Archive for the ‘India Industry News’ Category
Pact with South Australia in range of areas
Posted by: admin in Australia/New Zealand Industry News, India Industry News on September 8th, 2010
http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/tamil-nadu/article617874.ece
Full-fledged representative office opened in Chennai
South Australia is on an exploratory arc to forge partnerships with Tamil Nadu in emerging areas of common interest ranging across renewable energy, education, water management and film production.
Apart from inking an agreement on sister State status with Tamil Nadu on Monday, South Australia opened a full-fledged representative office in Chennai. South Australia’s Water Industry Alliance and the Jaipur-based CII Water Institute of the Confederation of Indian Industry also signed a Memorandum of Understanding on water-related research, optimal resource management and technology transfer.
“There is a great deal of complementarity in relations with Tamil Nadu, especially Chennai,” said South Australia Premier Mike Rann, who has led a trade delegation here.
It was important for bilateral ties to be as mutually educative as they were mutually rewarding, Mr. Rann said. Rather than a coincidence, South Australia’s choice of Chennai as the hub of its plans for India was a carefully considered decision. “Almost six years ago we decided to set base in Chennai and now I believe we made the right decision,” he said.
Renewable energy
On the potential for collaboration in renewable energy, Mr. Rann pointed out that while South Australia accounted for 50 per cent of the country’s renewable energy (wind) portfolio, Tamil Nadu contributed 55 per cent of the State’s renewable energy generation. By 2020, South Australia aspired to raise the share of wind power to 33 per cent of the energy portfolio.
There was also scope for collaboration in film-making, particularly given Australia’s expertise in special effects and post-production, Mr. Rann said.
According to Mr. Rann, South Australia is also in the process of leveraging new discoveries of rich mineral deposits. The number of mines had tripled from four about five years ago and was expected to quadruple soon. In addition, some 30 new mines under exploration were estimated to have some of the world’s biggest deposits of uranium, copper and gold.
Earlier, addressing a meeting hosted by the Indo-Australian Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Rann said that while mining would play a dominant role in South Australia’s future relationship with India, he would like the Indian involvement to step beyond mineral imports to feature joint ventures in developing the mining infrastructure.
Peter Varghese, Australian High Commissioner in India, said the opportunities for Government-to-Government ties would vastly increase with the firming up of the Free Trade Agreement between the two countries which could be expected by year-end or early next year. He pointed out that an FTA was projected to add about 30 billion Australian dollars in trade volume terms over the next couple of decades.
The High Commissioner stressed the need to diversify the bilateral relationship beyond energy and commodities that have dictated trade and for scaling up people-to-people connections in order to “update the image that one had of the other”.
The India-Australia relationship had to be contextualised in a long-term framework and the “headline story” of this was that interests were converging in a way that never happened before, Mr. Varghese said.
I want to direct Hollywood films: A.R. Murugadoss
Posted by: admin in India Industry News, Studio/Network News, United States Industry News on September 8th, 2010
http://entertainment.oneindia.in/tamil/exclusive/2010/murugadoss-hollywood-films-070910.html
Hollywood’s No.1 production group 20th Fox Century has made its way into Tamil film industry and will be producing films in collaboration with A.R. Murugadoss Productions. The official announcement about the entry of Fox Star Studios was held recently at Hotel Park Sheraton in Chennai.
Turning lights on Tamil film industry, Dr. Vijay Singh said, “We have been releasing some of the finest Hollywood films in India that includes Avatar, Knight and Day, A-Team and many more. We were privileged joining hands with Karan Johar and Shahrukh Khan in My Name is Khan. In fact, the film spanned a big collection of Rs. 208 Crores. Now, our focus is all about accomplishing in Tamil film industry as we find some of the biggest talents over here….”
Mr. Sanford Panitch expressed his words of praises for A.R. Murugadoss saying, “We were indeed on the pursuit of a perfect guide and came across A.R. Murugadoss. This multi-faceted personality has marked success as a filmmaker, screenwriter in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu industry.”
