The Hindu Business Line : Film-making as business study at IIM-A

Ahmedabad June 23 It is happening on July 15, finally. Entertainment has emerged as serious business, after all, even on the premises of the prestigious IIM-A.

Ever since the Railway Minister, Mr Lalu Prasad, who lectured at the top business school here on September 18, 2006, about the Railways' turnaround story, it was being speculated whether the IIM-A could soon have film-makers on its guest list.

Mr Madhur Bhandarkar, director of the critically-acclaimed Hindi film Corporate, is now visiting the institute on July 15 to "interact" with its dons and students.

"Actually, we have taken up two Hindi films related to the business world — Corporate and Guru — as a research project and case study. We want to study the impact of such films on the society at large and the lessons the people, particularly business leaders and students, could learn from such films," said Prof Tejas Desai.

He told Business Line that he also wanted Mr Mani Ratnam, who directed Guru, believed to be based on the late Dhirubhai Ambani, to visit the IIM-A. But he was too busy to make it to Ahmedabad. For now, however, only film directors are being considered for interaction, to know how they viewed the film-making as a business, particularly after major companies have corporatised and globalised their operations

New study stream

Prof Desai said currently he was being assisted by one student on this project. However, a new entity, the Department of Public System Groups, is being set up at the IIM-A. "It is a new stream of study. Film-making is a unique industry in which each single product claims to be different from all others, unlike, say, soft-drink bottles which are exactly the same. This makes study of film-making business a new experience."

He said he is also planning to organise a "Film Festival" at the IIM-A in November-December this year in which film directors and other leading personalities related to the entertainment business would be invited. The event would focus on their vision on this business involving culture.

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