India is Asia’s 'creative superpower'

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Posted: 18 years ago

India is Asia's 'creative power'

var title1 = document.title; Press Trust of India
Posted online: Wednesday, February 21, 2007 at 0941 hours IST
Updated: Wednesday, February 21, 2007 at 1105 hours IST

Washington, February 21: Describing India as Asia's "creative superpower", a leading US educational institution has identified three key factors that are driving double digit growth of the Indian film industry, and linked it to the wider consumer boom witnessed by the nation in the recent years.

A report by Creative and Innovative Economy Centre (CIEC) of the George Washington University Law School has said that proliferation of multi-screen theatres, introduction of satellite delivery and the acceleration of the home entertainment market are the three key factors behind the massive growth of Bollywood.

The report also talks about how the confluence of new business models, application of cutting-edge digital technologies, and changes in social behaviour are helping to accelerate the growth rate of India's film industry.

It was presented at a roundtable discussion hosted by CIEC in Geneva, Switzerland, for delegates attending the World Intellectual Property Organisation's Development Agenda meetings.

"Last year, India's film industry grew by more than 15 per cent," Bertrand Moullier, a CIEC research associate and author of the report, said.

"Barring a major recession, that number will only continue to increase. I wouldn't be surprised if the industry grows by as much as 20 per cent this year. India is earning its reputation as Asia's creative superpower, producing over 1,000 films annually and gaining audiences worldwide."

The report looks at how several critical factors are reshaping the Indian film industry.

"Movie theatres, the primary market for Indian films, are undergoing historical changes that are serving to energise not only the film industry itself, but the nation's wider consumer boom as well.

"Modern multiplexes are quickly replacing single-screen cinemas, giving Indian consumers flexible programming, high-quality viewing conditions, and providing concession sales. Multiplexes are included in the plans for most of the 300 shopping malls currently under construction in India," the University said in a release.

Moullier said multiplexes will be at the heart of new high-efficiency consumer environments that are being built, drawing the middle classes back to the movies and the cinemas will serve as magnets bringing people who come to the movies to adjacent retail outlets to shop. "Thus, the cinema is a key driver for India's wider consumer boom."

Quite apart from the proliferation of theatres, technology is playing a pivotal role in Bollywood's boom with new operators bringing the delivery of films straight to the theatre via digital satellite delivery.

The study has also looked at the growth of cinema as home entertainment for India's expanding urban middle-income population.

"Whereas the cable industry continues to struggle in regulatory chaos at the margins of the informal economy, video hardware equipment has passed the 12 million-units mark and the DVD is booming," Moullier said.

But the caution is "a pandemic level of illegal copying and distribution takes money out of the filmmakers' pockets making it harder for them to raise working capital for future projects."

Edited by Sur_Sangam - 18 years ago