[Today I came across this mail, my first group work at SP, with the bestest group I ever worked with at SP. I still recall our first meeting, a gyaani tungi, Lal in don’t care mode with his red-white tshirt, Monik shouting at the top of his voice, and Nitika sitting in a pink top cursing her kismat for being part of this ganwaar group. I have copied the entire assignment here :)]
Daroga Babu I Love You, Panditji Batai Na Biyah Kab Hoi, Dharti Kahe Pukar Ke … The fact that people go to watch movies with names like these bears testimony to the fact that Bhojpuri movies are here to stay. They started production in the 60s and were thwarted by the more popular love stories and family dramas of Bollywood. Over the years a much more professional Bollywood started moving up the value chain by targeting Urban Audiences and NRIs. Many of the consumers were not able to make this shift thus creating a void. The main reasons were lack of affordability and the cultural gap as perceived by them. The Bhojpuri movie industry jumped at the opportunity and filled in this gap. With its cultural and entertainment value, it projected itself as the perfect substitute for Bollywood cinema. Today, the market for these movies has grown by leaps and bounds. One of the major contributing factors is the migration of labour from Bihar and UP to various states in the country. Therefore, the demand for Bhojpuri movies is almost omnipresent. Using this case we try to ANALYSE the change in demand and the substitution effect for a segment of Bhojpuri audience comprising the rural/small town audience and the migrants.
MARGINAL UTILITY/ DEMAND CURVE:
FEATURES:
1. BOLLYWOOD INDUSTRY:
A) The market size increases up to the 1990s and there is a decline in 2000+.
B) There was an increase in emphasis on the high end market as the years went by.
C) There is a continuous increase in the minimum amount to be spent on a movie by the consumer. Thereby a void has been created by the change in price along with cultural preferences.
2. BHOJPURI FILM INDUSTRY:
A) The market size moderately increased upto the late 1980s and then experienced a steep decline in the 1990s.
B) In the late 1990s and early 2000, the industry rose back in leaps and bounds, thereby successfully capturing the market uncatered or left behind by the Bollywood industry and created its own market place too.
INDIFFERENCE CURVE ANALYSIS:
FEATURES:
1. IC-1 has a flatter slope implying the preference of the people for Bollywood cinema.
2. An increase in the price of Bollywood cinema along with the change in the style of film making caused the people to change their preferences to Bhojpuri cinema. They assigned more value to Bhojpuri cinema as compared to Bollywood cinema. This caused the indifference curve (IC-2) to become steeper. This shows that the people allocated more of their income towards Bhojpuri cinema.
Reference:
Latika Neelkantan, “The heartland values of Bhojpuri cinema”, Himal SouthAsian, October’2006. [Online]. Available: http://www.himalmag.com/2006/october/special_report.htm [Accessed 27th June, 2008]
Submitted by GROUP 5
beingdesh 
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