The Hindu Business Line : `Film industry has the potential to grow 70 pc'

THE Indian film and entertainment industry has a tremendous export potential, not merely in the Indian Diaspora market but across a larger universe of movie lovers around the globe, says Mr Amit Khanna, President, Film Producers' Guild of India.

The industry's export earnings, currently at Rs 1,000 crore annually, have the potential to grow by 70-80 per cent over the next five to ten years, Mr Khanna said in an interview. Excerpts:

The Indian film industry is at a point of metamorphosis. How would you describe the path ahead?

It will be a path to glory and growth. The change in the film industry is cataclysmic, new set of business paradigms are evolving. Today, there are new streams of revenue, increased corporatisation and focus on profits. This is possibly unsettling a large number of old-time players. Therefore, I would say that the industry is going through a crisis of change. Nevertheless, it is a great time for those who ride the crest.

Would not the drive toward profitability impact creativity in filmmaking?

Creativity need not be delinked from profitability. A village artisan making artefacts does not disassociate himself from profits. The well-known filmmaker Mr Satyajit Ray was also very keen about profits and every single film of his made profits.

What kind of efforts is in place to combat piracy in film industry?

For one the film release window has to be changed. Today distribution has taken on a completely new form. Technology and digitization are prompting the industry to go in for shorter release windows. Digital downloads of films are a reality today and the industry should look at ways to earn from these downloads. At an industry level we are engaged in discussions with various functionaries on the piracy issue. We are also looking at increasing the export potential of the industry by exploring new markets as a measure to increase earnings.

It is well-known that the Indian Diaspora is a big market for Indian films. Is the industry exploring overseas markets beyond this?

Today, Indian films are viewed not by the Indian Diaspora alone but by the South Asian Diaspora. And it is not just films but also television content that goes to about 100 countries. Today in a year 3.2 billion people see a Bollywood film while 2.8 million see a Hollywood film. Our film industry has failed to capitalise on this potential. Currently, export of films, television content and animation stands at Rs 1,000 crore annually and has the potential of growing at 70-80 per cent over the next five to ten years.

There are too many awards already around. Why then has the Film Producers' Guild of India instituted yet another award? Why has the regional film industry not included?

The Film Producers Guild of India needed to create a platform to cater to the serious film-makers. The industry is going through a change and we felt that the voice of the genuine stakeholders has to be heard. We decided to set up the Apsara Film Producers' Guild Award, not only to recognise talent in the film industry but also in television.

The Film Producers' Guild of India, which has 160 members, all of them by invitation, has the younger generation as well as corporate houses. These members account for 70 per cent of the earnings of the industry. Therefore, the Guild is an important organisation. In setting up this award, we have benchmarked against other international awards like the Oscars and have hired PricewaterhouseCoopers as auditors. We represent serious filmmakers. We do have many representatives from regional film industry as members. This time around, we decided to start with one award for a regional film. But we would look at enlarging this category later.