Multiplex chain PVR Cinemas is the latest to join the NFT frenzy, launching an exclusive collection for the period drama RRR, that will be released in the theatres on Friday, March 25.
Non-fungible tokens or NFTs are unique and secured digital tokens minted on a blockchain. Most people are drawn to NFTs due to their exclusivity, luring Indian movie makers and celebrities to use the medium for promotion and to connect with their fans.
Around 300 digital assets of the film, including posters signed by director S.S. Rajamouli and cast Ram Charan, Jr NTR and Alia Bhatt, will be launched as part of a contest on the official PVR website and SPI Cinemas. Apart from posters, digital collectibles will also include props such as bikes, coins and weapons used in the making of the movie.
These NFTs can be traded anywhere in the ecosystem, Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, Joint Managing Director of PVR Ltd, told Mint.
“We’re in talks with several studios for similar initiatives for older films and will also see how this one plays out to evaluate plans (for upcoming movies) because the possibilities are endless," Bijli said.
PVR has partnered with NFT platform KoineArth's ngageN platform for the NFTs, Rajat Tyagi, Chief Information Officer of PVR, said.
This is not the first time NFTs are being minted for Indian cinema. The makers of Ranveer Singh-starrer 83 had launched the film’s digital collectibles or NFTs in January.
NFT marketplace Social Swag said the auction of collectibles, including autographed physical cricket memorabilia, video scenes, animated digital avatars, and unseen posters and images from the movie, were sold out for Rs 10 lakh within an hour of their debut on the platform.
Earlier this month, makers of the Hindi movie Jhund, starring Amitabh Bachchan, launched two digital collectibles in collaboration with US-based NFT platform Superstar Xchange. The collectibles were priced at over Rs 2,15,000 each.
Not just movie makers, actors like Amitabh Bachchan have also embraced the NFT trend. Last year, the superstar launched a collection of poems written by his father and recited by him. The collection was sold for a whopping Rs 7.18 crore.
Similarly, NFT marketplace Fantico has offered cinema-based digital collectibles such as Javed Akhtar’s handwritten lyrics of the song Hawa Hawai from the movie Mr India, original theatrical artwork of Mughal-E-Azam and showcards of the 1972 classic Sholay.
“In India, Bollywood is the biggest industry. With takers from across demographics, movie NFTs will certainly be in high demand in the coming future,” Pranav Panpalia, Founder of OpraahFx, an influencer marketing platform, told Moneycontrol.