A.R. Murugadoss said, “It makes me elated on pars more responsible as I have sustained these Hollywood producers in Kollywood. With the entry of Fox Star Studios, our Tamil films will get dubbed in various foreign languages and will be screened in USA with English subtitles. Sometimes, there are chances of our films getting remade in foreign film industries as Fox Studios have more than 40 branches across the globe.”
When asked whether he would direct a Hollywood film, ARM enthusiastically added, “why not? it has been my dream. I have certain scripts that would savor the tastes of Hollywood audiences, something like wild creatures based thriller movie. But I’ll have to find a best technical team and then approach the producers…”
The film to be produced by 20th Fox Century will be directed by Murugadoss’ long time associate Saravanan with Jai and Vimal in lead roles. Thamman will be scoring music and rest of the crew is yet to be finalized.
The other project produced under this big banner will be launched by next couple of months.
Private film schools fulfilling dreams
Posted by: admin in India Industry News, Training & School News on September 6th, 2010
http://sify.com/finance/private-film-schools-fulfilling-dreams-news-default-kjgaOiggcbd.html
Swarup Chakraborty
The growth in the film and entertainment industry is leading established players to take steps that might be termed as ‘backward integration’ in the retail sector.
One of the largest production houses of the country, Balaji Telefilms, is set to start its media school in mid-September. Balaji is starting with three-month long vocational training programmes and will offer courses in seven specialisations — acting, production, direction, script writing, editing, sound recording and cinematography. With its on-floor and to-be-launched slate of TV and film projects, the students could be absorbed in home productions, said a senior Balaji official.
Balaji will set up the first centre of ICE (Institute of Creative Excellence) in Andheri and will then move to other cities. “The pilot course will start in a month and we want to start with a small batch of students. Fees for the three-month courses will be around Rs 2 lakh. We will start the second batch closer to March next year. The peak intake capacity will be 600 students,” said Puneet Kinra, group CEO, Balaji Telefilms. Balaji’s move follows Whistling Woods International, the film school promoted by Mukta Arts and Filmcity, which started three years back and has trained 250 students till date.
Apart from its main campus in Filmcity, Goregaon, Whistling Woods is also planning centres in Delhi, Haryana and Kolkata. At present, it has an intake capacity of around 140 students for its two-year diploma course in film-making with specialisations in direction, editing, cinematography, production, screen writing and sound recording & design. The institute also has a division – Actors studio – that offers a course in animation and graphics.
In the absence of well recognised TV and film training institutes, new institutes from production houses are getting a number of queries from wannabe actors and technicians.
Most students, who wanted to follow a career in films, would apply to the government-sponsored Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune. The institute has, in the last two years, received applications more than 20 times of its capacity. “The growth in the film and entertainment sector has opened up new avenues for students and they are looking for quality education,” said Meghna Ghai Puri, president, Whistling Woods International.
Given the number of students who apply to Whistling Woods, the institute is proving to be a good business proposition for its promoters. “We will break-even in the next year of our operations,” said Puri.
Whistling Woods has spent around Rs 75 crore in building the infrastructure and procuring equipment. “Most of the expenditure has been incurred and now we hope to start making money,” said Puri. Filmmaker Subhash Ghai-promoted Mukta Arts holds 85 per cent stake in the institute, while Filmcity, which has given the land for the institute, holds 15 per cent equity stake. “There are 600 film institutes in North America alone and in India where we make the maximum number of films compared to any other country the number of institutes is abysmally low. There is a huge potential for growth as the film and television industry need trained professionals,” she added.
Whistling Woods charges around Rs 5.5 lakh for its eight-month certificate courses and upto Rs 15 lakh for its two-year courses. However, FTII charges less than Rs 1 lakh for its popular three-year diploma in direction, editing, cinematography, sound design & recording.
However, Puri said students are willing to pay a price for the quality of training they get.”There is actually a dearth of skilled people in the industry. Mukta Arts is also looking at grooming and use the talent pool. For example, our students are directing and acting in the in-house production Paschim Express,” Puri added.
