It’s apparent that everyone wants a piece of the Bollywood pie. Many foreign countries want to know how they can profit from the largest movie industry in the world; whether it is premiering their own movies in Mumbai or distributing Indian films in the west. India boasts two industries that have always captivated the world and its business managers: Cricket and Film. And now, more than ever, Bollywood is recognizable everywhere. Whole films are shot in locations outside of Asia and stars are walking the red carpets at major movie events; from award shows to film festivals. Hollywood distributing companies are eager to take part in the global phenomena and want to be on the forefront of Bollywood’s increasing popularity in the west. India earns about $2 billion a year from movies and soundtrack sales. And it is predicted that in the next four years, it will more than double to nearly $5 billion. These numbers excite investors and production companies, who see India as an attractive market for expanding their business and their art.
Hollywood has taken a variety of routes to Bollywood. It initially started simply: dubbing English language movies into Hindi and other dialects, in order to appeal to the Indian masses. 95% of movie revenues in India comes from Bollywood-made films. Culturally, Indians identify more with their own movies, songs, and entertainment. Foreign companies had no choice but to dub their movies into the native language. This proved successful when foreign films like Spiderman, and recently Pirates of the Caribbean, performed remarkably well overseas. Their next approach was more hands on. Sony Pictures Studios invested heavily in the production of last year’s highly anticipated Saawariya. This epic love story, inspired by Fyodor Dostoevsky’s short story “White Nights”, was tapped to be the blockbuster hit of the Diwali and Christmas season of 2007.
It had many things to its credit: celebrated director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, its hero and heroine were young novices from renowned Bollywood families, and its lavish sets and opulent costumes were a feast for the eyes. Sony was responsible for film’s exposure overseas and accomplished this with billboards, Internet advertisements, TV spots, and airplay for its title song. Ultimately, Saawariya did not prove to be the huge success that Sony anticipated. Mainly because it had one big thing against its opening: Red Chillies’ masala movie, Om Shanti Om. Starring Shahrukh Khan, and featuring immense star power in the hit song “Deewangi”, Farah Khan’s second venture dominated the box office for that coveted Diwali weekend. However, Sony was not discouraged by this and plans to try again in the Bollywood. Sony Online Entertainment LLC has teamed up with Virgin Comics to develop a multiplayer online game based on the Ramayana. Virgin Comics is based in Bangalore, India and was formed by millionaire Richard Branson, in collaboration with self help guru Deepak Chopra and director Shekhar Kapur; both of whom wrote the comic book that the game will be based on.
Besides Sony, other major companies like Warner Bros., Fox, and Disney are making a play for the Bollywood market. Walt Disney Pictures has teamed up with one of the biggest production companies in India, Yashraj Films, in order to produce an animated feature tailored to the Indian audience. The family adventure, titled Roadside Romeo, is scheduled to release later this year, and is rumored to star the voices of Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan. The project will mark Yashraj’s first foray into animation. CEO Sanjeev Kohli was ecstatic to join forces with the world’s leader in animation, Disney, in order to expand his company’s film prospects.
Furthermore, Hollywood companies are attracted by lower production and labor costs, and higher profit margins. This also means more economic growth and available jobs for Indians. This new investment in Bollywood might prove to be very profitable for both India and Hollywood in time to come.