No Khan, Only Khandelwal
15 Jun 2008, 0246 hrs IST, Meena Iyer ,TNN
Bollywood is going around in circles. So what's new? Well this time around there's a method to the madness.
In a bid to get around Frankenstein's monster (read, the Bollywood superstar who comes with an coronory-inducing price tag, is more elusive than an eel, and without whose cooperation a producer in Bollywood can't even take a leak), film corporations have come up with an alternative. Viz, a sub-brand for films that don't depend on moviedom's royals.
Right now, Bollywood's mainstream wheel turns with three Khans (yawn), one Kumar and a Roshan with a Bachchan, Devgan and Dutt following closely. However even with these permutations and combinations, it can churn out only 15 films a year instead of the 150 movies that it normally does. "And even from those 15, only five might hit the bull's eye," says producer Pritish Nandy, whose company PNC has never believed in chasing stars.
And so every big film corporation in B-town has now developed a sub-brand; UTV has Spotboy; PNC has Guerilla Flicks; Mukta Entertainment has Mukta Searchlight and Malpix; Indian Films has Studio 18; and so on. "Guerilla Flicks will make films with a vision. And since they will be low-cost products, the risk factor is almost eliminated," says Nandy.
A trade source explains that a sub-brand is created mainly to address corporate issues. "It is the expansion of an existing organisation with its own financial needs. When a listed company which is answerable to its investors creates a sub-brand, it gains certain strategic advantages. For shareholders it's added value," he explains.
The gamble has paid off. UTV Spotboy's latest film, Aamir, where television's Rajeev Khandelwal made his big-screen debut, has won over critics and masses alike. The film, says trade guru Amod Mehra, couldn't have cost its producer more than Rs 1.50 crore but is a runaway hit. "Most film reviewers advised viewers to choose Aamir over its mainstream rival Sarkar Raj," points out a trade source.
Ronnie Screwvala, CEO of UTV, says it made perfect business sense for him to launch a sub-brand at this juncture. "Our business has grown manifold," he says. "Also, we are entering new markets and going international in the coming months, which made this the appropriate time for us to launch Spotboy Motion Pictures. This brand will take over some existing projects but will largely develop its own fresh content. This is a typical business expansion plan followed by most international production companies and provides the company with bandwidth and thinking flexibility. It also helps bring diverse projects within the same studio through different brands."
Subhash Ghai, who has also benefited from films like Black And White made under the Mukta Searchlight brand, says this exercise helps keep niche films alive and brings new talent into the industry. Ghai's second sub-brand Malpix, which produces regional films, is on a high too: Valu, the Marathi film that it helmed, brought him both accolades and profits. Malpix is now all set to release Dipti Talpade's Sanai Choughade, its second Marathi film. "Searchlight will make at least three films a year; ditto Malpix," says Ghai.
Nandy who, along with his partner Arindam Mitra, plans to put out 50 smart-budget features over the next five years, says that many big films in recent times have been thundering flops. "The numbers are very often doctored and the truth on how badly they fared is brushed under the carpet," he says. "The fact is that big is not always beautiful. One has to make films with a vision. By floating a sub-brand, film corporations can keep both turnover and profits up."
Vikas Behl, who heads Spotboy, sings a similar tune: "We love movies and believe that story and screenplay are the biggest stars a movie can have." Spotboy is backing Shyam Benegal's Mahadev Ka Sajjanpur and Anurag Kashyap's Dev D; and even before the euphoria around Aamir has died down, has plans to start shooting a second film with Rajeev Khandewal after the monsoon.
According to Prabhat Choudhary of Spice, Bollywood is merely emulating the sub-branding exercise that Hollywood has successfully mastered. "Branding is an act of definition," he says. "When the audience sees a film that has the logo of Fox Searchlight or Miramax for that matter, they know what to expect. Like Mira Nair's Namesake was made under the Fox Searchlight/UTV banner. This helps in attracting the target audience."
And audiences, then can look forward to more quality products in different segments. Finally.
meena.iyer@timesgroup.com
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