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the 2009 Wharton India economic forum
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titled India the road ahead took place
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in Philadelphia and brought together
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CEOs of leading indian companies
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investors heads of nonprofit
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organizations sports celebrities and
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Bollywood stars to discuss where India
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is headed in an age of economic
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uncertainty Indian knowledge at Wharton
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brings you one-on-one conversations with
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these leaders thank you Ron for joining
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us thank you I guess you produce chandni
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chowk to china which is both a
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cross-cultural flame in terms of for
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Indian audiences and also the earliest
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for a of Bollywood I guess on the
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international stage that released on
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january 2009 what has a reception bin
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for that and what does opportunities you
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see from Bollywood I think it was a very
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exciting project to work on I think it
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is one of the widest released films we
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release in more territories than any
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other film previous to that also
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released extensively in India and I
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think the combination of a of India and
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China and the content side and the
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ability to come out the assistance of a
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Hollywood studio to use their
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infrastructure to reach out to wide
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ordinance has been very exciting and it
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showed that there is a lot of scope to
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broaden the audience for indie film what
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has been the box office success of that
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it was an ad says an average success we
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were hoping for it to go a little
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further than that but I think it's still
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managed to take a very good opening and
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it's got a good life on home video and
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and all the other non-theatrical streams
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so it's something that probably has not
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completely hit the mark but it was a
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decent effort one of the things that
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struck me as I looked at the numbers for
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the costs of production of Bollywood
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movies is compared to Hollywood movies
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as well as the box office returns on
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these you know we are talking one-tenth
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of the scale for most Bollywood movies
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how does this economics work in the
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context of someone like 11 of brothers
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for instance where obviously there's the
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box of a side of head but there's also a
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cost side of it I well I think in the
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Indian cinema it's very dynamic at this
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point you know for most of its history
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it's been an entrepreneurial and very
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independent producers have run it in the
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last five seven years this kind of
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corporate side has come into it and so
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there was this huge influx of money that
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came in so i think that supply of money
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probably distorted things in terms of
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increasing budgets and i think it's
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going to settle down to a point where
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where the risks and rewards will get
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aligned better because ultimately every
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investor is looking for a return like
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you were saying so it has to be I don't
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think a market yet is off the size to
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justify the bigger budget films it that
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that are being made at this point so I
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think that's going to settle down a
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little bit but there is still healthy
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growth you know a theatrical revenues
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generally been increasing other forms
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whether it's home video satellite
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overseas are keeping pace and in a lot
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of cases growing as well so this steady
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growth but but probably this was a bit
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of a distortion as a lot of players came
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in a lot of money was chasing few
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projects so so the kind of means of
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production was kind of taken advantage
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of but I think it will settle down to a
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stage where we will have a more rational
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kind of split between between what the
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costs are and what the returns can be
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well it'll also time as you know we are
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basking in the glow of Slumdog
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Millionaire success now that actually is
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not an indian movie is really but so I
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guess it raises two questions one the
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fact that it was a non-indian movie that
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was so successful in terms of at least
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it's
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being about India in the in the foreign
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market so what lessons does that give to
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Bollywood in a sense of its
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opportunities as well as the fact that
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you know it was a non bollywood player
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but actually was so successful well I
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think I mean it's it's I really enjoyed
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the success of the film the film I think
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one of the big things to learn as I said
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earlier the such a dynamic market
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everyone is learning a lot like so
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recently the trend has been to really
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pursue this kind of saturation release
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so every film is bombarded on as many
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screens you know that kind of a pattern
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and slumdog is a classic example of a
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film where they went out with force for
