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I will thank you so much for joining us
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we're really grateful that you took the
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time to join us at the Wharton India
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Economic Forum you're my pleasure so
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first of all congrats on all your recent
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international success starting with
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slumdog millionaire and now in the u.s.
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TV as well what has helped bring about
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this transition in terms of the global
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attention and access to the global
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audiences as well what everything is the
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same exactly but only the audience and
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the you know the the the scale of what
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we do is different obviously the scale
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over here is much bigger in any which
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way and and the numbers are bigger so
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that's otherwise it's the same cameras
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and director everything acting is the
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same the language obviously is you know
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English both deserve you know Slumdog as
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well as 24 was in English and I've been
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doing films last 30 years in India in in
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National Indian indeed language yeah
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okay and how did the start was there was
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Slumdog your first foray into
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international films yeah it was the
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first so how did the opportunity come
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about well I think it's just just
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destiny I feel you know like I think
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anybody must have come to India must be
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wanting to cast this role and they must
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have asked the casting director must
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have done a says his researches inquiry
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who's with the right person I think and
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they got in touch with me I didn't know
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who he was I didn't know who Danny Boyd
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was to you to be honest with you and and
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and it's my son who told me that you
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know he's huge director and then I did
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find out and I came to know that he is I
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was aware of his friends were not him
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some time it happens and so I just did
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the film and film became huge well its
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history now right well what do you think
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accounts for its success why was it so
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successful at reaching to so many
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different audiences well now obviously
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I'd see lot has been said about it and
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everybody knows you know it hit a chord
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worldwide and that's the reason I have
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spoken enough of it and I think everyone
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has spoken a lot about dog when I but it
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is something which is which is
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once in a century you know film which is
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what happens once in a century or once
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in a lifetime and film which only not
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only creates a critical history but here
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in commercial commercially because a
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huge success and so I think it just I
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think worldwide in its own way it just
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hit a call everywhere and every wherever
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I go every country people have just
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loved the film so do you think that the
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attention that the Indian film industry
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is now getting thanks to Slumdog
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Millionaire could have a significant
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impact on the rest of the industry or do
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you think life goes on and movies get
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made the same way and targeting the same
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audiences well the George Lee majority
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is the same majority most of the films
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that we made the way there used to be
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made but i'm sure there's always you
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know like when there is a such a success
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and there are people who want to you
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know make a difference want to do films
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is the way they want to when they
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believe in and what they honest you know
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they want to do it you know passionately
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so you know definitely the numbers i've
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increased now there are a lot of people
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who are making films which they expect
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to plea to grow blog audience and the
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effort is there but we have a long way
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to go ok so i believe the term that the
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industry uses for this is crossover
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cinema right where you make movies in
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indian you're trying to reach audiences
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elsewhere do you see in your
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conversations with either actors or
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filmmakers a greater effort to try and
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cross over to try and reach audiences
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here show everybody wants that you know
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who doesn't want global recognition so I
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heard about I'm sure everybody wants
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that but and I'm sure everyone is you
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know wanting to do that and and I can
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see a genuine
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you know since your attempts to do that
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and i'm sure i think i'm very very
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positive and optimistic optimistic that
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it will happen sooner or later do you
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believe that cinema in india you know I
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in fact I just spoke to rakesh Mara
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who's talking about making movies that
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are perhaps based in the US or partly in
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the US which has which is trying to
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connect to both Indian and US audiences
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which is for parallel release in these
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markets and so on is that a big trend or
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is that you know just a reaction to a
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Slumdog Millionaire and that's going to
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go away in in a couple of years though I
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don't think anyone anything is gonna go
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away in a couple of years I think it's
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you know people are it's going to happen
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definitely it's gonna happen of course
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it's going to happen okay so let's talk
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about the other hat you wear that's that
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of a producer so when you produce movies
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what's driving your decisions about
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which kinds of movies to make and which
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ones not to make it depends now there is
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like that I made Gandhi my father my you