According to a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers report on the outlook for the media and entertainment industry, the TV industry is expected to grow at a stable CAGR of 12.9 per cent and the film industry is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 12.4 per cent till 2014.
‘Film world needs literary touch’
Posted by: admin in India Industry News on September 6th, 2010
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/94073/film-world-needs-literary-touch.html
The Kannada film industry requires guidance of Kannada Sahitya Parishath more than ever for its survival and welfare, observed Karnataka Film Chamber president Basanth Kumar Patil.
Speaking on the second day of sixth Bangalore City District Kannada literary meet at Ravindra Kalaskhetra here on Saturday, Patil noted the Kannada filmdom is in a pathetic state as there is a huge gap between the industry and Sahitya Parishat.
“More number of films are being made in Kannada as compared to other languages. However, the films lack quality due to the disconnect between the industry and the writers. “There will be a renaissance in the film industry with the guidance of Kannada writers, ”he said. Outsiders coming to Bangalore should learn Kannada language. It is the duty of every Kannadiga to teach outsiders Kannada language and culture, he added.
Film actor Rajesh said many literary works were made into films between 1960 and 1970. The decade witnessed the rise of legends like Rajkumar, Uday Kumar, Leelavathi, Pandharibai and others. The industry was internationally acclaimed due to their efforts, said actor Rajesh.
However, the theatre owners managed to bag contract to screen non-Kannada movies which marked the downfall of Kannada film industry.
Music composer V Manohar, writer Byramangala Ramegowda and others were present.
South India based film production Midvalley Entertainment is all set to raise Rs 600 million via IPO
Posted by: admin in India Industry News on September 6th, 2010
http://www.bollypatrika.com/?p=10601
By Riyanki
Mumbai: South India based film production Midvalley Entertainment is all set to raise Rs 600 million via IPO: South India based film production, exhibition company and distribution—Midvalley Entertainment is all set to raise Rs 600 million by means of initial public offering (IPO).
This is for the fifth time that Midvalley Entertainment has filed a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
The company had filed a draft with DRPH several times– June 2000, February 2002, July 2007 and October 2008.
The company intends to utilize Rs 150 million in screening agreements with 300 cinema theatres, Rs 259.5 million for renovation and upgradation of cinema infrastructure with digital equipment and other related assets for a select 100 screens, and Rs 120 million for acquisition of company and screening rights of the company having similar line of objects.
Chief Mentor: Financing is Key for Fine Films
Posted by: admin in India Industry News on September 3rd, 2010
http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2010/09/02/chief-mentor-financing-is-key-for-fine-films/
By Gaurav Jain
At the last Indian Film Festival in Goa, I was seated with one of the directors of an international film financing company. When conversation turned to film making — I was independently producing an animated feature — she explained that her company rarely works with projects in India because producers here expect to receive a check immediately after making a pitch.
Film production in India is essentially independent and producers take on the business without a studio’s robust production plan, marketing structure and deep pockets. This means the producer is responsible for financing, production, distribution and marketing. Very few players in India, big or small, even have a slate beyond a handful of films.
Although the industry has grown steadily here, the concept of a movie producer has not evolved much. Making films in India is akin to living in the Wild West as people in the industry are constantly negotiating, cajoling, fighting and hustling to survive and thrive.
The area where they suffer the most is financing. If producers have to borrow, there are few institutional finance options. They have, in the past, had to go down nefarious roads to raise cash. Meanwhile, a lack of a transparent ancillary revenue stream makes it tough to project how much money movies will make.
Another drawback of the independent production system is time constraints. Putting together a good project can take years of writes, re-writes and casting changes as a film evolves from idea to execution. Since independent producers have no studio to fall back on, a drawn-out development period is unaffordable. The preference is to get a film out the door quickly.