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screens to begin with they really built
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on word of mouth and created this
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momentum and that underdog story Oh have
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you seen this film you know that is a
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fantastic strategy for the film is not
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the only film that's done it but it
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really did it successfully so we have to
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learn that and I think as far as the the
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i think it's it's wonderful that it
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succeeded there's an opportunity there
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but it was very clearly made for a
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Western market you know that so I think
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any Indian filmmaker trying to replicate
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that kind of success needs to align
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themselves the Western studio or at
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least someone who has access to true
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distribution and the infrastructure of
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the Western markets because without that
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there's no chance of reaching out you
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know we might have made ten times a
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better film than Slumdog but if you
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don't tie up with Fox Searchlight or
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whoever it is there's no chance of
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reaching that audience you know and then
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that's that's where the real game is the
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numbers in America and the Western
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markets are just massive compared to us
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I guess there's obviously that market
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component of it but the other aspect of
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I guess of slumdog is also the
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aspiration of many Indian filmmakers to
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make it into the Oscars and be
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successful I guess in terms of being
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identified you know in the award side
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what do you feel about that component we
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haven't been very successful in Oscars
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before no I think it's a really salute
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the guys who have succeeded it's
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wonderful to get it but I think for any
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creative person it's a nice reclamation
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we can add code that cannot be the
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in for doing stuff it's an award
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function from the United States
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rewarding essentially the makers and the
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creative people in their industry and
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it's wonderful to be acknowledged by
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them but and it makes a lot of sense if
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all your work is here it's it's the
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ultimate pinnacle but if you're working
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in Bombay you're working for Hindi
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speaking audience it's it's it's not in
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entirely relevant it's always like I
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said it's fantastic achievement and I
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think they have they are on the top of
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the world in that sense but it's it's
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it's not something that can drive you
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when you're making Hindi films you know
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now you also have been involved in an
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indie production I guess and you also
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have been on the commercial side what I
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guess prompted you to get into the in
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decide I think it's exciting there's
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this in in urban India as many young
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audiences looking for alternate
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alternatives to the very commercial kind
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of product that's put out there so it
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was a great opportunity to do something
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there's a very talented actors a good
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script and and a chance to do something
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new it was in the English language it
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had also kind of an international slant
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as in involved george bush and and some
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very topical kind of elements so that
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all kind of added up to make it a
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tempting it was also based on a play
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that was very successful so there's a
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kind of proof of concept that we were
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working with and it felt good to do
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something that kind of pushed the
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boundaries and from also you know it's
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it's nice to be at the cutting edge and
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see how far you can push things now this
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is an english-language film and it is
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intended for the audience in india well
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it's indian for anyone that understands
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English okay but are you is that movie
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being marketed overseas as well I'm we
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actually appointed a sales agent which
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is not the typical route that indeed
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films take which is where you get the
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distributors for the NRI territories in
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this case we appointed a sales agent
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which which are aiming to say sell the
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various rights to different territories
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in a slightly more methodical
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ina so they're going to be exhibiting
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the film at at the Cannes Film Festival
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if a commercial screening for buyers and
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hopefully use that as a platform to to
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get our sales in different territories
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now the economics of the industry is are
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changing in very significant ways what
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impact does that have on the nature of
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filmmaking in India I think you know
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filmmaking is essentially a costly
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commercial exercise so will always feel
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the right now what has happened
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immediate the first effect I've seen is
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that because of this cut well recession
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there's been marked slowdown in
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advertising the first thing that tends
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to go is advertising so once advertising
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goes it impacts the satellite rights for