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know I just obviously I had the the
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global audience in mind and I wanted the
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film to appeal to you know to the people
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worldwide and that's the reason I made
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the film in indian english and i think i
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was one of the first people do that and
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there are other films also but this was
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a film which I felt would that was the
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intent and we try to we did our best to
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make a film which was aesthetically
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technically would you know can stand on
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its own with any of the films made
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anywhere in the world and that's what if
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the attempt was when I regarding my
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father so that's was my sincere effort
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with my director and I produced the film
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it was my and that's what that was my
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first law earlier I used to make films
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with my brother they were mainstream all
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bollywood masala films which I also make
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still I do make now independently and
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the reason I do that is obviously
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because of
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because I'll you know I'll of those
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films and they do well in in the Indian
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diaspora and and that's the way i did my
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acting carry also i would do both kind
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of film some films which were the the
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masala bollywood films entertaining
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films mainstream films which appeals to
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the general masses and majority of the
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people in the country and and the other
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films which i would do which I would do
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for myself to you know satisfy my and
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creative instincts okay it's interesting
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you didn't mention anything about return
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on investment or any of those things and
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when we talk to studios over here and
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there green lighting process there's a
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there's an analysis of the potential
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market how many people can you reach
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what's the genre I've never done that I
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III you know I think that's their job
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and obviously my job also has a producer
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but first and foremost it's the content
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is so much here which I get and then I
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get very much passionately into it and
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now slowly and steadily I'm learning you
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know to be slightly more aware of the
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worth of the potential market and the
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potential numbers and returns and you
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know otherwise just used to make films
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and that's what my father did my brother
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that I did just make the films from your
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heart and never really bother about what
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the budget is goes the firm is going to
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be and just made the film because i want
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i loved making films and it's part of my
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life and part of like it's it's it's not
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really thinking about the things might
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completely go topsy-turvy where budget
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is concerned where numbers are concern
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and there might be no return so really
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like when i made gandhi my father also i
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really never thought about you know what
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my returns are going to be around when
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i'm gonna get my investment back but for
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i was fortunate that i did get my
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investment back most of my investment
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and godly my father in other films which
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i've done i have i think i've been
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fortunate l now
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okay now as you were talking about your
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decision process you also mentioned your
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brother your family and how you get
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grown up in a cinema family yeah it's a
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family business in a way right right so
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what is it about the film industry that
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ensures that family members usually stay
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in this business you you know people
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don't want to leave it they come want to
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continue in the industry what is it
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about the business that about cinema
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that keeps people plugged in through
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multiple generate generations I don't
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know I don't know it's it's it's it's
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it's a fame is it you know it's is it
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thrill is the sheer of satisfaction and
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it's a great medium I think and you know
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you get addicted to it and you just it's
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it's like for him for example my
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children me and my wife we tried our
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best to you know not to discuss well not
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to get film magazine to the house and
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and no business talk about films
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entertainment had kept them away they
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studied abroad in order 20 all three of
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the modern films your daughter in fact
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as an actor and she had a couple of
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movies recently right now both my
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daughters know my eldest daughter is an
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actress my younger daughters a film
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producer and my son studying films and
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chapman university in orange county
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california so is that the third or the
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fourth generation of film folks in your
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family third generation is the third
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generation okay and do you think the
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industry is just as accessible to people
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from the outside so it's easy for your
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kids and do you get outside us into the
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film industry easily yeah yeah it is it
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is she's up to your is it's up to the
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individual you know how he I think you
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know you see it's such a big pie you
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know and I think this is an opportunity
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for everybody everybody yeah it's up to
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the individual how he how passionate he
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is about making it okay you said it's a
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big pie and it is clearly a big point
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has grown a lot yeah the last 10 20
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years what do you attribute it to why
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has this industry taken off the
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wait has in 20 years is it we're in
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India in any horse of course being made
