Why Indian Production / Distribution Branches in the USA are a DISASTER
Many of the Indian entertainment sites are reporting that Chak De India is a failure in the USA. Rediff has reported that it collected a meagre US$351,000 from about 62 theaters it was released in the USA. It’s basis of labeling Chak De India a “disappointment” is in the comparison to what Salman Khan starrer Partner, earned in it’s opening weekend, which is about US$600,000.
So if many liked Chak De India, why has it not fared well? After all it’s a common notion… and a fact that Shahrukh Khan is a bigger name than Salman Khan, here in the US. Plus Chak De India is a better entertainer according to most who have seen both the movies.
Why would it then have such meagre collections? One reason given by the same article and ever so lame – the usual fall back on reason – Pakistanis and Bangladeshis did not see the movie because of the content. And trust me… in the last ten years every time a movie which may even have a hint of Hindu-Muslim, India-Pakistan and such.. has failed at the box office in the US, most of the “analysts” point to the same cause.
It’s high time… real brains are put into work. The whole system of Indian Distribution companies and Productions house branches set up in the USA is rotting and is self drowning itself in it’s unintelligent, uncreative strategies and lack of ambition to go ahead and stand in the center, rub shoulders alongside the major players. It isn’t happening. Instead Indian companies are content on operating from a corner, advertising in the same 8 Indian newspapers, releasing movies in the same 50 odd worst theaters (more on it later) and have repeatedly shown a stupid, idiotic, unintelligent and a highly repulsive standard follow the herd theory in its business in the USA.
Lets take a look at two to three Production houses, along with a few incidents where I got a chance to interact with the people working there (without them knowing who I was)
YASHRAJ
Standard Release Strategy.
Show promos of upcoming releases on every Indian channel. Push advertisements of movies in the 6 – 8 Indian Newspapers published in the USA. Release movies in the patented for Indian films theaters which are about 50 to 60. Then if some group of Indians approach them for a print, then rent it out to them… these group of Indians will be full time software engineers or running businesses will be releasing such movies in one or two theaters that they may have got a hold of. It is a weekend make-money-part-time business line for them. (Lets call this group the Weekend Distributor.)
The next step for Yashraj is – Then wait. The crowds will come. The Yashraj brand, SRK or something else will pull the crowds in.
End of Strategy.
End of Implementation.
Result:- Tararumpum and Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. And I won’t go into the quality of movies. The focus here is the creative marketing brains behind these Indian companies that should have the word creative struck out from the dictionary. Buffoon would be a more ideal replacement.
The Shit Hole Theaters
Did Yashraj know that Tararumpum was shown is such down and out theaters that were actually shit holes?
Obviously most production companies for fear of the big bad Hollywood or whatever, looks within for releasing movies. Indian theaters. Weekend Distributors and nothing more.
The Weekend Distributor has some screens where he has a mouth watering deal. Release a Yashraj movie and rake in the moolah over the weekend.
I saw Tararumpum in a shit hole theater in Sunnyvale that may be closing down because it was too old. You enter the main door and walk two steps. The theater ends. Take the stair which are creaking so bad that you fear you’ll fall into some chasm. The sitting arrangement is in a hall that smells of quickly applied fresh paint. The seats were last repaired in 1973. There were four speakers the size of an Indian Ambassador car that blasted on full volume and had this jarring inducing a headache capability.
And this is the USA.
Data Misrepresentation and a mismanaged business communication
And then there’s Chak De India.
Apparently the chain of theaters – Naz8 has some kind of a deal with Chegg.com
Chegg provides the facility to Naz8 for movie goers to book tickets online at Naz’s website.
BIG MISTAKE.
At 5pm we bought tickets online for a 8pm show. The website showed 6pm and 7pm as “Houseful”. Fifteen minutes later we wanted another ticket for the 8pm show. Bad Luck. 8pm now shows up as “Houseful”
During the 8pm show… the hall is HALF EMPTY. We inquire at the window if there are seats available for the 8pm show. “SURE” – they do. But the hall remains half empty.
WHY?
Shouldn’t Yashraj be suing Naz and Chegg for falsifying data and misleading people (online) into believing the shows are full. Many of Californians prefer buying tickets online specially when it has an SRK. And here the screens are half empty (6,7,8,9,10pm as we checked personally) while the online ticket window shows it as a HOUSEFUL.
Did the media look into this before falling back on – sorry we can’t think anew so we’ll use the age old reasons – to explain Chak De India’s failure?
