Messages from Frames

Freeze Frame

FRAMES, the annual global convention on the business of entertainment organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry once again brought the media and entertainment industry into sharp focus.

In its fourth year, FRAMES attracted over 1,300 delegates, around 300 of them from 25 different countries. The three days of discussions interspersed with networking and merrymaking are fast becoming an occasion to feel the pulse of the industry as well as for crystal ball gazing. After a rather dreary conference last year, FRAMES had a number of high profile speakers and more cheer this time. The three reasons for this are obvious. Global media and entertainment spending is looking up. The Indian economy is doing well. And India is the flavour of the decade.

High-profile speakers included Reliance group chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani, Walt Disney president Andy Bird, Star CEO Michelle Guthrie , Zee group chairman and managing director Subhash Chandra and several well-known names from the Indian film and TV and media industries. Almost every major media company from around the world had at least one senior representative present at the convention.

Britain sent a large delegation led by its minister of culture, media and sports, Tessa Jowel. Australia, Canada and Germany too had a big presence but the thunder was clearly stolen by an 18-member Pakistani film delegation, the first to visit India after almost 40 years.

While conferences and conventions are good places to meet and learn, they don't always result in business, in the short term .Yet it is by attending these gatherings that companies and individuals are able to track trends or find new opportunities.

So what's the take from FRAMES 2004?

Slowly but surely, the composition of the Indian entertainment industry is changing. It is younger, confident, more professional, even more corporate. Those who are not willing to change are already moving from center stage to the sidelines. Compared to earlier years, the film people present at FRAMES were far more optimistic. This has as much to do with the improving revenues as with the emerging czars of Bollywood.

UTV, Adlabs, Idreams, Shringar, PVR, Inox, Mukta Arts, Verma Films, not to mention Zee and Sahara, are all involved in several projects. With other corporates like Applause (Birlas) and Cutting Edge (Tatas) floating in the wings and almost all major TV production houses like Balaji, Cinevistaas, Creative Eye, Nimbus and BAG Films jumping in, it's obvious that Bollywood is becoming corporatised.

In fact, only a handful of established producers like Yash Chopra, the Barjatyas (Rajshri), Ramesh Sippy, Boney Kapoor and Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt are actively in the reckoning.

Newer financing models are emerging. Private equity, institutional loans and now even venture capital is replacing dubious sources of film finances. There is a sharper skew to marketing and promotion.

Amidst the hype about 'crossover films,' many serious attempts at co-production are being made. In fact, this was a keenly discussed subject at FRAMES. Some announcements were also made. Co-production treaties between India and Canada, the UK, Australia and Italy are in various stages of discussion. Most speakers, foreign and Indian, reiterated that the Indian entertainment industry has, besides the huge domestic market, the potential of being a global favourite.

Aggressive marketing and meticulous planning were two aspects which were stressed again and again. Digital theatres, multiplexes and in-film promotion were the other topics discussed at the conference. Of course, the usual brouhaha about censorship, piracy and entertainment tax continued this year too. Some things never change in Bollywood.

The television industry had more focus and representation at FRAMES. However, the most debated subject was the conditional access system (CAS). Many speakers, including Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) chairman Pradip Baijal, waxed eloquent but left none any wiser.

Most, however, were of the opinion that the government had goofed up and it was best left to market forces to determine the way to addresibility. Another attention-grabbing sidelight was the on-going dispute between Ten Sports and Prasar Bharti. Everyone believed that here again Doordarshan had goofed up and was now bullying a genuine rights holder to part with its commercial interests in the name of public service.

Whatever the legal result, the imbroglio has left a bitter taste in media community mouths. As far as radio is concerned it was generally agreed that the Amit Mitra report on private FM stations would be accepted. This would change the high license regime to a revenue share one, thus opening up a large market for FM radio. The music industry and the live events sector were largely ignored at the conference but for the first time there was a session on gaming.

Animation was big this year. Several participants believe that animation will be the next business process outsourcing (BPO) success story out of India. But clearly the buzz this year at FRAMES was about broadband. India is on the cusp of a digital change and broadband will be the catalyst of this transformation. Since I have already discussed broadband in my last column I am not going into more details.

When Ambani spoke of his vision of a broadband Bharat in his valedictory address, it was for the first time that many sceptics believed that convergence is for real and that once India embraces broadband, the Indian entertainment industry can aspire to a $ 200 billion turnover in 2020.

Wishful thinking? No, an entertainer's dream coming true. Frame by digital frame.

(Amit Khanna is chairman of Reliance Entertainment. The views expressed here are his own)