Researching Bollywood: Survey

Amanda Sodhi
Amanda Sodhi   | Movies | February 19, 2008 at 4:25 am       Print this article!  Print


There is no business like show business, but what do you do when the money doesn’t pile up high enough? Bollywood surpasses Hollywood by over 1 billion tickets every year, but still reaps a profit only a fraction of Hollywood’s. Okay, so maybe this has something to do with the U.S. dollar being stronger than the Indian rupee. But, I have a hunch it also has something to do with filmmakers not understanding the needs of their audiences, and therefore creating products that inevitably disappoint. Perhaps it also has to do with not using marketing, advertising and PR tools as effectively as Hollywood.

So, how do we really know what the Indian and N.R.I. audiences want and what the best vehicles are for Bollywood film and music promotion?

Well, a research study can certainly shed some light on the answers to these questions.

Unfortunately…there really aren’t many Bollywood research studies out there. In fact, there are none.

After conducting numerous searches in various databases—Proquest, Factiva, Lexis-Nexis, Expanded Academic ASAP, you name it—I was surprised that there is no research study in any of these databases on Bollywood audience preferences and marketing techniques. No wonder strategic film and music promotion is a rare occurrence for Bollywood!

So what is one to do about this?

I don’t know what answer the Bollywood industry and other Bollywood scholars have devised, but I’ve decided to conduct my own Bollywood research study. That’s right, I’ve decided, with the help of my marketing professor at Marymount University, Dr. Nancy Furlow, to find out for myself what Indian college students in the U.S. and in India want when it comes to Bollywood and what the best forms of Bollywood entertainment promotion really are.

But, if it isn’t easy to do research, it isn’t any easier to get people interested in your research. So, if you happen to have a few moments to spare at your computer, please take the brief Bollywood survey I have created which is available online. And, if you happen to have any friends who are in college, feel free to pass along the link to the survey :)

Bollywood Survey for College Students in the U.S.A.: https://vovici.com/wsb.dll/s/2a5eg313ed
Bollywood Survey for College Students in India: https://vovici.com/wsb.dll/s/2a5eg31521

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31 Comments

  1. Anand Kadam Anand Kadam says:

    I am not a college student … :(

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  2. Vikrant Vikrant says:

    I have finished your survey…
    good luck

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  3. Amanda Amanda says:

    @Anand: You can still take the survey :) Our target audience for the survey is college students, but everyone is welcome to take the survey. The more, the merrier;)

    @Vikrant: Thank you^:)^

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  4. Anand Kadam Anand Kadam says:

    Amanda….Done …

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  5. Amanda Amanda says:

    @Anand: Thanks!!! Feel free to pass along the link to all of your friends, too.

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  6. Amanda Amanda says:

    If anyone happens to have a good idea as to how I can administer this survey in colleges in Delhi & Mumbai, please let me know. Thanks!

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  7. Varun Varun says:

    @Amanda

    You dont have PFC in your list of ” Where do you get your bollywood information, news, reviews and knowledge???” ;);)

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  8. Amanda Amanda says:

    @Varun: oops:”> But, I DO have an option called “Other” for people to type in PFC :D

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  9. Amanda Amanda says:

    @Varun–FYI, I just added “Passion for cinema” as an answer option–thanks for pointing that out :d

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  10. Varun Varun says:

    Thanks Amanda, let us know about your results and how many of them voted for PFC…..

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  11. Amanda Amanda says:

    @Varun: Sure, I will definitely submit another article through Projekt iView in 3-4 weeks once I see the results to the survey.

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  12. Tushar Tushar says:

    done the survey, though I am not a college student but still did it.

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  13. Tushar Tushar says:

    Enjoyed listening to your radio interviews, Amanda. Keep up the good work.

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  14. Amanda Amanda says:

    @Tushar: Thanks for taking the survey! I’m glad you enjoyed the interviews I did at the VOA :) I’m going to upload the Music Call-in Show to my site soon in case you want to listen to that also. Oh, I’m just a bit curious–how did you manage to get a hold of my online portfolio? The link to it isn’t on PFC.

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  15. Amanda Amanda says:

    @Tushar: Never mind, I figured it out–clicking on the name links to the site. Wow, that took me a while to figure out :D

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  16. Tushar Tushar says:

    lol, I am a cyber stalker :) jus kiddin’, will look forward to your call-in shows. Just a coincidence that I am going for a radio audition today and here we are talking about all this stuff.

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  17. Anand G Anand G says:

    In Australia… but did the survey nevertheless. Best of luck.

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  18. Amanda Amanda says:

    @Tushar: Cool–have fun with the radio audition! I hope it goes well :)

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  19. Amanda Amanda says:

    @Anand G: Thanks! Glad you took the survey all the way from Australia :)

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  20. Tushar Tushar says:

    Thanks Amanda. It went well.

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  21. Shailesh Limbachiya. Shailesh Limbachiya. says:

    i m not a college student but finished your survey.

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  22. kcp kcp says:

    good attempt Amanda. Keep it up

    kcp

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  23. Amanda Amanda says:

    @ Shailesh: Thanks! It actually looks like most of the people taking the survey so far are not college students, so I guess I may just end up changing the target audience to include everyone who is over 18 :)

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  24. Amanda Amanda says:

    @KCP: Thank you. FYI, I just got your email.

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  25. Neeraja Neeraja says:

    @Amanda
    I took it too and I am a student :) but I am not studying in India or USA.

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  26. Amanda Amanda says:

    @Neeraja: Great, glad you took the survey. So where are you studying?

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  27. Neeraja Neeraja says:

    France

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  28. Amanda Amanda says:

    @Neeraja: France–Cool! Merci for taking the survey, once again :)

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  29. Good Start!

    Keep up the good work….I have noted and studied the changes in Bollywood since 1991…will be in touch with you….

    Have filled the form and will share it with others :)

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  30. Amanda Amanda says:

    @Ashok: Thanks! I’m looking forward to hearing more from you about the changes you noted in Bollywood since 1991. And yes, please do share the survey with others :)

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