Horrifying Sleepiness in their Promos
UNINSPIRING. All their promos this year have had a strong bent intention, it seems, to make the audience go snoring, get bored, or take a knife and slash their wrists than go and watch the movie.
Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, Tararumpum, Chak De India, Laga Chunari Mein Daag and Aaja Nachle.
All. All of the above. None of the promos of each of the movie above have any element that hooks the viewer.
Who are the guys cutting the promos at Yashraj this year? They need some fresh doze of energetic, creative and out of the box thinking people who can do it right. Whoever is cutting the promos needs to take a long vacation. Half the battle at Yashraj is being lost because of the abysmal, depressing and degrading quality of their promos/trailers.
No ambitions on Market Expansion
All, and not just Yashraj. There is no attempt or very feeble efforts being made at market expansions. Look at the Chinese. Look at the Koreans. They are working hard on it. So where is the Indian distribution house? It’s nowhere to be seen. The audience for foreign movies is growing, rapidly. There is a high degree of awareness than ever before about Bollywood and Indian cinema. Yet, it’s as if the people in charge of the USA branches of the Indian companies are meek, unambitious and almost afraid to step out.
You have New York Times now regularly reviewing Bollywood movies. Chak De has received good reveiws from the American Press. What does it say? Does anyone at Yashraj, Adlabs, Eros and other houses even put their brains to use to see the growing market for them underneath these reviews? Or will they be content on just going to those 50 theaters for a release and the Indian grocery shops for marketing the DVD. Chak De had a decent chance to take a swipe at the American foreign film watching audience and beyond. Remember Bend it like Beckham? But someone at Yashraj may have said ‘Nah… it won’t work’… and the chapter is closed… Experimenting and Creativity for production houses has to move beyond the movie making process. Its high time they realized it… now with many Hollywood studios stepping in Bombay… the Management side of Entertainment business at these Indian companies needs to up their ante… and fast.
Do Yashraj, Adlabs, Eros etc… know that even the Ramsay Brothers is one up on them… Atleast they are marketing the z grade DVDs for releases in Hollywood and Blockbuster Video rental chain. I kid you not… a Dino Moreo movie directed by a Ramsay stands right next to “Old Boy” at Hollywood Video… you’ve got to be kidding me…
So would I work at Yashraj USA? (Rating : C Minus)
Depends. As far as what I’ve heard, all decisions are made by just one man. So that throws all creative inputs and your exciting energy to do something for them right out of the window. You could give it a shot if they approached you.
So what is Yashraj’s contribution to the global expansion of Indian Cinema? (Rating : C Minus)
Yes and No. It’s efforts are mostly constrained and restricted to the Indian Population. Yes it has contributed in many ways too, by collaborating with Tourist departments of many nations to open doors for Indian shoots. But beyond that… when it really comes to marketing Indian movies to a non Indian population, there is hardly any visible effort.
ADLABS
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Everything about this company is wrong. Right from the decisions to what to market, how to market, why to market and everything else.
Firstly. None and I mean none of the decisions are made in the USA office. None. Nada. Zero. Zilch. All decisions are faxed or emailed from Bombay Headquarters – who obviously are still confused over the difference between US and USA.
The whole marketing and release process is exactly the same as Yashraj. No difference. The US office has no clue what they need to do if their fax machine broke down or their email system went bonkers. Things are so bad, that it would seem, their daily timetable of things to be done is faxed to them, so they may actually end up doing something.
I’ve personally met some people who work at Adlabs without them knowing who I am, on a number of occassions. And from what I hear. Things are bad. Some of the guys shouldn’t even be working there. Their qualification and knowledge about streamlined marketing and distribution is bonkers… cause there is none. Their knowledge lies in throwing out names of stars, directors, projects that they have in Adlabs’s kitty. And they feel proud of that. Beyond those names, they are a fish out of water.
So are they trying to go mainstream… release Indian movies in more main stream US theaters? And that question was asked by an American lady from Hollywood. Well the guys fumbled over the answer… “yes… we are talking… we are going to festivals”… in short… it meant they weren’t doing a thing… nor had any inclination, intention, inspiration to do it… sorry… they do not have any instructions from Bombay Headquarters to do so… and if they did receive any instructions, they would have no clue how to go about doing it, except making a few calls… again to Indians or a few names in Hollywood, who at some other time would have approached them with the same sets of questions. It’s a scenario that is equivalent to the cat going round and round trying to catch it’s own tail. The merry go round never stops.
