’s model allows film-makers to create a specific film release plan that ensures focused marketing efforts and better planning of marketing budgets. The platform also allows a long tail theatrical revenue model through which a film stays in the Vkaao library so that one can keep creating incremental shows. Through this model, only the shows where enough people book advance tickets are made live. This is in sheer contrast with a traditional theatrical release where the shows are made available before any guarantee of box office collection is established. Some of the notable instances where film makers adopted this unconventional approach include Abhimanyu Chauhan’s social drama “Daddy’s Daughter” which he decided to first release only in his hometown of Lucknow where close to 15 special screenings were arranged through Vkaao. Another success story is that of ‘S Durga’, a highly acclaimed movie of this year which adopted a hybrid approach, where movie was traditionally released across Kerala, while outside Kerala, a very well-planned release across select theatres was executed through Vkaao. Similarly, last year’s best foreign language film at Oscars, “The Salesmen” was released using a hybrid approach through Vkaao.

Further, VKAAO allows film-makers to be very precise in planning their shows depending on probability of meeting advance thresholds. Movies such as, “Play This” is being released on a Monday and would continue for the first week up till Thursday. The reason to ditch the traditional Friday release and choosing a Monday is to control the minimum guarantee required for the movie to be screened. The whole idea is to ensure that the movie is screened on the theatres in the first week, and if the movie has enough potential, it can be continued traditionally throughout the week from the 2nd week. Marzdi Kalianiwala, SVP-Marketing and Business Intelligence, BookMyShow, said: “Each year our film industry produces hundreds of films that never see the light of the day and it’s been our endeavour to address this. Now with Vkaao’s unconventional platform, we are proud to support and promote the work of talented and independent filmmakers and help them take their stories to the right audience.”
Kamal Gianchandani, CEO, PVR Pictures, said: “PVR has always supported the independent film-makers in India. VKAAO also shares the same ethos. With VKAAO, we are hoping for more and more film-makers who could showcase their movies on a big-screen and provide true cinematic experience to discerning audience.”Vkaao is primarily a web-platform allowing people of similar interests to come together and enjoy a screening in the local theatres near them. This brings a personalized cinematic experience for the users. Since the strategic tie-up between the two entertainment giants – BookMyShow and PVR Pictures, the organic screenings on the platform have tripled. The platform has seen nearly 50% month-on-month growth in ticket sales in the last year. Vkaao currently provides the option to choose from 600 titles on its platform and organizes shows in close to
50 cities across India including metro and Tier II cities.