The Hindu Business Line : Beyond nostalgic NRIs

Will India ever become a serious hub of international filmmaking? At the recently concluded 38th International Film Festival (IFFI) in Goa, this was on the top of the agenda of all the big hitters in the industry. The latest Assocham figures suggest that the Indian film industry, estimated at Rs 22,500 crore, is the largest in the world, producing over 800 films in 52 languages. It provides employment opportunities to nearly 2.5 million people and by next year the figure is projected to double. It earned $100 million this year, in foreign exchange; by 2010, this is likely to increase to around $1 billion.

The figures look very attractive. But the ground reality is not as reassuring. For India to become a sizeable magnet for foreign investment, it first requires a market for foreign (not just Hollywood) films. In real terms, the market for Hollywood movies has grown dramatically in the past five years, with all the major studios looking at local language dubs for their English-language originals. But in percentage terms , the figure still remains at a paltry four-six: Indians prefer to watch local films.

Film Bazaar

At IFFI, the Film Bazaar is usually a good indicator of international interest in the festival, and by extension, in the film industry. This time around, the bazaar was organised by the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), which did a comprehensive job by looking at the processes and the purposes of the film industry in its three-day jamboree, the starting point of which was a script development workshop with many skilful script-writers such as Mani Ratnam, Shaji Karun, as well as Danis Tanovic who made the searing Oscar-winner No Man’s Land, and a few others.

The bulk of the some other keynote conversations looked at Indian movies in the foreign markets (is there any space of our movies in pockets other than those dominated by nostalgia-driven NRIs?), as well as its obverse — non-Hollywood movies in our territories.

It says something for our movies that even now Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding is still being held aloft as the standard bearer of an Indian film which ‘crossed over’ successfully: by comparison, this year’s The Namesake, produced by Fox Searchlight, didn’t create as much as a buzz, even if it made more money.

The problems which sometimes can stymie all good intentions of even the most determined movie makers were outlined by the very persuasive NRI distributors of the inaugural film Four Months, three weeks, and two Days, which won the Palme D’Or award at Cannes this year. Finding Indian buyers for movies which are not, say, from the popular Superman, series is not an easy proposition. After Goa, the film will travel to Mumbai and New Delhi in search of enthusiastic takers.

There is a global market, but no product. This came from the ever-articulate Shekhar Kapur, in Goa after a gap of two years (He was busy making the sequel to his successful Elizabeth in the interim). Our young directors are influenced by the huge NRI market, and they make movies to please that segment, which may not have the same appeal to a broader audience.

Shah Rukh Khan, who dresses like them and speaks like them, is an ‘identity solution for conflicted young NRIs’, and maybe for their girl-friends and boy-friends who may be of other nationalities. Or cinephiles who enjoy watching movies from other cultures. But that’s a tiny pocket of influence.

Kapur’s top-of-the-head solution — more attention to production design to make it internationally acceptable ( Hero, the Chinese blockbuster, spent $40 million on looking good), and stronger focus on universal stories told in a way audiences everywhere can partake of, unlike, say, the florid Devdas which was ‘too hybrid, too rooted in Indian sensibility for the West to understand’. He was optimistic, though, about the current crop of filmmakers who are doing movies with strong content and individual styles; “maybe a movie or two is waiting to break out”.

SRK: a marketing genius

How to maximise the smaller, more quirky movies was the thrust of P9 (cell of media house Percept, which mentors small budget films) CEO Navin Shah’s concise, informative presentation. The smaller the film in terms of budget, the higher the concept in terms of ideas, the more expensive it is to market.

According to Shah, Shah Rukh Khan is a marketing genius; he (SRK) and his team, made sure that he was the only high-profile Bollywood star in everyone’s face in the lead-up to Om Shanti Om, keeping with infallible mantra — make me seen, make me visible.

The hardest thing, says Shah, is to change the mindset of the industry, which still feels that it can leave everything to God, once the movie is out. The idea is to get it out there, and stay with it, till it finds its feet, says the man behind this year’s biggest marketing success, Bheja Fry.

SRK was a running leitmotif through IFFI. He showed up to make a perky speech at the opening ceremony, and dealt with the mobs at the post-inaugural do at the Cidade de Goa, with grace.

With his departure, the coast was clear for the business of movies, and going by that, this has been a more successful festival than in the past few years. Apart from the excellent inaugural movie, there was a clutch of international goodies (including the South African entry Tsotsi, Poland’s Tricks, Ann Hui’s The Postmodern Life Of My Aunt), and a better than average Panorama section whose highlight was Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s Naalu Pennungal ( Four Women).

Clearly, the international festival is growing, and settling down. Returning to Goa will be painless next year.