Just Fill in the Kitty
The objective for any production house is to fill in the kitty. They have to have a number of releases each year. Hence Adlabs may, like others, come up with good films. Come up. Yes. Notice I’m not using “aggressively and creatively market”…
The biggest problem with Adlabs is the head honchos are tightly focussed on the quarterly balance sheets. Big Mistake. As with any industry, take the eyes off the product and you can drop down your shutters. Some egg head decided Black Friday was not a marketable movie.
How did they arrive at that decision? Is a movie now to be considered an orange or a mango or a cotton fabric where you say “Oh this will not sell in Mexico, but will surely do in India”… Decisions are being made purely from a financial aspect. That means you have taken your eyes off the art. It has to be balanced. At Adlabs the only thing balanced is their balance sheets, it seems, which won’t stay that balanced for long if their priority One isn’t cinema.
It will take years for Adlabs, Yashraj, Eros and others to realize their mistakes… those moments when they could have opened up the global market of Non Indians for Indian movies, purely based on those key movies they had in hand. Black Friday was Adlabs big time springboard. The idiots didn’t seem to care. The damage done to the forward movement of Indian cinema in the global arena by these very big production houses will be realized a few years from now when these very moments are watched in a macroscopic perspective.
And hence Adlabs USA suffers. The dull, standard, run of the mill management at headquarters seeps into the selection of personal, strategy (actually a complete lack of), expansion plans etc… by the US office. A puppet held by a ridiculously un-creative, un-ambitious master I don’t see any wonders being performed by the company. It will purely run because of the ridiculous amount of cash that it is in possession of.
So would I work at Adlabs USA? (Rating : F Minus)
Taking a bowl and using your creative head to make money by begging, is a more attractive proposition than lending your creative brains to this dead fish.
So what is Adlabs’ contribution to the global expansion of Indian Cinema? (Rating : Z Minus)
You’ve got to be kidding me by asking that question. When Art is run purely by accountants with no inclination to caress, grow and love the medium, you see only a group of people with short term agendas in mind. It’s high time the people behind Adlabs seriously start thinking of going back to Polyester than be in the world of art and cinema
EROS ENTERTAINMENT
Sometimes I feel that Adlabs and Eros are twin brothers, who mimic and imitate each other when it comes to marketing movies. Or perhaps they should be two video rental stores that are next to each other, opening at the same time, displaying the same movies, the interior of both stores is exactly the same, including the same color, the same broken shelves etc. etc.
Absolutely no difference. Even the money. I am led to believe that Eros too has a lot of cash pumped into it’s belly as much as, if not more, than Adlabs.
Wow. So what do they do?
They have Anil Kapoor make the next big mistake of his life. Gandhi My Father is handed to Eros for distribution and marketing. Perhaps Eros was the highest bidder. But Kapoor didn’t make the movie to sell it to the highest bidder? or did he? I believe that if he wanted to make a movie to just sell it, he could have made “My next Kamal Hasan emulation” (and I’m saying this with a high sense of regard to him and Kamal) instead of Gandhi My Father.
Again let me point, the objective of this article is not the quality of the movie but the creative and ambitious thought process, strategy and implementation to advertise, market and distribute a movie.
Everything Eros did for Gandhi My Father from day one was wrong. Gandhi My Father was never a – One weekend and grab as much audience as you can – kind of a movie. It’s a community movie. It has a growth process attached to it. It’s a global movie.
So what do Eros do?
Nothing beyond what Yashraj and Adlabs do. 8 Indian newspapers, promo on Indian channels, the same old, dirty, dingy theaters where all Indian movies come to. End of story.
End of Gandhi My Father.
The community build up was zero. This movie should have been targeted at an all out American audience and not just Indians. It should have spent atleast a month or two in special previews for the American media. This was again a big opportunity.
But nah. The same old story. Complete absence of the desire for creative marketing. None of the American population knows that there is a movie called Gandhi My Father… Did Eros even know that the film is based on a play? A PLAY… A FUCKING PLAY THAT RUNS AND RUNS AND RUNS – which it did and over time built an audience for it self and was then adapted into other languages. Did Eros know that? If they did… didn’t it give them an itsy bitsy tiny idea that perhaps they should be applying the same concept in the films marketing and release, primarily because they have the data on how the original play succeeded.
One Weekend… and take it ALL… MY FUCKING FOOT…
So would I work at Eros USA? (Rating : Z Minus)
If you do get to work there, the only creative management brainy idea of yours that may be accepted by them is reversing Eros to Sore and perhaps adding an “n” between the “S” and the “O” … plus according to what I’ve heard, they aren’t good paymasters and are looking for robots than people with creative brains and drive.
