Pune has the biggest Porn Market

A recent report in Mid Day revealed that Pune is one of the biggest hubs of porn in India, and that the city accounts for more than 50 per cent of revenue generated in the Maharashtra porn market. That means half of the porn DVDs/films in the whole of Maharshtra are sold in Pune.

Shockingly, porn has battled thorough the financial slowdown and has actually emerged profitable in India. According to the report, Maharashtra generated an astounding Rs 60 lakh in the year 2009 through porn, and the city of Pune was itself responsible for Rs 30 lakh. ‘Adult’ theaters in Maharashtra that screen porn films give James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ a run for its money. There are only two halls that show pornos in Pune – named after Gods Shrikrishna and Alpana – the films screened there amount to mostly packed houses, even during weekdays and morning shows. Its good business – as many as 100 porn films release in these two theaters every year, each film runs for a week, and like modern multiplexes, the two theaters screen six to seven shows a day. The films’ short runtime make for more shows which effectively means more moolah.

But here’s the juice – the managers of the theaters revealed that the majority of the folks visiting their theaters are not horny or curious youngsters, or auto-wallas, but rich people in their mid-thirties who seem like they’re the pioneers of decency. Also, most of these movies are of South Indian origin, and feature Telugu and Malayalam actors whose ‘voices’ are dubbed in Hindi for the benefit of the Puneites. Youngsters in the city don’t bother paying to watch porn in theaters – they have enough material on their computers and on the net to download or watch for free.

“Most members of our audience are 35 to 40 years of age. They drive cars and are from respectable backgrounds. Surprisingly, we have very few young viewers. The young seek their thrills online,” said Shantaram Thorat, manager, Alpana theatre. Ulhas Manne, manager Shrikrishna, said, “Most porn films are from the South in Telugu and Malayalam. “The films are dubbed in Hindi. This is a legal business as all these films are censored.”