Opening in Cannes- a Bollywood show

HOLLYWOOD REEL

Last year at Cannes, Indian filmmaker Ashwin Kumar handed me an invitation to the screening of his 48-minute film "Road To Ladakh." He wore out his shoes walking up and down the Crossitte. He was busy ensuring that everyone he met came to the screening and arranged meetings for turning the film into a feature.

The screening was sold out "� there was not a seat to spare. Among those who attended the screening was Hollywood producer Judith James and a partner of Oscar winning actor Richard Dreyfuss's film production company Dreyfuss/James Productions.

Recalls Kumar: "What followed were some very pleasant lunches and dinners during which we started talking about the story and how it would make a fabulous feature."

A year later, Kumar has already been to Los Angeles twice and after numerous drafts of the script there is a promise of a groundbreaking Hollywood feature film starring Irfan Khan.

"Festival International du Films" in Cannes takes place annually in May and is the mother of all festivals. For over five decades the world's directors, producers, critics, first time film makers and the Hollywood elite have been heading for the French Riviera in the summer for 10 days to see films and be seen.

The festival attracts the world's media attention for its coveted award the "Palm d'Or" and a win here means instant worldwide fame and celebrity. The selection panels see over 1,800 films from 80 countries to select the 20 probables for the top award. No Indian film has yet been awarded the top honours at Cannes but the festival's other fiercely contested award "Camera d'Or" for the best first film has been awarded twice to Indians "� Mira Nair for "Salaam Bombay" and "Murali Nair" for his "Marana Simhasanam." The "Camera d'Or" has a prize money of US $50,000 and Kodak adds £30, 000 to the award.

The small coastal town of Cannes in the south of France is a unique mix of sun shade-wearing film stars hanging around at the stylish hotel palaces, Louise Vuitton luggage being loaded in Bentley coupes and young millionaires driving around in Ferrari Enzos. Cannes is also a place where business worth millions gets transacted in 10 days.

Business deals are struck everywhere, from the bar of the Majestic hotel to the yachts floating in the marina to the exclusive star-studded parties on the beaches. Some of the most important meetings are held in the cabanas at the Du Cap Hotel in Antibes.

Wannabe writers hang in the lobby of the Carlton Hotel hoping to thrust their latest scripts into the hands of a Harvey Weinstien or a Jerry Bruckheimer. Legend has it that Hollywood mogul Menacham Golan signed a deal with film maker Godard over a napkin after a business lunch in Cannes.

Los Angeles-based veteran Indian film distributor Manu Savani says: "Buyers and sellers, small and big, new and old, come to Cannes. The vibrations of a good film are easily felt, unlike any other film market in the world."

India, the largest producer of film in the world, has traditionally viewed Cannes as a venue for winning awards. Our films and film makers have been regularly acclaimed at Cannes, from Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Adoor Gopalakrishnan to Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Shaji and Murali Nair.

A regular at Cannes, film maker Dev Benegal says: "The world lies out there for the Indian filmmaker as long as he is willing to look outside the well he has ensconced himself in."

As a result of government initiative over the last few years Cannes is becoming an annual sojourn for the Indian film industry's high and mighty. Says Indian film exporter Avinash Jumani of WEG who has been exhibiting at Cannes for years: "With the Indian contingent participating in the Cannes film festival, the viewership of Indian films has grown rapidly, opening up extensive business opportunities for all Indian filmmakers."

Among the notable Indian successes in the last few years at Cannes have been the world premiere of "Devdas," Ashwariya Rai's selection as a jury member and a special tribute to actor-film maker Raj Kapoor by screening three of his classics "� 'Aag,' 'Awara' and 'Barsaat.'

Adds Savani: "Indian films are now a recognised commodity in the world of entertainment and an Indian film maker has nothing to lose but everything to gain. Even if he cannot sell his film for any territory, the next time he will learn to make a film which may be suitable for international territories."

This month, the Indian cinema industry is once again planning an assault on Cannes. Every year there are market screenings of five or so Indian films at Cannes. But this year, for the first time in the history of Indian cinema, close to 50 Indian films are being screened in 10 days.

For the first time over 300 delegates from India including Subhash Ghai, Shekhar Kapur, Deepak Nayyar, Ronnie Screwvala, Bobby Bedi, Dileep Singh Rathore, Sushil Tyagi and Ajjay Bijili are attending the event. The Confederation of Indian Industry has organised a special India theme pavilion and planned a major publicity blitz for the Indian entertainment industry during the festival. Almost all major exporters of Indian films, including Eros Entertainment, WEG, CA Corporation, In Network and NFDC are exhibiting at the festival.

Indian companies are planning to throw five cocktail parties to promote new films and last year's successful "India Night Celebrations" on Carlton Beach will be repeated. Last time over 1,200 people turned up to attend the "India Night" which was the most prominent event at the festival.

There seems little doubt that Indian cinema at the Cannes Film Festival 2004 will be different.

(Lall is the president and CEO of LALL Entertainment, a company based in Los Angeles and New Delhi. He can be contacted at lallentertainment@hotmail.com)