So what is Eros’ contribution to the global expansion of Indian Cinema? (Rating : Z Minus)
The day Eros makes any reasonable contribution to the global expansion of Indian Cinema, we should all collect money and build a temple for Lord Eros.
Yes, these firms make money, because they are in the grocery business and not movies. Selling music, dvds, videos, online stores and what not… merely aping each other and following the herd. Whereas their US branches… are just that… a branch… tragic, very tragic indeed. For there is so much that can be done… yet there is nothing… absolutely nothing…
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Hindi Films won’t be promoted in any different way as long as films has songs. I do not know if directors have any inputs in promoting their movies. If they do not, then they should not be making films in the first place. I hate it when directors say that my film did not work because the distributors or producers did not market it properly. I mean, what the fuck were you doing when you signed your contract? Did you not work out how the film will be publicized/marketed?
I think, UK has a bigger audience than America and films do well in UK. So most of the hindi films are released in a lot of decent cinemas. But, what I find strange is, that UK hardly gets to see “non-bollywood” (without stars) films. And the reason for that is… usual bullshit.
I just commented elsewhere on the Internet that there is a big problem with Indian distributors/producers when they don’t realize that they are sitting on such amazing products with crossover potential and do nothing to market them.
Three examples: Chak de India, Cheeni Kum, Gandhi My Father. Regardless of the nationalist overtones in this Chak de, it is one that has a universal story and is so well made that an American audience would love this film, subtitles and all.
I have written a post here about the problems with Cheeni Kum, notably that this is a film that should have been a hit in Europe and America, but was never marketed to a Western audience.
And, Gandhi My Father. If distributed correctly, the word “Gandhi” in the title alone would have ensured a strong turnout among the American Arthouse Crowd.
oz, you mentioned the issues with promos, but there is another issue I want to address with them as well. I was indifferent to seeing Chak de India until the evening I saw the 5-minute promo – the one that was pulled by Yash Raj after Indian audiences showed their disapproval toward it. Yet, every American I know who saw the trailer had the same reaction as I did – complete excitement. Not only do the production houses need to learn how to create better trailers for the Indian market, they should realize that what works here in America is different than what works in India and market their films accordingly.
But, that’s the point, the marketing isn’t happening at all…
And, you just made me realize something that I haven’t thought of before. Here in the US there is the idea that a good movie with no built in audience should be given a chance, a chance to grow. To allow the movie to open in a few theatres, and allow word of mouth to spread news of the film as it opens in more theatres. It doesn’t appear as if this idea of nuturing a film is part of the Indian distribution/marketing cycle.
What a shame, and what other gems of movies are getting lost in the crowd because of the bad business plans of the people who ultimately control the distribution of a film?
[Desi Train] Comment: “Why Indian Production / Distribution Branches in the USA are a DISASTER”
You should get into the distribution business OZ, like those companies Tartan Asia and Criterion. Weinsteins aside, they actually take the time and put effort into distributing and creating quality outlets for films coming out of Asia.
For once I would like to buy a golden-age bollywood film and not have to worry about a 3rd generation scratchy and faded workprint.
Pity! And I won’t repeat the BF not being shown in ANZ wallah comment.
The pain and the angst aside, the line “…to work there, the only creative management brainy idea … that may be accepted … is reversing Eros to Sore and perhaps adding an
And to address trasie’s point about nurturing the movie – to open it in a few theatres, let the word of mouth help to open it in more theatres – is possible in India. Case in point: Anand. The movie opened against Chiranjeevi’s Shankar Dada MBBS (a lame remake of Munnabhai 1), ran successfully against the manic odds, and, if I am not wrong, made more money than the big star’s movie.
Oz,it was an eyeopener to know this concept of weekend distributors. And i always assumed that these rickety,mothballed theatres existed only in Jhumritalaiya or Bhatinda!World is indeed a global village..ha,ha…But i loved your analysis and reporting on the state of affairs..something new to learn..thnx
If you want to get in to the distribution it has to be @ corporate level, If you do weekend business stuff then you wont go no where.
I agree with the quality of theaters be it east coast or west coast matter of fact any where in US of A theaters are like Oz said shit holes. Even theaters in remote places in India have DTS sound and decent seating now a days but you wont find anything like that here. The prices that local distributors buy from the main overseas distributor have touched roof top thats another reason why we get to see in some shit hole.
Its shame to watch desi movies in these but you cant do nothing.
1??
WTF is this 1 ?? :-?:-?:-?
