Is 'Barfi!' too sweet for television?

If you are waiting to watch last year's highly acclaimed Ranbir Kapoor-Priyanka Chopra-Ileana D'Cruz starrer Barfi! on TV, it could turn out to be a long one. Channels are not showing interest in buying the film so far!

This despite the film raking in Rs100 crore at the box-office. In an era where films are being aired on TV within a month or two of their theatrical release, it is shocking that a feel-good film like Barfi! that was released last September hasn't found any takers.

Jayantilal Gada, CMD Pen India, who deals with the buying of satellite rights for ZEE has kept away from the film for a simple reason. "Films like Barfi! don't rate high on TV. Performances are good but acting dekhne ke liye people go to the theatres," he says.

Neeraj Vyas, executive vice-president and business head for MAX, avers that films like Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Barfi! do not get a huge rating. "It does not in anyway reflect on the quality of the film. The content is very good but on TV the genres that work best are action and comedy, which is why you will find a lot of dubbed South Indain action movies being repeated on our channel," he points out.

An official who doesn't want to be named says that films like Rang De Basanti, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara or Barfi! do not have a repeat value. "Also the pricing plays a huge role. Usually, there's not much recovery on the cost," he says. According to market sources, the price for the rights of Barfi! is Rs20 crore.