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films so that's been till recently
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twenty-five thirty thirty-five percent
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of film production cost was recoverable
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from the satellite rights that's coming
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down drastically so that's the first
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thing so I think will feel it down the
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line I think cinemas are kind of
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dropping their prices because I think
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consumers at this time I'm finding it
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may be a 250 rupee ticket family of 46
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you know maybe by the time you put all
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your entertainment in a couple of
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thousand rupees which is a lot at this
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time so the challenges that we have to
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address that which I think ultimately
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will make us work harder on the creative
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and make us more focused in making
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content that works by your father Ramesh
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Sippy was obviously a very famous Indian
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producer and you have observed I guess
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not just from your experience in your
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time in the industry but also from is
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how has that changed from s times in and
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what you are doing now but he's still
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working we were working together so he's
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very active with me and it's wonderful
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to have his perspective because a lot of
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things change these these new entities
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have come in but the inherent nature of
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the business has not fundamentally
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changed wise ultimately dependent on
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good content but I think it's in the
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time when he was making it was pretty
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much theatrical sales was the only
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revenue and
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there wasn't this whole aspect of
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marketing is a real big big big change
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that's come into the business for better
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or worse you know earlier a film would
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run on purely on word-of-mouth the stock
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us it had and the poster that you saw
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outside you know that was the extent of
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the marketing now we've got hundreds of
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channels we've got radio we've got the
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internet I mean so many so many things
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and that is all positive but it also
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becomes a challenge as things get more
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fragmented to put put yourself out there
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and you were in a sense hard selling
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your product mahone more which is 100 s
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LT the right thing for each film now I
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guess your father produced one of the
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most famous movies in India Sholay he
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directed a Directorate and Amitabh
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Bachchan was obviously very famous in it
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and I find it curious actually that here
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you are in Abhishek Bachchan it's been
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working with you on a lot of these
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movies I have two questions on that how
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did that partnership between you and
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Abhishek come about and also I guess
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since both of you have families with
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very famous parents I assume they are
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both advantages and perils I suppose in
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that can you speak to that well i think
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i went to obviously with the first
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script ahead and he was very positive
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about it and was very keen to work
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together and was very nice of him to to
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be proactive and we kind of brought it
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together and that and so while he is a
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very very dear friend i think first of
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all when we worked it together i really
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have professional respect from i cannot
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afford about any personal things there's
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too much at stake each time we all all
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want success and I will do whatever it
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takes to ensure that so it has to be
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professional I'll be working and it's
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great to work with the dear friend as
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far as the the the I see primarily the
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advantages because you get access and
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opportunities ultimately you have to
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prove yourself because audiences that
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are playing hard earned money for the
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tickets are not concerned with who your
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family is maybe they'll give you one
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chance a couple of chances but after
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that you really have to prove yourself
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so
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I think within the industry you get
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opportunities you have the great
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advantage of having met people and a
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network of people you can who are
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accessible to you but ultimately they
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also want to work with someone who they
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perceive as doing a good job and and and
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ensuring success in their careers so I
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think the pedals are more in the mind
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you know I think that that is up to you
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to make and I think those those things
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are kind of a mindset if you want to see
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it in a pressure kind of way it will
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always be that but if you look at it as
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a positive and which is the way i do and
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i have i've only seen that I mean
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there's so much goodwill I've received
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as a result of my relationship to my
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father and I'm sure the same as it is
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true for we shake to that you you try
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and make that work towards helping you
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do what you want and I think so far it's
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only been that now you have worked with
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Warner Brothers and I guess amongst the