This limits a producer’s ability to choose and develop a script. The aim is to pick something that is safe, seemingly marketable and with a quick turnaround time. Some have recently churned out quick films hoping that the standard mix — big stars, A-list musicians and foreign locales — would be enough to attract audiences only to see their films flop. The pressures that come from not having big studios to help develop good films could be why our movies are often formulaic and rarely relevant to the larger global market.
Our production skills are on par with most in the world and great strides have been made over the last 15 years in exhibition. However we need to create a better project development system, offer institutional finance and spend more time getting a project market ready to minimize loss.
Additionally and most importantly, we need to develop systems which allow for a reduction of risk. Pre-sales, revenue share, testing and insurance would not only reduce risk for producers but also set the industry on the road to better organization.
Gaurav Jain runs Illusion Interactive and is working towards the release of his maiden animated feature film.
SRK to be a part of Producers’ Association?
Posted by: admin in India Industry News on September 1st, 2010
http://www.totalfilmy.com/feature/20100901/srk_be_part_producers_association-30526.html
by Agrajit Roy
Shahrukh Khan is being considered as a member, to play a pivotal role, in the core committee of the film industry’s Producers’ Association.
In the last two decades, Shahrukh has been a successful actor and a producer. He is seen as a marketing wiz and the producers want him to give his inputs on taking the industry to the next level.
The topic for Bollywood Badshah’s inclusion will be brought up when the producers meet soon to conduct their annual general meeting (AGM).
SRK to play a pivotal role in the committee
Producers have planned to suggest Shahrukh’s name to be part of a heavyweight, decision-making body that will look at keeping producers unified and address issues that filmmakers across India face.
They believe that since Shahrukh has been part of the industry for several years, his experience will definitely count on matters like how to keep the producers united.
The debacle with the multiplex owners in the profit sharing issue last year made some of the producers to break off alliance and release their films.
The producers do not want a repeat of that and want someone like SRK, who could guide them in moments of crisis.
Aamir Khan was also being considered alongside Shahrukh but he backed out because he was dragged to court by the Competition Commission on charges of forming a cartel during the filmmakers and multiplex owners’ strike.
Shahrukh to be first actor in core committee
All the actors, who have turned producers, are members of the association but have never really held a big office-bearer post.
Shahrukh Khan is set to become the first actor who is being considered to be in the core committee of the film industry’s Producers’ Association.
Mukesh Bhatt, the senior vice-president of the Producers’ Association, confirmed, “I have indeed heard that Shah Rukh Khan’s name is being strongly considered by many producers who will nominate him to hold a key post in the association. We will get a clearer picture during our annual general meeting.”
Jharkhand Film Industry in Doldrums
Posted by: admin in India Industry News on September 1st, 2010
http://www.realbollywood.com/news/2010/09/jharkhand-film-industry-doldrums.html
The word Jhollywood (Which represents a very tiny almost non existent Jharkhand Film Industry) rhyming with our very own Bollywood besides Mollywood, Tollywood, Kollywood and all the other woods inspired by Hollywood, has resurfaced after lying almost in a dormant state for almost a decade, with the release of the latest Jharkhandi language film called ‘Baha – The Wild Flower’ directed by Shriprakash who is known as the first ever director of Jharkhandi films. This of course is not quite true.
To know in depth about this miniscule industry it is important to take a trip down its memory lanes. First of all the Jharkhand film industry itself is divided into many segments according to the languages prevalent here like Ho films, Uraon films, Nagpuri films, Chotanagpur films, Sadri films, Santhali films and above all Khortha films, out of all these language films the most popular are films made in Nagpuri and Santhali languages. While the Khortha film industry represents only the audio and music video album industry.
