The Hindu Business Line : Call sheet & Co

Is Tamil film industry finally slipping into the corporate mode of its Northern counterpart? It would certainly seem so, going by the increasing number of corporate biggies that have started turning to Tamil films as a viable revenue source.

Apart from Adlabs, UTV and Moser Baer from Mumbai, Chennai’s Pyramid Saimira, Aynagaran International, Radaan Mediaworks and Insight Entertainment Media have shown interest in the production, distribution and exhibition of Tamil films.

But can corporate culture flourish within the often ‘chaotic’ creative process that is cinema? How much creative freedom does it leave to the director?

Director Priya V’s Kannamoochi Yenada is a film produced jointly by UTV and Radaan Media. Says Priya, “Corporate investment is good for the industry. Deals are more transparent, decisions are jointly taken, they work with a bound script and are very systematic.”

Moser Baer India has entered Kollywood, as Tamil film industry is informally called, in a big way. Along with Prakash Raj’s Duet Films they are producing several films (Vellithirai, Abhiyum Naanum, Mayil, Raman Thediya Seethai and one untitled venture). Other big names associated with its projects include Cheran, Trisha, Pasupathy, Vidyasagar and Illayaraja.

G. Dhananjayan, COO of the company’s entertainment division, says, “People with a bound and ready script approach us and, along with our executive producer and production manager, we hear the story.Once the story and screenplay is cleared by us and we think it’s financially viable, we work on casting.

"From then on, right from the pre-production to post-production we see that things run on schedule. But we leave the creative aspect to the director. Of course, we prepare for contingencies as well.”

Firm agreements and contracts are the norm. But Dhananjayan stresses, “We understand it’s a creative field and apart from the money we bring, we have to also respect the creative sensibility. If it’s a likeminded partnership, it reflects in the quality of the films produced.”

Dhananjayan echoes a new sensibility that appears to have permeated the corporate world’s approach to the creative medium, “We want to make films that will add value to cinema and make money too. But we don’t want one at the cost of the other.”

Sharing risks

A focus on innovative movie distribution strategies. Nag Ravi

Pyramid Saimira Theatre, has three films on the floors and is currently distributing 20 films. Its COO, R. Venkatakrishnan, says, “Films are not an organised sector, running mostly on local financing.

"Corporatisation brings with it a sharing of profit, and of possible loss, which lessens the burden of risk that an individual financing it might carry. Banks have understood the filmmaking system and are cashing in on it. But it’s still in a growing stage.”

So, where earlier 20-odd financiers and distributors shared the risks, today up to 2,000 shareholders are involved via the corporate route. Venkatakrishnan explains another reason for corporates venturing into film production. “When a corporate wants to make profits, the best plan would be to go into production because this way, the costs come down. The same is the case with films.”

And corporate interest in film production is widening to include even the distribution and exhibition business. Pyramid Saimira, for instance, is strengthening its existing distribution and exhibition networks. It is reportedly expanding internationally in the US as well, bringing Tamil films to the diaspora there.

Nag Ravi of Insight Entertainment Media recently received the British Council Division’s ‘Highly Commendable’ prize for the International Young Film Entrepreneur of the Year Award. The citation says, “…you have a significant string of achievements in film distribution to your credit. You have been able to capture the largest Tamil film distribution market share within a short span of one year.”

Ravi’s medium-sized MNC prides itself on innovative movie distribution strategies. The company has also ventured into the audio and home video business.

It has created direct distribution channels across the globe, cutting down the middle man in the Tamil film distribution business. This results in a higher profit for the production houses and exhibitors, as well.

All operations are carried out transparently with strategic marketing skills in place, ensuring high visibility for the films in the media and exhibition areas.

And in the race to the top, only the fittest corporates will survive.

As Venkatakrishnan sums it up, “We welcome competition in the industry. By 2010 the number of screens will go up and TV channels will increase. To feed all these entertainment requirements only those who can clean up their act and move forward professionally will survive. To achieve this, the keywords are having a passion for cinema, besides abundant experience, contacts, creativity and communication skills.”