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Rina Chandran

The summit will provide filmmakers an exposure to proven western sales and marketing practices that help films make that crossover.

Mumbai , Sept.30

THE Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) will be hosting a film marketing summit that will focus on making and marketing Indian content to overseas markets. While Bollywood films periodically rake in money in countries like the UK, where there is a large population of NRIs and People of Indian Origin, few films made in India can claim to appeal to western audiences, as well, according to Mr Shravan Shroff, CEO, Shringar Cinemas Ltd, who is chairing the summit.

``Filmmaking is about art and business: we know the art, but we need to know the business of making something that works abroad,'' he said. ``Crossover films are the new buzzword, but not a lot of people in the industry know how to make them — so this summit will provide the bridge that we need.'' The summit will feature the experiences of several international independent filmmakers and producers who have had some success with the crossover genre, and focus on the kind of content, marketing and selling efforts required to tap the western markets, he added.

There is a big gap in how films are marketed in India, and how they are marketed abroad, but there is also a growing interest in distributing Indian films abroad, said a spokesperson for CII. At the same time, more Indian filmmakers are willing to experiment with different themes, so the summit will provide them an exposure to proven western sales and marketing practices that help films make that crossover, the spokesperson added.

Strictly speaking, internationally acclaimed directors such as Mira Nair, Gurinder Chadha and Deepa Mehta cannot be regarded as Indian filmmakers, and films like `Monsoon Wedding' and `Bend it like Beckham' cannot be considered Indian films, Mr Shroff said. Nor can the recent deluge of low-budget Hinglish films be considered as crossover films.

The last truly Indian film that managed a successful crossover was Shekhar Kapur's `Bandit Queen,' and recent films like `Lagaan' and `Devdas' pulled in some non-Hindi film audiences only because of the Oscar buzz and the cast, respectively. But no Indian film has achieved the kind of success that films like `Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' or `My Big Fat Greek Wedding' did, he added.

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