Excellent article Oz! I’ve been thinking of this a lot lately as I seriously doubt my local FunAsia theaters, the shit hole theaters you mentioned in your article, although fairly well kept, are likely to carry No Smoking which I’ve been itching to see since filming began.
So my alternative has been to e-mail both Landmark theaters (www.landmarktheaters.com) of which there are two in the Dallas area and the Angelika theater chain(www.angelikafilmcenter.com), two also in my area to see if I can garner some interest from them. I’ve also pestered the program director for Dallas AFI Film Festival in hopes that he might pull the film here that way. But as one person, I doubt I’ll have much of an impact other than I’m avoided at local film events.;)
I agree with Oz in that there’s an opportunity waiting with the American audience since there’s an interest so why not exploit and push into that market?
Same situation in Singapore. When i went to Golden Village to watch Chak De India. There was not a single poster of the movie anywhere. Only on the screen where the movie schedules was being run was it being displayed.
Now dont even talk about Tamil and Telugu movies that are released here. There is a theatre called Plaza near the Sultan Mosque. The theatre is more dingy than anything you can find in India. Seats ripped off, no proper aircon, blaring sound which gives you a solid headache, stinking toilets.
I wonder how come such a thing exists in Singapore. Many times iam tempted to complain to the authorities and get the place shutdown. Its really so bad.
Oz -Super article. Just hope that one of these distributors hires you as a consultant?. The problem is that our overseas distributors perceive the NRI audience as the beginning and end of the global Indian film audience. Unfortunately they only cater to them and very often that
onir you should mail a link to any distributor you know.. am doing the same..
From personal experience, producers don’t really want too much input from directors in the marketing arena.
And while I agree that we should be playing a more active role, it ultimately boils down to a power equation thing. With the whole process of film making fraught with so many potential battles one just ends up having to choose which ones to fight.
@anurag… ok sir. will do:0
@ Navdeep. I kind of agree with you. Mostly the distributors/producers that the director should not “interfere” about marketing. I was lucky with my Indian distribution of MBN – YR. I must admit that Adi and their marketing team made me an active participants in how MBN would be marketed…. all the promos were cut by me… and of course there was inputs from them… it was always with a positive note.
For BEP the case was just the opposite. I was not made a part of the distibution and marketing strategy.
I think it is a power game. more than realising it is a team effort mostly the one in power tries to dictate… which is sad.
Oz,
Good one buddy. You put it down exactly what I had in mind.
Looks lile YRF will start making meaningfull movies going by their recent experiences, and if they introspect. All the talk about ours is a unique industry catering to our sensbilities is all BS.
Its in the industry’s best intrest if they do since they have the money and power, they can usher a change.
Oz — great article. (Which, btw, I read as I took a break from cutting the theatrical trailer of LOINS OF PUNJAB PRESENTS.)
I have had some first-hand experience with these distributors as well. And I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. They are so comfortable in their well-defined orbit, that they don’t really think of new markets/marketing strategies. Ironically, a lot of their creativity is expended in coming up with reasons why everyone besides them is wrong.
The NRIs/ABCDs/FOBs/etc. can be divided into two groups … one that hangs out in Indian enclaves, with Indian friends, with little to no cultural interaction with the US. They are probably more aware of the cover of Stardust than the cover of the New Yorker. And the other … is the broad group that assimilates into the foreign culture keeping (to varying degrees) their Indianness intact. The distributors you talk about only think about and market to the former group.
So I think that they not only ignore the “westerners” but also the “westernized Indians” (for lack of a better term). What will make them change? I don’t know. However, I am sure it will have something to do with money, and not with the films themselves.
Or perhaps someone reading this article will realize the business opportunity in becoming the Miramax of Indian distributors.
Let’s see … we live in interesting times.
Once again, great article Oz.
Oz,
Great analysis, spot on.
YRF-Khan>remaining Bollywood>>>southie films.
This is the logic they use in procuring screens for showings and anyone that has watched a chiranjeevi/rajni movie in the US will know that you walk out of the theater with ur ears bleeding.
I am meeting a Belgian distributor at the end of the month and may soon get into distribution. One of my goals is to take a Tartan, Criterion (even Mondo Macabro – B film distributor) approach to Indian films.
There are fantastic small films (has anyone outside of PFC even seen Kukunoor’s 3 Deewarein?) and big ones in India that are just not marketed correctly. As much as I have native pride, I think the way to break this and promote Indian films is to have American and European distributors take the lead. The sheer hubris of Indian distributors is maddening. There is so much money to be made, it breaks my heart. I want them to look back 5 years from now and see the pot of gold that they were sitting on but now admire from afar like a middle aged man pining for his high school sweetheart. That sweetheart will be with me. Watch and weep biznaaatches.