First and foremost let us take a peep into the Khortha film industry, an insight into which is given by a theatre actor named Basudeo Kumar, “I am hailing from Dhanbad in Jharkhand and I belonged to a theatre group named ‘Bikhre Moti’ which is almost akin to IPTA. Before telling you about the Khortha films any more of a music industry let me tell you that all the teenaged boys and girls who aspire to become actors or actresses have to go through the routine of doing music albums, in spite of having done theatre, shot by hand held cameras mostly in jungles and forests. We all contribute to make the albums, edit it on the home computers (mostly with the help of cameraman who have been shooting wedding albums with their video cameras) and even market it ourselves. This has almost become hereditary for all the aspiring artistes in Jharkhand, and to tell you the truth in the garb of shooting these music albums even porno films are shot on the sly, which are shown in almost 9 out of the 10 dilapidated and fast diminishing cinema halls, some of the frustrated artistes compromise on this only to make fast money. So who says casting couch for both male and female artistes does not exist even in the Jharkhand film industry. Some of the resourceful and daring artistes like me take the risk of coming to Kolkatta to do more serious theatre, modeling and ramp walking and ultimately land up in the Mecca of Bollywood like me in search of their own God fathers who can promote them to be stars like the Kapoors, the Kumars and the Khans one day. In the end I would say that the Jharkhand film industry which is still going through more downs then ups, more lows than highs, its own trials and tribulations has no future at all.”
Basudeo Kumar also revealed, “Some of the most prominent names of the runaway chartbusting music albums are ‘Chal Gori Ranchi Shaher’, ‘Mor Sajni’, ‘Okoe Hirla’, ‘Aye Sunita’, ‘Laha Dhuri Sindur’, ‘Akoying Apanare’, et al. I could reveal all these names because I have noted them down in my personal diary besides I have the entire collection back there in my hometown. Listening to these double meaning music albums was our favorite time pass besides me and my friends have also acted in some of these super hit music albums.”
Now let us move on to know about the history of Santhali films. This particular industry has indeed made some remarkable movies on record like ‘Hamaar Jharkhand’, ‘Sitanela Ke Sagun Supari’, ‘Chorag Chiken’, ‘Marag Tukare Mayno Meeru’, ‘Marshal’ which were released with a great fanfare. Here again mention must be made of Shriprakash who after having made a few documentaries on adivasis and later on inspired more and more adivasis, which includes some of the modern ones, to make small budget films for themselves with the funds collected from their own fraternity. Director Shriprakash also gave some more insight about Santhali films in general and about himself in particular, “To begin with, the plight of the Santhali film industry is still pitiable in spite of the recognition it got like a special Santhali film festival being held in Jamshedpur, being invited to foreign film festivals like Berlinale Film Festival apart from the Nepal Film Festival and the Kolkatta Film Festival. Besides I am also pleased with the fact that even our film industry has also got a new name albeit tagged with wood namely Jhollywood. But where is the business? Where is the exposure? The fault lies with us and our Government. While our counterpart Bhojpuri films are getting the entire boost and is flourishing inleaps and bounds. Jharkhand, Dhanbad and its nearby areas does not even have proper cinema halls whose rates are very low compared to Multiplexes all over India. Besides it does not even get the patronage of its own people simply because the female folk do not turn up at all. Children are not allowed to see even the clean and wholesome films before they grow up into adulthood. So the only audience we have is the youth in the age group of 18 – 20 and then they are also lured into watching porn films which are shown without any restriction or fear in almost all the cinema halls especially in the matinee and night shows. Even Men after the age of 30 do not come to the theatres for fear of social stigma. At this stage they would rather prefer to watch pirated CD’s of Bollywood films in the confines of their homes along with their families as these CD’s are easily available just for Rs. 25/- The only artistes who have survived here are Deepak Lohar (A National SchoolOf Drama Alumni ) and Sheetal Sughandhini Bage the heroine of my film ‘Baha – The Wild Flower’. But in the end I would say that things are improving but only minimal, the progress is very slow that too not very steady. So you can say that up till now I have been able to make only issue based films on a shoe string budget from in house contributions. So you see our industry of all the languages is still ailing due to lack of adequate finances. The only consolation is that of late our films are being appreciated and getting global recognition mainly because of film festivals.”
