Saahore Bahubali ~ Insurable risks ~ Bahubali, the Conclusion !!

Insurers take care of risks ~ not all risks are insurable.  Ideally, some basic criteria of risks being definite, financially measurable, not too unique posing challenges in rating and charging appropriate premium, not being random in nature and the like are to be met, to make it an ‘insurable risk’ – a risk that conforming to the specifications of the Insurers, the definitions of which may remain complex, dynamic and different based on the size and understanding of an Insurer.

One is certainly amazed by the movie – ‘Babubali - the Conclusion’ – it has matched the hyped expectations.  The 2^nd part now on screen  opens with  jawdropping scene – the Rajamata walking with fire pot on head, massive rampaging elephant – a thunderous spectacle  unlikely to be surpassed in several summers, and clinching proof of writer-director SS Rajamouli’s position among world cinema’s boldest imagemakers.  The scene unfolds with the quick thinking Bahubali placing a rath infront and the elephant bowing to Lord Ganesha.

Bahubali (One with strong arms), a much revered figure among Jains was the son of Rishabha (first tirthankara and founder of Jainism). After the nonviolent duel with Bharata, his elder brother, Bahubali abandoned his kingdom and clothes to became a Jain monk. Bahubali is also called Gomadesh because of the statue dedicated to him. Prabhas powerful portrayal in SS Rajamouli directed film hit the movie industry by storm – a totally unexpected high grosser,  and that placed huge premium of expectation on its 2^nd and concluding part.   The movie is a fictional story of two warring brothers vying for control of an ancient Indian kingdom ‘Mahismati’ - : Prabhas& Rana Daggubati with Tamannaah, Anushka Shetty, Ramya Krishnan, in other roles.  The Soundtrack and background score of Maragathamani Keeravani captivates so also is the cinematography and visual effects; and this is about what the creditline of  the film has to do with an Insurer.

For those industry watchers, following the progress of the box office juggernaut that is Baahubali 2: The Conclusion – reports put that within just five days at the theatres, it has grossed Rs 600 crore.In reaching this figure, Bahubali 2 has already broken several records for Indian films, and also set some new ones.  Some cine pundits put that ‘The Conclusion’ would touch Rs 1,000 crore in box office collections — or 10 billion; perhaps that too is within reach. 

It has taken the World by storm globally too.  It is reported that different versions of a film are usually classed as the same title for the purposes of box-office reporting, such as foreign animated films that are released in dubbed and subtitled versions. So it is very rare – if not wholly exceptional – to see a film appear twice in the UK Top 10, as has just occurred with Indian historical actioner Baahubali 2: The Conclusion-  It ranks sixth in its Hindi version (£221,000); ninth in the Tamil language (£195,000). It appears two more times lower down the rankings, for versions in Malayalam (£29,500) and Telugu (£9,700). In total, the various versions grossed £455,000. The original Baahubali film was a modest UK release in July 2015.

Movies are insured – though not all Insurers have a Policy nor consider this insurable. The special specific policy has differential sections of coverage where limits of indemnity are taken by the proposer.  There is insurance for Cast (indemnity for death / criticial illness and the like); Props, Sets, wardrobes, equipments, extra expenses, public liability and the like.

The movie Bahubali 2: The Conclusion, which has set cash registers ringing at the box office, has been good for insurers as well. The big-budget movie was insured for over Rs 200 crore by Future Generali, and the cover has concluded without any major claim.  Insurers would be delighted to see the name of the Insurance Company appear on the cast line scroll at the start of the movie. 

TOI and other newspapers report that the Rs 250-crore movie — an epic historical fiction, directed by S SRajamouli and produced by ShobuYarlagadda and Prasad Devineni — has involved major investments in elaborate sets and is touted to be the most expensive film in India till date. There are reports that the yet-to-release Rajnikanth'sEnthiran 2 (Robot), which has a budget of Rs 450 crore, is insured for Rs 300 crore by state-owned insurers, which makes it the largest film cover. The reports put that Bahubali 2: The Conclusion,  had a ₹200-crore insurance cover from Future Generali India Insurance (FGII).

The insurance firm has confirmed issuing the policy for the film. “We have provided cover (for Bahubali) under our film package,” Mr. KG KrishnamoorthyRao, Chief Executive Officer, FGII, told BusinessLine.The firm has so far issued 370 film policies. Of this, about 160 were issued, mostly in Bollywood, in the last financial year. “We would now like to focus on the Southern market as well,” he said.  Mr. Rao said there has been a growing interest from film-production houses to take a cover to safeguard from risks.MrRao is quoted as stating that the interest for film insurance covers has been growing in India since corporates entered film production.

Saahore Bahubali;  Jayaharathineeke pattali pattali;

Bhuvanalanni jai kottali, Gaganale chhatrampattali

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

5^th May 2017