When I hear “Bollywood” talk about the whole world loves their cinema etc, I always thought it was misplaced pride. Over the last few years, when I run into people in the US that like Indian movies, I’m always amazed. Not that they like it. But that they were actually able to find it and watch it!
A little anecdote. I have mentioned in another comment thread the NY Asian FF that I attended a few months back and basically watched every movie there. Asian film fest, and there was not one Indian movie. They had a Paki Zombie movie that was shot on video and had shitty production values. That movie sold out. They had to put in extra plastic chairs. The movie was by no means great but this is how they marketed it –
Pakistan ki Pehlee Extreme Horror Film. Midget Zombies.
Every time the preview played at the fest, the audience went nuts and wanted to watch it.
There is an audience for every type of film. The standard excuse is that Indian movies have songs. Shit, that is the reason why you can get people to go watch Indian movies. The American Blockbuster audience (13-18 year old boys) want to watch shit get blown up and some tits. Preferably someone with tits blowing up shit. (This is where Anurag went wrong with Black Friday. Where were the tits?) That is not our demographic. Indian movies, whether they have songs or not will most likely be watched (atleast for now) by the same arthouse audience and we don’t have to give them poverty porn (aka Water by Deepa Mehta) every time.
And for heavens sake Indian distributors, don’t have pretensions about what you do. It is MASALA. It’s masala in India, it’s masala everywhere else. Market it as masala aka B movie. Market it to the B movie fanboys. Spielberg grew up on Hollywood B monster movies and he legitimized the genre as a money spinning blockbuster with Jaws. Same with Tarantino. Market the song-and-dance-beautiful-people extravaganza as a B movie to that audience and 10-15 years from now you will have the Indian version of Kill Bill.
The most powerful force in popular culture in the world and that dictates terms to every corner of the world is hip hop (haven’t you seen Pinku in Jhumritalaiya wearing his hat sideways?). The fanboy geekdom and adulation for kungfu movies from the hiphop world is long known and it makes it’s way into their music and from their music to white suburbia and from white suburbia to Hollywood. All the top hiphop producers (Timbaland, Pharrell, Will.i.am, Kanye, etc) sample Bollywood tunes. Bollywood needs to market to Black America.
Chow Yun Fat is considered cool. There is no reason for some indian actor to not be in the same league. And for anyone that brings up the we-have-dancing-in-our-movies and White people don’t think that is cool, I have 2 words for you. John Travolta.
My tears of blood are stopping me from further pontification.
Awesome article…nails it…but i would also like to know the financial aspect of the distributors here….how much does it cost the distributor to screen a movie in thetres like edwards or anyother main stream american cinema halls…how can they go about doing it…how much does it cost them to show trailers on local television or US national television….because without much marketing there is no point in screening the movie in mainstream halls…many questions to ask regarding the distribution aspect…not from a film-maker/film-viewer pov…but from distributors pov….hope someone is listening….
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1? One…is it…ek chaalis ki last local…damn ek
Dabba // just wanted to let you know that i’ve enjoyed reading your comment as much as i enjoyed reading some posts on the site. good pontification.
@ Dabba – just read a great story about the proliferation of zombie and horror films coming out of Pakistan and Afghanistan. I don’t remember which newspaper it was, but it was one of the big American papers. Even NPR has covered this.
What struck me was that the tone of the article was completely different than the tone generally used when writing about Indian film. It wasn’t one of, “Gee wizz, they make movies there!”, but more of genuine interest and support for those industries (of course there is a socio-political context for this tone as well, but that isn’t the focus of this comment)…
This may be due to the fact that it is newsworthy that zombie films are being made in South Asia.
But, along with everything else spoken about in this post, there seem to be some PR issues that the distributors need to deal with, as well. Ask any of my friends who love horror films about Indian horror films, and the closest approximation that they can think of from India is Koi Mil Gaya. That is a definite PR problem…
BTW, was it March of the Zombies that you saw? I am dying to see that. Burka Man, yeah!!!
Here’s something for the mix: Partner was part of the line-up at a major Regal Cinemas 24-hall multiplex here in Atlanta … for at least two weeks. Unless memory fails me, this is a big first … a Bollywood movie sharing a screen at such a big chain. Haven’t seen that for any prior or subsequent releases (This did raise my hopes that I might get to see some Bollywood flick I cared about in a good hall with a big screen and a good sound system — the difference in quality between desii screening venues here and some of the old theatres back home in India is merely infinitesimal. :-&
@t!…Koi Mil Gaya…a Horror movie?….damn…well its horrific..but a horror movie…lol!!!!!
