The whole narrative of the industry needs to change

Ajit Andhare, COO of Viacom18 Motion Pictures, speaks to Sagorika Dasgupta about the company's upcoming slate and why the film industry needs to revisit its fundamentals to avoid bleeding at the box office

Rahasya is the company's first and only release this calendar year. How satisfied are you with its performance?

On the positive side, as with most of our films, the content of the film has been appreciated. Word-of-mouth has been very strong. I think the big disadvantage is that the film got caught in litigation in its pre-launch phase. Therefore, the scale on which we wanted to launch it was interrupted. But from a release point of view, the film has received good feedback and, therefore, it has got a good outing. Then again, our involvement with the film was with its release only.

Tell us about the other films lined up for release this year?

It's a very interesting mix of the kind of content-driven films we are known for, and some blockbusters. In fact, you've probably seen the trailer of one of our upcoming films, Margarita With A Straw, which was launched by Aamir Khan. We are very proud of that film because that's the sort of work we stand for - films that push the envelope, start a conversation and open new vistas. In most of our films, someone wins accolades for the lead role. In Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, it was Farhan Akhtar; in Queen, it was Kangana Ranaut; and in Kahaani it was Vidya Balan... Manoj Bajpayee and Nawazuddin Siddiqui for Gangs Of Wasseypur; and Priyanka Chopra for Mary Kom.

I think this film is set for Kalki Koechlin to bag all the glory. She is magical in it and it is a very interesting movie. This is a new narrative, and to mount this film as a mainstream release is a very important milestone for us. We believe we are shaping the new mainstream and therefore this film is extremely important. It has already got a very positive response at various festivals and in the deals we have locked to release the film in different countries. So far, we have locked deals across Japan, Korea and some Eastern European countries, as well as for a wide home release, which is great.

How did Aamir Khan come on board to back Margarita With A Straw?

The film is about innovation and boldness; it is something that has not been done before. All these adjectives apply to Viacom18 Motion Pictures, and they also apply to Aamir Khan. He is known for doing differentiated films and standing for something meaningful, for being a torchbearer and taking cinema in new directions. So we thought Aamir was the best fit to present it to. The director, Shonali Bose, had shown the film to Aamir and he was very touched by it. He had dealt with the issue of dyslexia in Taare Zameen Par and this film is about a paraplegic person. It was nice of him to show support and he was gracious enough to partake in the presentation of the film. I think credit goes to the magic of the film, the charm of the director and our good karma that we have Aamir with us on our journey.

What other films are in the pipeline?

Our next film is Dharam Sankat Mein, a satire and a quirky high-concept film. I shouldn't say that it is a quirky take on religion because PK did that and, prior to that, our own film OMG - Oh My God! did that too. Then we have Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2, a sequel. Pyaar Ka Punchnama resonated with the youth and so we wanted the opportunity to have that dialogue once more. The idea was to revisit the story and take it forward.

We also have a very interesting biopic by Ketan Mehta called Manjhi - The Mountain Man, about a man who cut his way through a mountain for love.

Then we are doing something really exciting where we are going to bring Motu Patlu to cinemas. Motu Patlu is a property on our channel Nick. A lot of us have read the comics as kids and will identify with the characters, which are also very popular with kids on TV today. We feel the movie will also cut across age groups.

Along with that, we have Drishyam, an exciting thriller that has travelled through various languages with a strong track record. The film featured Mohanlal in Malayalam, Venkatesh in Telugu, where it was titled Drishya, and now it's called Papanasam in Tamil with Kamal Haasan in the lead. With Ajay Devgn featuring in it, strong content will meet a very powerful star, so we are in a sweet spot with this film. We go on the floors next week.

Another film of yours featuring a big star is Main Gabbar, with Akshay Kumar...

(Interrupts) Yeah... Main Gabbar is releasing on May 1. It is like a Batman franchise for us because Gabbar is this crusader who is going to deal with corruption in a unique way. You will see a very exciting and differentiated marketing campaign rolled out with it. That's again an interesting combination of Bhansali and Akshay Kumar teaming up for the first time since Rowdy Rathore.