Now moving on to Nagpuri films, which were inspired and based mostly on the Khortha film industries music albums, the first breaking news is that almost 50% of the Nagapuri films are now being made with digital technology. Some of the prominent Nagpuri films are ‘Sona Kar Nagpur’, ‘Aakrant’, ‘Preet’, starring none other than Deepak Lohar known more popularly as the angry young man of the Jharkhand film industry but now even Deepak Lohar has quit the Jharkhand film industry and made his way to Tinsel Ville, instead he ended up doing a Television Show in Mumbai. Even Nagpuri films had its share of flop shows for 5 continuous years in between with most of the films falling like nine pins at the Box Office Cash Counters but with the release of films like ‘Black Iron Man Birsa’, ‘Oolgulan – Ek Kranti’ et al the fate of Nagpuri films has undergone a complete volte-face.
In conclusion the latest news is that Jhollywood has silently joined hands with the Bhojpuri film industry as is witnessed with the recent release of two films like ‘Piya Tose Naina Laage’ and ‘Jugni’ reflecting the typical Bollywoodian tradition. So will these omen herald a grand union of Jhollywood and Bollywood in lieu with the Bhojpuria films?
– Shaheen Raaj / Sampurn wire
Indian film stars take salary cuts
Posted by: admin in India Industry News on August 31st, 2010
http://www.digitalspy.com/bollywood/news/a269898/indian-film-stars-take-salary-cuts.html
By Steven Baker, Bollywood Reporter
The earnings of some of Bollywood’s biggest stars are reported to have been hit by the recession.
According to The Hindu, many of the film industry’s highest paid actors have been forced to take a salary cut in their recent projects.
Mr Jehil Thakkar, executive director of KPMG revealed: “During boom time, most of the studios paid stars astronomical amounts. In the past 12-18 months, the elevated prices of the stars have been rationalised due to the film industry’s tightening budgets.”
Inflated salaries were apparently seen as out of line with the true market value of many performers.
“Actors who just entered the industry had unrealistic pay packets,” said an industry insider.
Leading figures Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan are confirmed to have paid less tax in the last financial year. Aamir Khan is reported to be the only actor to remain unaffected by the cuts, after a series of commercially successful global releases.
Demand for financial security
Posted by: admin in India Industry News, Motion Picture/Television Industry Contract News on August 30th, 2010
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/Demand-for-financial-security/articleshow/6458349.cms
Laxmi Birajdar, TNN
PUNE: Scriptwriters, despite being an integral part of the film-making process, have yet to gain better financial security and command greater clout as professionals in the Indian film industry, pointed out Imteyaz Hussein, general secretary of the Film Writers’ Association, who was present at the seminar on scripwriting organised by FTII, on Saturday.
The FWA, which has around 8,000 lyricists and scripwriters from all over the country as its members, works as a trade union.
“Scriptwriters are supposed to be well-read about different subjects, and need to upgrade themselves constantly. However, a lot of new scriptwriters are not well-read and this is where their scripts turn out to be weak,” said Hussein, dialogue-writer of award winning films like Parinda,’ Astitva’ and Vaastav,’ among others.
The boom in television industry is leading to writers earning more money there, rather than the film industry, said Hussein.
The struggle of the FWA is to give financial and creative security to its scriptwriters. A model contract drafted last year by the has been submitted to the Federation of Western India Cine Employees, which has further passed on a copy of the contract for due consideration to four different bodies of film producers in the country.
“We hope this contract will be approved by the producers’ associations. One of the clauses in this contract is a minimum pay of Rs 6 lakh to a scriptwriter newcomer or seasoned. We are also in talks with the government on scriptwriters being able to avail of the copyright act pertaining to their work, which once sold to a film producer, will allow them to claim royalty every time their film is screened on television or in theatres,” said Hussein.
The FWA is also trying to mobilise its members to fight for their rights more fiercely. “There is also the issue of story ideas from film scripts being stolen for television programmes. We are also working towards avoiding and challenging such malpractices,” said Hussein.