FEATURE
Delhi Belly “For the films we make in India, the target audi-
ence is India and the Indian diaspora, and the films we produce in the US are for a completely different audience,” explains Panesar. “We are not trying to bridge that gap — if we happen to produce a film that works with both audiences, then that’s great, but you can’t set out to make that kind of film.” Cannes regulars UTV Motion Pictures and Eros
Gangs Of Wasseypur
other side of the coin is events like Film Bazaar bringing people in, the India Pavilion at Cannes and the Incredible India campaign, which are mak- ing international distributors much more aware of and interested in India,” Werner says. In addition to hosting the annual Film Bazaar
co-production market in Goa, the NFDC has returned to financing Indian productions across a range of languages in recent years. Upcoming projects include Anup Singh’s Punjabi-language Qissa, co-produced with Germany’s Heimatfilm and other European partners; Tamil action drama Adigaram, and Bengali film-maker Q’s Tasher Desh, co-produced with Indian partners and Belgium’s Entre Chien et Loup. The NFDC also organises the India Pavilion at
Cannes, which this year is hosting a ‘micro’ co- production market, showcasing projects from the November 2011 edition of Film Bazaar, along with networking receptions for Indian film-makers to mingle with their counterparts from Brazil, New Zealand, Australia, Canada and Israel. As last year, the NFDC has also selected six
Indian film-makers to introduce to the interna- tional community, including Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni, whose Temple (Deol) screened at the Busan International Film Festival last year; Man- jeet Singh, who took part in this year’s Producers’ Lab in Rotterdam with his project Mumbai Cha Raja, and Tamil film-maker Vetri Maaran, who won six National Film Awards for last year’s Aadu- kalam. What is heartening about the films emerging
from the independent space in India is their diver- sity, linguistically and also in terms of subject mat- ter, storytelling and style. Many of the new independent film-makers utilise funding, stars and technicians from India’s established, commercial film industries, but are not catering to the general mass audience that Bollywood has to serve, so can give full reign to their creativity and vision. Speaking about the three films he has recently
picked up, Fortissimo’s Werner says: “Each film is very distinct and each should appeal to different segments of the marketplace. Miss Lovely is an exciting new voice set against a colourful back- ground that’s different to anything else being made
n 28 Screen International at Cannes May 21, 2012
International will also have their usual berths in the Palais. Eros’ slate includes upcoming perform- ance-capture epic Kochadaiyaan — The Legend, starring Rajinikanth. UTV will be focusing on Aamir Khan-produced comedy Delhi Belly, which recently had a mainstream release in Hong Kong, and Anurag Basu’s Barfi! starring Ranbir Kapoor as a happy-go-lucky deaf-mute. All the major Indian studios, including Reliance
Big Pictures and Viacom 18 Motion Pictures (which financed Kashyap’s Gangs Of Wasseypur), have direct distribution operations in markets such as the UK, US and Middle East, which account for 90% of their global revenues, and informal output deals in other Indian diaspora ter- ritories. But increasingly they are using interna- tional film festivals to test audience reaction to different kinds of local-language films, and attend film markets to explore distribution in non-tradi- tional territories.
Peddlers
in India right now; The Ship Of Theseus is a well- written and moving story with a significant mes- sage and beautiful photography, and Monsoon Shootout is more of a genre film that is interesting in its storytelling and the situation it presents.” Meanwhile, mainstream Bollywood will also be
’At Cannes we’ll be focusing on new markets and opening up
new territories’ Amrita Pandey, UTV
out in force at Cannes. India’s leading privately owned film studio, Yash Raj Films, is taking an office on the Croisette for the first time this year, to introduce the 40-year-old company to the interna- tional film community and also test the waters for its upcoming slate of high-profile Hindi films. These include Habib Faisal’s Ishaqzaade, a love
story set against small-town clan wars, which opened in India on May 11, and three blockbusters starring Bollywood’s most bankable triumvirate — Ek Tha Tiger with Salman Khan; a project directed by Yash Raj Films founder Yash Chopra, starring Shah Rukh Khan; and Dhoom 3, starring Aamir Khan. However, Yash Raj Films vice-president, inter-
national operations, Avtar Panesar explains that while the company is developing a solid interna- tional strategy, it is not attempting to make “cross- over” pictures. Last year, Yash Raj launched a Los Angeles-based production company, YRF Enter- tainment, to make English-language films for a global audience, starting with The Longest Week starring Jason Bateman, which Voltage Pictures is handling internationally.
Opening up new markets “At Cannes we’ll be focusing on new markets and opening up new territories — we recently had a lot of success with Guzaarish [starring Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan] which opened theat- rically in South Korea, Peru and France,” says Amrita Pandey, UTV’s senior vice-president, inter- national distribution and syndication. UTV is also in the process of examining how to
maximise synergies with the global distribution networks of The Walt Disney Company, which is currently completing its buyout of the Indian stu- dio. Indeed, most of the Indian majors are linked through ownership ties to US studio partners, or an international sales agent as in the case of Reli- ance, a majority investor in IM Global, which could open up new avenues of distribution. But Cannes, with its attendant glamour and
industry functions, will continue to be an impor- tant launchpad for the studios’ local-language pic- tures and international endeavours — it still makes headlines in India when Aishwarya Rai Bachchan walks up the red carpet. And for the burgeoning indie sector, the Cannes market is an essential platform for film-makers and producers to mingle with the international film industry. This year’s Cannes, however, is likely to be the
biggest celebration for India to date — with three films in various sections and many more in the pipeline, its indie film-makers can confidently say they have arrived. n
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