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early Studios I guess who have come out
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with a movie with a foreign studio how
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do you see this role of foreign
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companies in Bollywood evolving over the
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next few years well I I think they had a
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very good group of people and they're
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obviously one of the biggest studios in
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the world so it was a very educational
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experience for me also to learn the
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studio system and how it works but I
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think also lines are getting blurred
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more and more because look if you look
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at the studios in india with its the
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studio 18 is also got a Viacom component
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to it if I understand and other
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companies are raising money in the
00:14:32
United Kingdom things like that so it's
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kind of the lines are getting blurred of
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what is Indian what is foreign
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ultimately it's I think it's very much a
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people driven business so it's about the
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five ten people who are in the critical
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positions in each company that will
00:14:46
determine it and even in the case of
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Warner Brothers it was essentially an
00:14:49
Indian team that was running the show on
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a day-to-day basis so it's it's really
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about getting a good set of people in
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and and and leveraging their
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relationship with the studio to maximize
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the success you can achieve can you tell
00:15:06
us how that partnership came about with
00:15:08
Warner Brothers well I I met up with
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the gentleman called Richard Fox who is
00:15:15
heads the international production was
00:15:17
in India in 2006 and add the opportunity
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to meet him and we just struck a good
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rapport started talking and then when we
00:15:27
had a script that that seemed right for
00:15:29
me the idea of this Indian and kind of
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chinese kung fu element seem like an
00:15:35
interesting project to take to a partner
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like like Warner Brothers and they
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responded very well to the concept in
00:15:41
the script and it grew very organically
00:15:44
from that over a period of time the
00:15:46
Bollywood has always had a very strong
00:15:49
sales component I guess in overseas
00:15:51
markets to some degree it is within our
00:15:54
eyes to some degree it is parts of the
00:15:56
world which have an interest in Indian
00:15:58
movies first can you tell us how
00:16:01
important in the economics of the
00:16:03
industry is this overseas market and how
00:16:06
do you see that as influencing I guess
00:16:10
even projects that are now taking place
00:16:11
in India I think as a ballpark would say
00:16:15
somewhere between ten and twenty percent
00:16:16
of film's budget would be what is from
00:16:21
the overseas markets for some films just
00:16:25
play stronger and some films play
00:16:27
stronger in India so but I think it has
00:16:30
very important cultural role because
00:16:33
it's it's a very strong component of the
00:16:37
image of India is projected through our
00:16:38
movies especially you know in
00:16:40
international areas so that part of it
00:16:42
is also very significant so I think it
00:16:46
will it will go hand in hand recently
00:16:48
we've had films that are very rooted in
00:16:51
India that have been successful whether
00:16:52
it's a Ghajini in in in the last year
00:16:55
before that the Munna Bhai series are
00:16:58
very Indian films that also worked very
00:17:00
well both in India and outside India so
00:17:04
I think it's always going to be a
00:17:06
balance and I think that's what's nice
00:17:07
about the upcoming kind of market
00:17:12
wherein is that is room for a lot of
00:17:14
different kind of products including
00:17:15
stuff that is very India focus and and
00:17:18
that that also has an outward look to it
00:17:21
now within the India context as I guess
00:17:24
these companies like Warner Brothers
00:17:26
come into
00:17:26
to support Indian movies 1 also imagines
00:17:29
they are going to be coming into India
00:17:30
with their movies do you see challenges
00:17:32
for the indian industry as it opens up
00:17:34
to foreign movies I think so far it's
00:17:38
been resistant I guess the language has
00:17:40
been a restriction for foreign movies
00:17:44
and dubbed films have not yet taken off
00:17:46
but i think they are younger urban india
00:17:55
definitely speaking more english is more
00:17:57
comfortable with watching english and so
00:17:58
it's definitely a bigger challenge
00:18:00
coming up in the next generation also
00:18:03
that we have to compete with with with
00:18:07
good products that are being made from
00:18:09
all over the world so I think we have to
00:18:11
definitely keep our production quality
00:18:17
high end of story sense that all of that
00:18:20
has to be kept higher because of the
00:18:23
fact that these films and a lot of these
00:18:25
films also do well on television when
00:18:27
they dubbed in you know especially they
00:18:29
have the budget to make special effects
00:18:31
driven films monsters and creatures and
00:18:33
stuff like that those kind of films
00:18:35
great well on television as well and and
00:18:38
obviously take away some revenue from
00:18:40
otherwise what would be local content
00:18:42
finally I guess if you can speak to one
00:18:45
the kind of movies projects that you are
00:18:47
currently working on and what role you
00:18:49
see I guess of globalization in the
00:18:52
movie sector in let's say the next four
00:18:55
or five years well I think both
00:18:59
technology and globalization going to
00:19:00
play a huge part way the digital
00:19:04
revolution is is underway it's already I
00:19:07
mean there's great equipment and
00:19:09
possibilities to lower production costs
00:19:11
and to that extent lower barriers to
00:19:15
entry to make interesting films and as
00:19:19
we are getting more connected I think
00:19:21
their chances to put put together
00:19:23
stories at a lower cost which which
00:19:25
which take on different parts of the
00:19:27
world so I think there is there is a
00:19:29
there is a chance to really do new kinds
00:19:34
of stories but it's about again it's
00:19:36
always about getting the right people
00:19:37
together like a slum dog was a very
00:19:39
interesting example of an eye
00:19:40
FS officer wrote a book it was picked up
00:19:43
by a British studio then I a Scottish
00:19:45
director came on board and that's a
00:19:46
fantastic way so i guess that's really
00:19:50
the dream is if you can bring in a team
00:19:53
like that from regardless of from where
00:19:56
they are but come together on a project
00:19:58
that would be a fantastic kind of way to
00:20:02
put a film together and i hope that in
00:20:04
india we can also originate these kind
00:20:06
of things this time we had some
00:20:09
technicians were part of it next time
00:20:10
will be great if the origination could
00:20:12
come from from an indian source even
00:20:15
though the creative origin was written
00:20:17
by an indian it'd be nice if the
00:20:18
producer was also an indian on a film
00:20:21
that succeeds like this but i guess you
00:20:23
will be one of those producers so what
00:20:26
are you what are you working on well
00:20:27
there's a couple of scripts that I'm
00:20:31
hoping to direct in a couple of villain
00:20:33
in his honor of a thriller so there's
00:20:35
that something like that which I have
00:20:37
been talking to have a shake about which
00:20:38
I hope to roll in the later part of the
00:20:40
year and as a producer looking at some
00:20:43
very interesting films made on a limited
00:20:47
budget but with very high concepts and
00:20:49
an interesting idea so the challenge you
00:20:53
know is there is a huge appetite for
00:20:56
movies huge demand from the number of
00:21:00
screens that we have and the fact that
00:21:01
they need new content all the times I
00:21:03
think there's an opportunity to do
00:21:05
things so just trying to get the right
00:21:07
combination of the reasonable budget
00:21:09
good talent attached to it along with
00:21:11
any heart at the heart of it it should
00:21:14
be an exciting concept and trying to get
00:21:17
those but it's always a little bit of
00:21:18
counting frogs if you get three or four
00:21:20
things in one goes out you have to be
00:21:22
patient enough to start again and not
00:21:24
just go ahead because you you know the
00:21:28
engine has started rolling so you have
00:21:29
to be able to bring it back and get it
00:21:31
into perfect alignment before you move
00:21:33
ahead well thank you for that thank you
00:21:36
so much
00:21:37
you
00:21:44
Oh
