More Than 157 Million Indians Bought 943 Million Movie Tickets in 2023

More than 157 million Indians watched at least one film in the theatre in 2023. This theatre-going population [1] _____ over the 122 million in 2022. More importantly, it is an 8 percent growth from the pre-pandemic (January to March 2020) [2] _____. [3] _____ bought 943 million tickets. That means they saw [4] _____ films in the year. That number changes depending on the language. Telugu-speaking audiences are [5] _____; they beat the average with over 9 films a year. Tamil comes [i] _____ and Punjabi is at number three with an average of 5 films a year. Hindi lags with an average of 3.

These among others are some of the findings of ‘Sizing the Cinema: 2024,’ a report from Mumbai- based analytics firm Ormax Media. In its third year of publication, the report is based on research conducted in January 2024 [ii] _____ across urban and rural India.

The last Indian Readership Survey in 2019 puts the theatre-going audience at 33 million, so this seems like a large jump. Can a sample-based report be accurate?

Shailesh Kapoor, founder and CEO, Ormax Media, points to the only available metrics– the actual ticket sales (943 million) and box-office revenue (Rs. 12,226 crore). The report is totally [iii] _____ and has been so for three years, he says. Note that the films earned a total revenue of Rs. 19,700 crore in 2023– this includes domestic and overseas theatrical, music, TV and streaming rights. Analysts point out that television is watched regularly by 900 million people. More than 510 million people surf the net daily for videos and films. If anything, the reach numbers for cinema seem low for a film-crazy country with [iv] _____.

“It (the reach of cinema) is only 11 percent of the country’s population,” says Kapoor. Note that the reach number will be way higher if you factor in that [v] _____ spent watching TV is spent on film or that a large proportion of OTT viewing is cinema. These are not factored in by the Ormax report. Even without that, the rise in the overall numbers is impressive, say analysts.

Excerpted from: Kohli-Khandekar, Vanita. “More Than 157 Million Indians Bought 943 Million Movie Tickets in 2023.” Business Standard, Mumbai, 24 Apr 2024, p. 2.

Based on the above data, answer the given subquestions.

Fill in the blanks with correct expressions of numbers/values/quantity.

Banned betting sites are piggybacking on popular platforms again, as India’s taxmen and regulators play whack-a-mole with shady operators from distant shores. Betting ads have popped up on grocery app Zepto and on taxis operated by an Uber fleet provider, while items branded 1xBat, a mirror name for betting app 1xBet, sell on Amazon.

India has banned and blocked [i] _____ of offshore gambling platforms, but many of them still operate through so-called mirror sites– replicas of the original with a near identical URL, and hosted on a different server. Meanwhile, [ii] _____ celebrities endorse and keep the betting platforms in public view, while tax authorities stare at lost revenue.

Everest fleet, Uber’s [iii] _____ cab-provider, said it became aware of the ads recently and takes the matter seriously. In September, Uber had invested [iv] $30 _____ in the company. The Zepto app has displayed ads from Parimatch, a banned betting platform. Amazon displays various sports goods branded 1xBat, a close imitation of 1xBet. Despite the government’s blocking them, Cyprus- based 1xBet and Parimatch and Curacao-based Fairplay remain [v] _____ visible through digital advertising, while escaping the tax payments that local gaming companies are subjected to. Sadashi, Sakshi. “Betting Ads Mushroom in India’s Regulatory Grey Zone.” Mint, Mumbai, vol. 8, no. 91, 15 Apr. 2025, p. 1.

Based on the above data, answer the given subquestions.

Read the following and answer the given subquestions:

The MTHL and Mumbai’s Changing Face

The longest sea bridge in India, the MTHL was commissioned when Fadnavis was chief minister; construction began in 2016. Opened to the public in January, it has reduced the distance between Sewri on the island city and Chirle near the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) in Raigad district (1) _____ – from 60 km to 22 km. “The best thing about the MTHL is the non-stop 22 km journey on the sea bridge,” said Saji S., who commutes 60 km one way from his house in Ambernath to Mumbai every day.

For a long time, two bridges over Thane creek linked Mumbai to Navi Mumbai– the Mulund-Airoli connector and the Vashi connector. The MTHL is the third. “This bridge is on land, sea and mudflats in between the two,” said Dr. Sanjay Mukherjee, metropolitan commissioner, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority. “The seismic strength of the bridge is (2) _____ the normal seismic activity of that region.”

The bridge is a six-lane highway that ensures quick connectivity from the city to JNPT, the under- construction Navi Mumbai airport, the expressway to Pune and the national highway to Goa. Shinde said the MTHL was a game changer for commuters and the economy. “We are connecting the MTHL to the Worli sea link and to Nariman Point via the coastal road,” he said. “People living in Nariman Point will now be able to reach Panvel in just about 30 minutes.” It currently takes (3) _____.

The MTHL has given the city the opportunity to grow horizontally. It will be the engine of economic growth for Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan region, said S. V. R. Srinivas, former managing director of MMRDA, who oversaw most of the work on the MTHL during his tenure.

Officially the Atal Setu, the MTHL is also a bridge to Mumbai’s future. “Atal Setu will facilitate the creation of ‘Third Mumbai’ in the Navi Mumbai-Raigad region,” said Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. The government has facilitated MMRDA as the New Town Development Authority (NTDA) to focus on the growth of the areas that will be benefitted by the Atal Setu. Third Mumbai is an ambitious smart city that is envisaged in the area close to the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport. The project encompasses 124 villages in the Raigad district. Several villages from the existing Navi Mumbai Airport Influence Notified Area are also likely to be a part of the NTDA. The NTDA is expected to oversee (4) _____ area in the Panvel-Ulwe-Uran region where the new airport and the MTHL will offer connectivity. It will feature housing projects, commercial complexes, data centres, IT knowledge parks and financial service hubs. The foundation stone for the airport was laid in 2018. The Rs.18,000 crore project, planned on 1,160 hectares, is the largest greenfield airport under development.

Just as the MTHL is easing the commute from South Mumbai to Navi Mumbai and beyond, Mumbai Metro has now become a practical alternative to the overcrowded suburban trains for lakhs of Mumbaikaars. The lifeline of commuters, the local trains have been running well over their capacity owing to (5) _____ in the number of travellers over the years, especially during peak hours. People in the suburbs are quickly switching to the clean, air-conditioned metro trains to travel to the city. “Metro saves a lot of time,” says Sayali M., a regular commuter from Gundavali to Aarey. “If I take an autorickshaw on this route, it takes almost 50 minutes and costs around Rs.150. I cover the same distance by metro in 15 minutes and it costs just Rs.20.” Mumbai Metro’s Line 3, which connects the northern suburbs at Aarey to Colaba, the city’s southernmost area, is probably {i} _____ project in the city. This {ii} _____, which is under construction, will have 26 underground stations and will provide connectivity to major business centres like Nariman Point, Cuffe Parade, Fort and Lower Parel, the business district of Bandra Kurla Complex, and the industrial belt of SEEPZ/MIDC (Santacruz Electronics Export Processing Zone/Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation). A fully operational Line 3 would cater to {iii} _____, said Ashwini Bhide, managing director of Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation. “Around {iv} _____ of road traffic is expected to reduce. By 2031, around 5.54 lakh vehicular trips will be expected to reduce every day, which will cut the fuel consumption {v} _____ a day. Around 15 percent burden on suburban railways will also be lessened,” she said.

Excerpted from: Jathar, Dnyanesh, and Nachiket Kelkar. “Metropolis in Motion.” The Week, 03 Mar 2024, Mumbai, p. 28-37.