Foreign players, desi route

Foreign television software companies and international film studios are exploring opportunities to create local content in India.

Uday Singh, managing director of Sony Pictures Releasing India Ltd (SPRIL), the international film studio that distributes Hollywood movies in the country, has been looking forward to 2007 for several reasons.

The biggest one being the prospective release of Saawariya, a commercial Hindi film produced by Sony Pictures in collaboration with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's SLB Films. The film is 40 per cent ready and will hit the theatres in November 2007. "It's the first time that a Hollywood studio is backing a Hindi film," says Singh.

In another part of Mumbai, Rajesh Kamat, managing director at Endemol NV, the Asian subsidiary of the Netherlands-based television production house, is also scripting strategies to grow his one-year-old company in India. Kamat's diary for the year is packed. Other than adapting its international format shows (such as One Versus Hundred and Set for Life) for broadcasters, Endemol is also producing local programmes. "In that sense, we are like any other Indian TV production company," says Kamat.

Suddenly, foreign television software companies and international film studios are exploring opportunities in India to create local content. If Endemol and Fox Productions (owned by News Corp.) are eyeing the television content space, Warner Brothers, Disney Studios and Sony Pictures are keen to enter the mainstream Hindi film market.

The interest of these players in India's burgeoning content market is understandable. At the domestic box office, Indian filmed entertainment makes Rs 53 billion.

This is poised to nearly double to Rs 102 billion by 2010, according to a Pricewaterhouse Coopers' report. The Indian television industry growth rate is also galloping at 24 per cent a year. Demand for content is growing "" it is set to touch Rs 16 billion by 2010, states the report.

Endemol, which came to India in January 2006, has already launched Bigg Boss (the Indian version of its superhit reality show Big Brother) on Sony Entertainment Television.

"We have nearly 1,000 TV show formats in our kitty and many of them could be produced for India," says Kamat. But the company is also competing with the TV software producers to make local programmes. Some time back, it bid and won the right to produce Laughter Champion for Star One.

Endemol's focus for the year is clear: it will bring its Call TV (live interactive shows) to India, more game show formats and and create more Advertiser Funded Programmes (AFPs) for channels. It has already done Rin Mera Star Super Star (for HLL) on Star TV. "We are good at AFPs because we have done them in other other markets," says Kamat.

Rupert Murdoch's Fox Productions is another television software company that is gearing up to launch in India. Though Deepak Sehgal, the company's head for India operations, did not respond to our queries, Star Network sources say the idea behind bringing Fox is to help the broadcaster spread its risks.

Currently, Star is hugely dependent on Balaji Telefilms for content. Fox will start making Hindi serials for the Star Network. Sources add that some concepts are being discussed.

Meanwhile, Disney's Media Network division is making local programmes for its own channels. These are, however, in collaboration with local producers, says a Disney spokesperson.

"India is a unique market with very local needs. This is the only market outside the US where we have committed so much money for creating local content." Disney created Vicky Aur Vetaal and more recently Dhoom Machao Dhoom for kids' channels.

In June 2006 Walt Disney also announced setting up of Disney Studios in India. "We have said that we will produce films for this market. This is because we are basically suppliers of content and have a unique way of telling stories," says the Disney spokesperson.

However, he refused to share details on Disney Studios' film project, the director and the stars that the company might rope in. "We are still talking to people in search of a good story," he adds.

Executives at Warner Brothers Entertainment, which is said to be making a Hindi film based on a Hollywood musical, said that as a policy the company does not talk to the media.

Asked about projects beyond Saawariya, Sony's Uday Singh also becomes tightlipped. "We will make more films with other directors. But currently we are happy to associate with Sanjay Leela Bhansali. We are leaning on his infrastructure for the film."

Singh is excited about Sony's first film in India featuring youngsters Ranbir (Rishi Kapoor's son) and Sonam (Anil Kapoor's daughter), as well as Rani Mukherjee and Salman Khan.

"Our distribution business generates a turnover of Rs 100 crore-plus. We could double that figure with one Hindi film," he adds. SPRIL has distributed blockbusters like Casino Royale, Spiderman, Pirates of the Caribbean and Godzilla among others, in the past.

Though foreign production houses may tap the Indian market for profits, their presence could raise the bar for Indian producers as well. "This is not to say that production values in India are not good, but international learnings could benefit anyone," says Kamat.

In the television space, for instance, software houses could learn better production scheduling and draw lessons in cost saving. In India, TV producers apparently shoot 16 episodes of a serial in 22 days. The international benchmark is 2 episodes a day.

With the arrival of Hollywood studios, will India also start producing movies that cost millions of dollars instead of the Rs 5 crore to Rs 50 crore that they cost? That depends on the returns, says Singh. In any case, the international studios' headquarters keep a tight control over their Indian projects "" right from project size to scripts to shooting.

Sceptics in India say the success of these foreign entertainment companies will depend on how quickly they understand Indian audiences.

"The passage to India has to be through the 'desi' route," remarks Singh. Should we say, move over Balaji Telefilms and Yash Raj films, the real competition is here?