Ticket to Hollywood

The presence of Hollywood is not new in India. But the way these Hollywood films have done business in recent times is definitely surprising. Generally, the Indian audience is fond of stories involving a love triangle, but now tastes are changing, so in the business of these films, Hollywood has magical effects on the people. To put it simply, the business of Hollywood films is growing smoothly.

If we look at the business of recently released films, the picture becomes clearer. “Spiderman 3” has done record business of Rs. 19.17 Crore. The James Bond film “Quantum of Solace” posted sales of Rs. 17 Crore. These films are an indication of the growing fascination of the Indian audience towards Hollywood. In big cities, audiences prefer to see Hollywood movies over ordinary Hindi movie in multiplexes. The foreign audience of such movies is already present in our country. Previously, they had to either depend on the video CD , VCD , DVD or wait for the movie to be released. Of late, Hollywood movies are being released in India and the rest of the world simultaneously. Rigorous advertisement and promotion of Hollywood films attracts the already exposed and globalized viewers of big cities.

If we look at it superficially, it seems that the business of Hollywood films is temporary, however if we ponder over it, there is a hint of change in viewers’ tastes. In particular, the multiplex audiences who pay Rs 200 for a film illustrate the entertainment quotient of a movie. And if a foreign film is fulfilling their expectation they will certainly go for it.

Experts of the movie market believe that in coming years a large number of Hollywood movies will be released. And along with the movies, the number of prints will also increase. More than 600 hundred prints in four Indian Languages of the film “2012” were released. Even middle-category Hindi movies do not release as many prints in the market. Hollywood films are still not able to shake the market of Indian language or Hindi movies, but they have started denting it. Sometimes, these movies are reaping a huge income. Hollywood films are spreading their tentacles gradually into the market. Some experts also believe that the success of “2012” is not a good sign for Indian movies. Ticket sales for “2012,” released in November, has surprised the trade pundits – released in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telegu, the movie made Rs. 19.15 Crore in ticket sales in the very first week. Hindi film “Tum Mile,” released the same week, was rejected by the audience. “Tum Mile” refers to the incidence of July 26, 2005, whereas “2012” is based on a hypothetical holocaust to come in three years. There is no doubt that from the point of production and direction “2012” is a costly movie. Video effects are heavily used, and to change the imaginary scenes, modern technology was employed, techniques and special effects make this film more expensive. The market for Hollywood is global, so there is no dearth of investment. Filmmakers do not bother worry about the investment, since it is usually recovered. If we see ticket sales for “2012” as an average film, it has surprised everybody.

We can call it sheer fascination with Hollywood that “Avatar” reached the height of popularity and the famous industrialist of India, Anil Ambani’s group Reliance Big TV & Fox Star Studios, has signed an agreement. This deal is done for Rs. 20 Crore. “Avatar” is a 3D film with full special effects. “Titanic” director James Cameron directed this movie. The film took nearly four years to complete. Fox Star Studios have all the rights of distribution of the movie all over the world.

Hollywood directors are aware of the fact that their movies may pull in average ticket sales in America, but in India they can have blockbuster sales. And due to this reason, Hollywood directors do not hesitate to add the magical flavor of Indian Music. The recent winner of an Academy Award and internationally famous musician, A.R. Rehman, has composed the music of the upcoming romantic comedy “Couples Retreat” of Universal Pictures. Saregama India Limited has released its soundtrack music. A.R. Rehman is known as a magician of the music world. And this is what he has done for this American film. Creating the music for “Couples Retreat” was a challenge for A.R. Rehman. Rehman accepted the challenge and created fusion music that everyone will enjoy. Besides that, he has mixed Indian music, which is his specialty. After winning two Oscars, A.R. Rehman is now a known music personality around the globe. A.R. Rehman won both the best original score award for the film “Slumdog Millionaire” original score and best original song (Jay ho). He is also the first Indian artist to receive a golden globe award.

Besides this, he won a Critics Award for his work on “Slumdog Millionaire.” For his score and sound track, Rolling Store, Time Magazine, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and many other publications have appreciated A.R. Rehman’s endeavors. Moreover, he is among the top 25 people in the world for sales records of his albums.