I guess all the Ramsay movies of 80s were zombie movies..but..coz of the lack of culture or of understanding of zombi’ism( can i call that?)..they were credited as horror movies…
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ek khalsa do khalsa…errr…ek khalsa..ek khalsa…
1?
Just so you know, a number of attractive mainstream movie theaters show Bollywood movies in New Jersey. One movie palace, the Regal Commerce Center 18 in North Brunswick, shows anywhere from one to four Hindi movies each week. They even had “Corporate” there without subtitles. However, AFIK, they didn’t have My Brother Nikhil, so I had to buy that one to see it right after its release.
Even these theaters are missing a major opportunity as the promotions only appear in media most likely to be seen or heard by NRIs. Some big new movies wil fill the Regal’s two biggest rooms for a weekend or two or three. But wouldn’t it be amazing if a movie like Don or Dor could cross over and sell even more tickets to a more diverse audience?
when so much hype and hooopla is created in india about Broke Back Mountain .. Crash .. Spiderman
thanks wb
t! – u are wicked calling KMG a horror film. Definitely gave me my smile for the year (like himesh, i too don’t smile. Read my next post to find out why)
The Pakistani movie (no offense meant in my earlier use of the abbreviation) was Zibaahkhaana subtitled as Hell’s Ground and it had BurkhaMan as the bad guy. It was a mishmash of a movie with Texas Chainsaw, Evil Dead and Night of the Living Dead all thrown in for good measure. But the zombie angle/take was unique and it was disappointing to see them not develop it fully.
Horror is probably one of the best genres to market to a mainstream audience and the one with most oppprotunity for subversive socio-political commmentary. Ofcourse we will need to make a good horror film for that. And offer something unique.
One of the things that our filmmakers don’t understand I think is that in an effort to appeal to non-indians, they think they must set the movie in the US or UK or Thailand or wherever. The more India specific and detailed you make it, the more it will resonate as true even if the viewer can not understand all the details.
For example, The Namesake was about a very Bengali family moving to the US and the struggles to balance native culture with the new world etc etc. The movie had such desi details like Tabu new to NY and eating breakfast cereal but with chili and salt (makinig it like a poha instead of with sugar and milk). the audience I watched it with was probably only 20% desi. But the whole theater got it, even though it was just a throwaway scene. Also, I watched black friday at a mainstream Loews and for a Monday night, the crowd was decent.
The more we make good movies and stories for us, the more non-indians will be able to appreciate it. And ofcourse with good marketing and distribution. Oz, thanks for this post cos it seems to bring out the pent up frustration that everyone has about Indian movies in the US/UK.
India-specific movies that come across as realistic probably would play better in Peoria than any grand gestures to appear jet-set, which may come off as hokey or dated. However, a good story is a good story. For example, Dil Chahta Hai traveled to Australia, but it was compelling because it struck some truthful chords, not because of its settings.
Anyway, isn’t always a crap-shoot to guess which movies will be popular with audiences? You might as well roll the dice and try pitching every kind of movie to the mainstream audiences and see which ones stick.
Dabba, I concur with your comments entirely, in both your posts, especially this one:
“One of the things that our filmmakers don
And of course, Oz, excellent article.
OZ…spot on boss. n we always thought its oh so sexy like all things in those NRI films.
And thats i hate all those NRI gujjus n punjus who hav the money n make films like shakalaka doom doom n barsaat big hits there(call me racist or anything u want)…but i hate them. recent case…trade reports say that chak de india’s overseas performnce is the worst among SRK’s other film. FUCK…who r these NRI dumbs!! If they r missing all that karva chautha n other things so much, why cant they come back here n celebrate all their festivals. But plz can they spare indian cinema!!!
0-n-e…one…one mane ek. ye one one kya hai ??
Among movies in the recent past that should have been marketed to an art house/foreign cinema audience in the big North American cities –
Satya – They totally missed the boat on this one.
DDLJ
Pushpak
Rangeela (probably the best Bollywood style musical). Heck the story of the West End Bollywood Musical (whatever it was called) that played in London and later NYC was almost entirely from Rangeela.