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every yes of course there's this the
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numbers are going to increase in India
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and in China these are the two countries
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I feel like 2050 I think we'll have the
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maximum numbers at the moment it's
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United States you you know North America
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and and even the films made in Hollywood
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I have do the maximum number of business
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and you know the business more is in
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North America and basically but then the
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second was Japan and then came the other
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countries but I think in by 2050 I think
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China and India China will be no one
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India will be number two where you would
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get the maximum revenues from I think so
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I am very very positive about it because
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of the you know where I think by next
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year there'll be about thousand screens
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more in India and China obviously the
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screens are growing every day so you
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know like looking at the population and
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looking at the consumer market in both
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these countries I think hopefully these
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two countries would I think the entire
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focus of all the studios and everybody
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is and I think I sure will be the
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biggest market yeah do you think you
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know we always talk about the Indian
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film industry learning some things from
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say Hollywood and elsewhere you're
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talking about China and India being big
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you think there's something that the
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other industries can learn from the
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Indian film industry for example say you
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know you've actually you're among the
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few has worked in both the industries is
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there something that maybe the
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filmmakers in the US and elsewhere can
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take from yes of course yeah of course
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the first thing they can take is you
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know and we don't use lawyers so much
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okay you know everything is everything
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is you know it's it's trust yeah trust
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ya so well of course we can take it is
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trust but and this is a good site to
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learn as a bad side to it but otherwise
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a lot of time and energy and effort can
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be saved
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you know with trust and that's the old
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school which is always the best school I
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feel it's that when you add fast you do
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a deal just shaking hands you know
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that's the first thing I think I think
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that they'll be great and and the rest
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is of course otherwise there's a lot to
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learn for us from you know for us to
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learn from them of course they always
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much much I love the game definitely
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yeah in droves so me like I can / is a
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good one yeah absolutely significant
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contracting and well that's a big
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difference you have in India and yeah
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yeah okay what's your reaction to these
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entry of corporates into the Indian film
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industry as somebody who has grown up in
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the industry and and in a somewhat more
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closed environment where your family was
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in the industry and so on and now that
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you have all these entries from
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elsewhere corporates were running the
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show in in ways that wasn't the case
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previously do you see that as a positive
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trend a negative trend was I good in the
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batter Dylan Lauren is negative why is
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that till now it's not been good because
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you see the cop which came into a dinner
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and really know what's how to you know
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because you know films made in India and
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in the film industry and everything was
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completely it was you know it's just
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cannot you cannot learn it you know to
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make films and you know how to go about
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it and how to deal with people
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coordinating people creative people you
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know it's you can't buy them with money
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there are there are other things which
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you have are also important but the only
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thing is they did everything with with
00:14:45
the power of money and it just doesn't
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work like that and somewhere it I think
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people got slightly diluted about what
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they you know what exactly their actual
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value was and they overvalued themselves
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because of the carpets and things
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everything you know was hyped up and
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there was an artificial bubble which was
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created and created by the corporate
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and because of the cops when they came
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into it ends and a hand that had then we
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had to have a you know there was an 2009
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and eight has been not pretty good and
00:15:21
2010 also liked to gone seven six two
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thousand seven six seven was very good
00:15:27
and eight nine ten i think it's been
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there it's been it's been really bad
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it's badly of industries back to the
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corporates so it's not not being pretty
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good it's because of the kind of
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everything was completely you know
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everybody was diluted about what exactly
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you know nobody really knew where they
00:15:49
really stand and it was just hard
00:15:54
official whatever happened and it was a
00:15:56
bubble they created bumped into much
00:15:57
money but not nothing else that they
00:15:59
were adding in there and do you see
00:16:01
rectifying or they did i do my 2011
00:16:04
things should be good okay yeah well
00:16:06
what does as you say water finds its own
00:16:08
level right well lastly let me ask you
00:16:13
perhaps from a personal perspective what
00:16:16
do you see in the future for anil kapoor
00:16:18
the actor the filmmaker the producer way
00:16:21
what's the next phase for you I just
00:16:24
flow with day-to-day so when XE wherever
00:16:29
it takes it's it's it's a journey which
00:16:33
I have I'm just going with the flow so I
00:16:36
don't know where it's going to take me
00:16:37
but I'm enjoying myself it's it's the
00:16:39
best four years of my career and every
00:16:41
moment I'm relishing it I'm soaking into
00:16:44
it and and traveling all over the world
00:16:47
and working and juggling both worlds is
00:16:49
working in in the USA and working India
00:16:52
so it's great it's pretty clear you're
00:16:55
enjoying yourself and I should say that
00:16:57
our Joy's our that you could join us
00:16:58
thanks so much for being here we
00:17:00
appreciate it a lot thank you so much