Indians are overwhelmingly participating in all aspects of the American entertainment industry, be it writer, director or other. Mere decades ago, actors of South Asian origin were hardly seen in American films and television serials, or seldom did films contain such characters. But gradually, looking at the demand of Hollywood movies in India, films and TV soap opera producers became attracted to Indians. Indian born N oel D’Suza, who was educated in theatre in California during the 1950s, got very few opportunities or was given roles of Latin American characters. But his contemporaries from the same school, Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman, are today famous personalities in the Hollywood industry. In contrast, Noel D’Suza compromised with the circumstances and left acting for film journalism. There are numerous such examples of the bygone era. Things are rapidly changing. Nowadays, there are several artists, writers and directors of Indian origin who are playing various important roles in the American entertainment industry. There are a few known personalities who have shown their talents, such as Kalpen, Reshma Shetti (“Royal Page”), Jay Chandrashekhar (“Dukes of Hazard”), Senthil Rama Murthy (“Heroes”), Parminder Nagra (“ER ”), Puja Kumar (“Flavors’ Bollywood Heroes”) and Asif Mandwi (“The Daily Show”). Hollywood director M. Night Shyamalan, who is also of Indian origin, has created his own niche. Asif Mandwi recalls the period when artists of Indian origin were almost negligible in American films and TV shows. Slowly, the number of viewers of Hollywood films grew in India. Similarly, the acceptance of Indian artists also started growing. In the 1980s, Indian faces were rarely seen in America. There were no roles for Indians on TV or film. Now it is said that the globalized environment is the main reason for the changed attitude.

The last decade has placed India on a high pedestal in the world economy. It has changed the image of our country and respect for the people of Indian origin in America. Besides the success of “Slumdog Millionaire” at the Academy Awards, the films of Meera Nair and Deepa Mehta are recognized in the entertainment world. Nowadays, many Hollywood companies have tied up with Indian companies to produce films together. The writer of the popular film “Monsoon Wedding,” Sabrina Dhawan, is teaching movie writing at New York University. Even film critics admit that there is a sea change in America regarding India over the last 10 years. That is why blockbuster movies from Hollywood and Bollywood are not released at one time. In other words, if a Hollywood film has announced its date of release, Bollywood directors prefer not to release their films on the same date.

Merchandised Business in India

Everyone likes a touch of Bollywood in his or her life. And there is no other way to feel close to a movie if you happen to buy and use a product of that particular movie. Obviously, lots of people are used to it and therefore, Bollywood filmmakers are taking it seriously. Like Hollywood, our Indian merchants are also taking notice that it could be a means toward handsome earnings from the public. The Bollywood merchandise industry is in its nascent stage. As of now its earning is around 20 to 30 Crore. On the other hand, Hollywood is mature enough and has learned how to make money from merchandised items. Almost $1 billion was earned from products related to the movie “HarryPotter.”

Whether or not merchandising Bollywood products could raise the same amount of money is not known. Industry sources believe that it is still in the trial stage in India. Some days ago, products for Bollywood movies like “Wake up Sid,” “Dev D,” “Love Aajkal” and “London Dreams” were merchandised. The main point of such merchandising is publicity for the films along with the extra income. Navin Shah, who is a CEO of a production company, says that film merchandise and the band with the tie up both reaps the benefits from it. Generally, products like t-shirts, coffee mugs and masks are launched in the market. Experts believe that due to star power, t-shirts based on movies are very popular among fans. The head of a leading production house, Sandeep Bhargav, says that in comparison to others the merchandised film products of Amir Khan and Shahrukh Khan do sell well, but if the effort was made, others stars’ products could also do good business.

Besides, there is the positive point that people now like to wear the same clothes as their favorite stars. Adman Santosh Desai says, “In a nutshell, people try to emulate the lifestyles of stars and when they use these products, it truly feels the same.” Producer and director Bipul Shah has launched merchandised products for his new film “London Dreams” on the market. He says, “We are looking forward to what response and revenue our movie merchandising is getting. Though it’s a trial, we think that when the products of the films enters the market, it leads to gossip about the movie, which is a double benefit.”