• Investment World
• eWorld
• Catalyst
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest

Menka Shivdasani

Flimmakers are trying to bring viewers movies that are bigger, better and more visually appealing.

The film fraternity has been busy checking out new ways to make your movies bigger, better and far more visually appealing. There were two mega-events in the city — ACM Siggraph Mumbai's Anigraph 2004 (Martin Poole of The Pixel Farm flew down to explain how software made a difference to the Hollywood blockbuster Cold Mountain.). The second was Locations 2004, billed as the "world's first film tourism event". Locations 2004 had several international participants trying to sell their countries to the Indian entertainment industry for foreign shoots — among them, Switzerland, Britain, Ireland, Australia, Mauritius, and Sri Lanka.

This is big business, and growing bigger. Of the 800 odd films produced each year, about 60-70 are big budget films. According to current estimates, 25 per cent of them feature international locations, each with a budget of at least $1 million. You would think that in the face of all this international competition Indian States would take the trouble to market themselves on home ground as well, but apparently, the file took six months to reach the tourism director — and by then, it was much too late. "The lethargy of the Indian bureaucracy is amazing," said organiser Sudhanshu Hukku, adding that in the same time the international participants had not only completed the formalities but also got various organisations within their countries to participate. Hukku also pointed out that a single film, Kaho Na Pyar Hai, which was shot in New Zealand, increased Indian traffic to New Zealand four-fold in a single year. "They even ended up increasing their visa centre from 800 sq ft to 3,000 sq ft as a result!" he said.

Well, every place in the world has its beautiful sights and any well-made film can showcase these, even in a city like Mumbai. So one asked New York filmmaker Denise Johnson, who has made Mumbai her home since 2001, if she thought the city had something that would attract filmmakers. "Of course," said Denise, "I'm inspired by the suggestion that there is something here that is deeper than surface external beauty. It's not in the brick and mortar; it's in the people!"

`My Lakshya is Hong Kong'

Hrithik Roshandrove his fans a little crazy at the Fame Adlabs multiplex in Mumbai, where his film Lakshya was playing. The Hong Kong Tourism Board organised a two-week promotion at the theatre to coincide with the film's release. The excitement included a contest, `My Lakshya is Hong Kong' and Hrithik turned up — right on time and just for 10 minutes — to hand over the grand prize of a return trip for two to Sangeeta Kapoor. The lucky lady gets to visit Hong Kong during the Hong Kong Shopping Festival.

Business as usual

As for Film City, on the outskirts of the National Park, it's business as usual though the leopards may be lurking nearby, ready to attack unsuspecting passers-by. Deepak Tijori's Khamosh - A Silent Witness is being shot here right now in a start-to-finish shoot schedule that began on June 23 and goes on till July 30. The Rs 3.5 crore film stars Shilpa Shetty in the role of a high society escort girl, which means that much of the shooting is being done at night when the leopard is on the prowl. "The border we are on is actually where this Charlie Brown is lurking around," says Tijori. "The other night when I went there, I was told he had picked up a dog from our set — you could see the bloody trail of that dog. We've put barbed wire around and I've warned everyone not to go beyond the lit area, but there are 100 people on the set and you know how it is. The other night, my hero Rajiv Singh's driver actually saw the leopard right on the street!" The film is a psychological thriller and clearly Tijori and his team have got more thrills than they were looking for!

A glittering fare

Far away from the film world, at the refurbished Modern Mills in Mahalaxmi, an interesting exhibition was held. The newly launched Indian Institute of Jewellery (IIJ) exhibited 51 replicas of the world's most exotic diamonds in association with Diamond Trading Company's (DTC) Diamond Promotion Service. The exhibits were perfect replicas in glass of the originals and included the round yellow Cuban Capitol from an African mine. It was placed in 1928 on the pavement of Campidoglio, Havana, to indicate the measuring point of the road (the original diamond weighs 23.04 carats), and of course, the Kohinoor, all of 105.60 cts, which legend says dates back from Christ and history proves has existed for at least two and a half centuries.

"The gems and jewellery industry in India has been neglected so far with hardly any recognised institutes offering advanced courses in the field of jewellery crafting and manufacturing," says Vijay Jatia, Chairman, Modern Mills Ltd. and the Promoter-Founder of Indian Institute of Jewellery. The potential is enormous, with the gems and jewellery industry projected to grow to $10 billion by this year.

One of these days, I'm going to craft my own jewellery; if you are looking for designer stuff in a city where you are often judged by your jewels you might as well make your own!

Response can be sent to life@thehindu.co.in

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Treading on big cat's turf

Copyright © 2004, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line