Warner Bros is the latest big US studio scouting for opportunities in the Hindi film industry. What will this invasion do to our movies?
If Warner Bros, Paramount Films and Disney’s foray into Bollywood is anything to go by, the debate about which of the two industries is better may finally be laid to rest.
The big brothers will, after all, bring along the promise of bigger budgets, better equipment, and a fresh pool of knowledge and technical knowhow that could herald the era of bound scripts, pre-launch marketing blitz, state-of-the-art production and a global distribution network. There’s a lot of cheer surrounding this development, with Bollywood bigwigs betting that the studio format will not only improve the quality of home-grown productions but also increase the industry’s overseas revenue. From the the international studios’ point of view, Bollywood would seem that juicy pie it can’t keep its hands off.
Growing at an estimated 12-15 per cent annually, finding a foothold in the Hindi films business makes sense. “Investing in India is a global trend,” says Amit Khanna, filmmaker and president of Film and Television Guild. “India is a hot destination with a robust economy and a significant market share. It’s obvious why Hollywood wants to come here.”
Another reason could be that Bollywood produces double the number of films Hollywood does each year; at 1/30th the cost.
Directors like Kunal Kohli, Rakesh Roshan, Subash Ghai, Karan Johar, and Sanjay Leela Bhansali spend between Rs25crore and Rs60 crore for each movie. Kohli, whose last film, Fanaa, was made on a Rs25 crore budget, says, “Hollywood studios will help Bollywood films become grander. The risks will rise, but that kind of competition is healthy.”
Bluffmaster director Rohan Sippy echoes Kohli, and adds that better equipment, talent and technical knowledge are greater add-ons.
Says Arijit Dutta, managing director, Priya Entertainment, and joint venture partner of Sony Pictures Releasing India Pvt Ltd, “Studios will help corporatise Bollwyood. We will have better-structured back offices instead of two or three production managers running around.”
Warner Brothers is tight-lipped about its plans, but Sony Pictures (Columbia Tristar), which entered the Indian market seven years ago has zeroed in on its first production with Black director Sanjay Leela Bhansali. The studio is producing his next venture, Saawariya. The Rs40-crore film is already on the floors and is set to release in mid 2007.
“Bhansali has the potential of getting on to the international stage,” says Vikramjit Roy, head publicist and acquisitions, Sony Pictures Releasing India Pvt Ltd. “But first we need to see how Saawariya performs.”
Bollywood isn’t the only film industry Hollywood studios are looking at. Alternate films in regional languages, may also see the balance shift in their favour.
This Hollywood invasion may also help Bollywood rid itself of the alleged underworld money and its unorganised functioning.
But before all that, says Kohli, “the studios will have to Indianise themselves.After all, no one understands Hindi films better than we do.”
Bouquet and brickbats
Imtiaz Ali, film director
Hollywood knows how to exploit their films all over the world. When they make a movie, they know the whole world will watch it. If they come to Bollywood, it will help us increase our budgets. That will be our biggest gain.
Manmohan Shetty, CEO Adlabs
How would Warner Brothers coming to India help? They want to use us to make money while giving the impression that they are here to help us. If they come to India and become producers, which means more money for our industry, we will welcome them.
Bobby Bedi, producer
Hollywood is trying to consolidate the Indian market because they feel India will be the land of opportunities for the next two-three decades. This may help improve our methods but it won’t help take our films abroad.
Rajat Kapoor, director
Warner Bros is not coming to make us a global industry, there is no reason to worry or celebrate. Sony channel had announced the launch of its film channel, but what happened? They don’t make films like we do, they make popular commercial cinema, so there is little hope for new directors.
(Inputs from Neeta Kolhatkar)
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