3 Deewarein
Khosla ka Ghosla – Such a universal and entertaining story with beautifully observed details. Although land grabbing is a very Delhi or India specific example, people around the world get swindled and feel helpless and want revenge or atleast their money back! And the whole family is going to unite to get their money back? Doesn’t anyone else see that this is gold and so well done! The specificity of the story – For example, in a patriarchal Punjabi family, even one as “modern” as this one, the older son refers to the girlfriend as “friend”, Kher’s expression and the son’s coyness earned a laugh right there; the short hair on the sister is a modest form of rebellion and her mildly free spirited nature (not over the top like Mahima in Pardes or ALL Mani Ratnam heroines) in the way she speaks to her father.
Setting up expectations and reversing them. Again, so well done. Like when Kher is waiting for his son to come home so that he can have a drink for the first time and talk “man to man”. We have seen this scene in many wanting-to-portray-modern-family Hindi and Tamil movies. But here, the son does not drink alcohol and the father is upset. The best kind of humour. Set-up, expectation, reversal as pay off.
This one movie alone has made me respect Sahni immensely. Very talented. I would love to see a copy of the actual screenplay if anyone has access. The only problem I had with the movie was the jarring composition of the shots with heads being lobbed off. Maybe it was in the transfer…
Don’t really feel like compiling a list so I’ll leave it at that.
Companies like UTV that have money should actively distribute to the arthouse crowd. Budgets on Indian movies are still modest compared to Hollywood productions, and they should spend their money on marketing/ advertising. They don’t have to pay Shah Rukh or Hrithik 5-10 crores since they don’t have much name recognition.
I would think that Irrfan is very saleable now. He has been in Salaam Bombay (oscar nominated), The Warrior (BAFTA winner), The Namesake and A Mighty Heart and in very substantial roles. He has more face and name recognition than Om Puri in his hey day and may rival Shah Rukh Khan’s to the average American arthouse movie goer.
Someone please make a 3-5 crore budgeted tight thriller or horror set in India with Irrfan Khan in the lead. Make one with enough gore and stylized violence. The Indian censor board will cut it but it can run un-cut in the US and UK. It will find a good audience in India as well.
The reason I picked these two genres is because you can have minimal dialogue in these genres and still have a great story. Stop going for middlebrow arthouse prestige pictures heavy in dialogue. They are hard to read because Indian languages are not spoken at a stately pace. We run like the Shatabdi.
I am more than willing to write it for you and find you distribution. You will laugh your way to the bank.
As a member of one of this thread
Excellent discussion this… love the different views coming out here specially when this area professionally interests me a lot. Primarily because the marketing and distribution becomes one of the key factors in bringing good cinema out to the people whatever be the mode of delivery – print, online, video… Unfortunately for those with any of the following – an international marketing experience in various industries, MBAs, a passion for cinema along with a balanced view/insight about the business side of entertainment – find the doors closed and no takers in the business side of entertainment if one has not started in the industry from trenches. What I’ve found on a personal level is switching over to entertainment from any other industry for the business side of the entertainment has zero takers and much less opportunities than those trying for the creative side such as acting, writing, directing etc.
Oz,
Agree with you on trying to make it into the entertainment industry from the Biz side. Tough, but part of it is poeple not wanting to scrape the barrel when they have an MBA from some top 20 school.
Oz, and guys out there, how do they deal with piracy?? here we have dvds of all the movies available before and after the release at joints in palika bazaar delhi and in our very own lokhandwala in mumbai.. infact people within the community openly buy it
It’s not as acceptible in our area to openly pirate Hollywood movies, so I don’t see much of it. However, I’ve seen pirated Indian movies in video stores in other areas. In one or two shops in Toronto, not only were there illegally copied Hindi DVDs, but they also had pirate copies of movies that had opened THAT DAY at the Toronto Film Festival. At the screenings I attended, TFF staff had on some sort of night-vision detection devices to tell if anyone was taping movies off the screen, and they didn’t even let me keep my camera out for when the stars came and talked. I doubt they go to this trouble for press screenings, however.
@ Suchita:
More than normal piracy, there is Internet Piracy which is rampant here. As soon as the Palika CDs are prepared, a copy is on the web. Infact within a couple of days of release of any movie, Hindi or English, you can find them online.
Hey Anuj,thanx for the response, didn’t know about the cds comng online… thats crazy.. what site is that?? why isn’t anyone banning it?
Here’s a new one to add to the list. How about, if you plan to release a movie in the US, actually releasing the movie in the US? I drove 40 minutes in 100+ degree weather (in normally cool California) to see RGV’s Ki Aag, only to be told that the prints never made it to the US from India. WTF??? Really, how does this happen?