You also have two big franchises coming up on your Hollywood slate. Can you tell us a little about them?

Yes. We have Tom Cruise and Arnold Schwarzenegger in these two films - Mission Impossible 5 andTerminator Genisys respectively. We have another film in Spongebob, which we are excited about.

What about regional films?

We are building on our regional slate, which will follow in the footsteps of our broadcast assets. We have a presence in some regional markets with our channels, and will continue to develop films in those markets. So Bangla, Marathi and Kannada will be the markets we will focus on.

You mentioned Margarita... travelling to several markets. Do you plan to monetise other films in the same way too?

Some of our past assets are continuing to perform very well in international markets. We have just releasedBhaag Milkha Bhaag in Japan and are trying to get a lot more releases for the film across China. Queen is also going to see a lot more releases across various countries. The film business relies on the library you build, so you cannot only look at monetising current titles. We have monetised Queen that way, selling the rights to remakes in five or six languages. We have done the same with Special 26. I think syndication is very important for us and that is another stream we are exploring to further bolster our theatrical and box office revenues.

One of your films, Santa Banta, has still not seen the light of day. What's happening to it?

Santa Banta is very much a part of our plan. We have franchise value locked in that film, because it lends itself to sequels where Santa Banta could tour the world. It also has repeat value on TV. The film is not complete and is still in post-production. The moment we have a handle on that, we will be releasing it. You will be hearing about this film.

Going forward, will you be focusing more on in-house productions or acquiring films?

We believe that as a studio you are more in control if you build material organically, the way studios like YRF and Balaji have been doing. We admire those studios and would like to follow them on that. But there are several limitations to that model, where you risk bypassing a lot of creative partners in the marketplace. So you will see us doing a mix of both - making our own productions and closely co-producing films with a partner. What we do not usually look upon favourably is the idea of an acquisition, where we do not know how the film has been made or the costs involved. We like to be a little more careful about such projects. But nothing is ruled out. We are a full-fledged studio and look at all parts of the mix.

You have not had many big releases. What will the mix of small- to big-budget films be like?

That's the traditional way of looking at things. Last year, we didn't have too many big releases, but the two big films we backed - Queen and Mary Kom - were both successful. If you look at it from a traditional standpoint, we do have an Akshay and Ajay within a space of 10 months and then a whole lot of other films driven by various other motivations. The aspects on which you market your film and are hoping to peg your success will differ with every film. At VMP, we don't depend solely on star power to drive the success of our films. Our entire body of work, from Tanu Weds Manu to Mary Kom, has seen us trying to leverage star power, but with a sharp focus on content. That's how our body of work has been built and we will continue to build on that.

Speaking of Tanu Weds Manu, how come the sequel is being produced by another studio, Eros? It was one of your prime properties...

(Pauses) Yes. These things happen. We would have loved to make the sequel but it was more about what are you focusing on at that point in time, and maybe a project thus goes to another studio. That's fine. We wish them luck. The industry needs more successes and I do not look at another studio as competition at all. The notion that studios compete with each other is a misnomer. I feel that if studios worked together, with the kind of solidarity that broadcasters have shown, our ecosystem would work much better. I mean, look at what the IBF (Indian Broadcasting Foundation) has done. Studios can take charge of the ecosystem much better.

Last year wasn't all that great for the industry. Why do you think films aren't working?

I think we over-analyse whether one year was better than another. That said, any industry that can invest in its future. And that is currently not the case here. Investors lose money hand over fist. Even if films are successful, how many of those films are making money for the investor? The big problem in the industry is lack of economic fundamentals. Unless we get the equations right and reward the investor and realise the importance of the producer, who is the last man standing, we will not have a proper industry. We get carried away by stars and star directors, and the successes and failures of a few titles. What is needed is professional thought, a calm head and the ability to address issues and not get carried away by this hoopla of Rs 100 crore and Rs 200 crore. The whole narrative needs to change. And maybe we could take a few lessons from broadcasters and how they have sorted out their issues by coming together as an industry.