1.

INTRODUCTION

Entertainment and
Media sector

Television Music Radio Film Animation

industry Industry industry Industry Industry

The Indian entertainment and media (E&M) industry, standing at more than USD 8
billion, is one of the fastest growing sectors of the Indian economy. The Indian
entertainment industry is divided into segments as shown above. Indian film industry
forms the most important segment of entertainment sector. Indian film industry helps
a lot in growth of entertainment industry and the growth of country, at large.

India has the world's biggest movie industry in terms of the number of movies
produced (around 800 movies annually). It is a great sector for foreign investment by
corporatised entertainment companies. Though risks are high on a per-movie basis,
the risk spreads out across a number of films.

The Indian film industry has experienced advancements on all fronts including
technology used, themes of the movies, finance, exhibition and marketing. The
movie making business has got strong impetus from the growth of multiplex culture.
The Indian film industry is getting corporatized and has started looking overseas for

1
co -production. India has the world's biggest movie industry and produces around
1000 movies each year. In contrast, 473 films were produced in the US in 2003.
Today, the Indian film industry stands at INR 85 billion and is projected to reach
around INR 175 billion by 2011. Indian films are popular in various parts of the world,
especially in countries with significant Indian communities.The major reason for this
high growth rate is that the industry is increasingly getting more corporatised,
highlighted by public issues of several film production, distribution and exhibition
companies, long term contracts between film production companies and directors/
actors and the fact that more than half of 2006’s releases were by corporates rather
than individual banners.

The sources of revenue being consumer box office spending for theatrical motion
pictures plus spending on renting and purchasing home video products in both DVD
and VHS formats. It also includes online film rental subscription services, such as
those whereby DVDs are delivered via overnight mail, and streaming services,
whereby films are downloaded via a broadband Internet connection.

A strong appetite for movies and an upload migration of household incomes in India,
has bought a several business opportunities in this segment. The box office
collections of this industry are 85% of its revenues as compared to the US film
industry where the collections are only 27% of the revenues.

2
 2. TRENDS IN INDIAN FILM INDUSTRY

 Brief History of Indian Movie Industry:

Motion pictures came to India in 1896, when the Lumière Brothers' Cinematograph
unveiled six soundless short films in Bombay (now Mumbai). This was just one year
after the Lumière brothers (inventors of cinematography) had set up their company
in Paris.

The first Indian on record to make a movie was Harishchandra Sakharam

Bhatvadekar (nickname: Save Dada). He made one short film on a wrestling match
at the Hanging Gardens in Bombay, and another on the playfulness of monkeys.
Both these shorts were made in 1897 and were publicly exhibited for the first time in
1899 using Edison's projecting kinetoscope inside a tent which the film maker had
himself erected.

India's first feature film – named "King Harishchandra" – was released in 1913. It
was made by Dhundiraj Govind Phalke (nickname: Dadasaheb Phalke, 1817-1944).
This was a silent movie. By 1920, film making had taken the shape of an industry.
The first talkie made in India was "Alam Ara" (produced by Imperial Film Company)
released in 1931.

Until the 1960s, film-making companies, many of whom owned studios, dominated
the film industry. Artistes and technicians were either their employees or were
contracted on long-term basis. Since the 1960s, however, most performers went the
freelance way, resulting in the star system and huge escalations in film production
costs. Financing deals in the industry also started becoming murkier and murkier
since then.

3
 Current Affairs:

India has the world's biggest movie industry in terms of the number of movies
produced (around 800 movies annually, mostly in the Hindi language. Tamil, Telegu,
Bengali and Malayalam are the languages in which most of the non-Hindi films are
made).

Today, the technology of film-making in India is perhaps the best among all
developing countries though the films themselves remain mostly repetitive in
storyline and content. Superior movies, in thematic and creative terms, are made in
many developing countries with less sophisticated technologies.

According to unofficial estimates available in January 2001, the Indian film industry
has an annual turnover of Rs. 60 billion (approximately US$1.33 billion). It employs
more than 6 million people, most of whom are contract workers as opposed to
regular employees.

The above statistics cannot however be used to calculate the movie industry's share
in the GDP or employment generation. This is because a vast proportion of the
turnover takes place outside the legal economy.

Though India’s overall entertainment industry is taking on professional colours (with

the rise of TV production companies), India's movie industry per se remains highly
informal, personality-oriented and family-dominated.

Until the late 1990s, it was not even recognised as an industry. Even though it has
since been recognised as an industry, banks and other financial institutions continue
to avoid the industry due to the enormous risks involved in the business. Two banks,
Canara Bank and Indian Bank, have reportedly lost heavily by financing films.
However, the prospects of bank financing and risk insurance are becoming brighter,

4
albeit at a slow rate (as explained further down this report). As a result, the financing
of films in India often remains shrouded in mystery.

The rot or financial amorality of India's film industry seems to have set in since the
1960s. Until the 1960s, film producers would get loans from film distributors against
a minimum guarantee: this meant that the distributors had to ensure that the film was
screened in cinemas for a fixed minimum period. If this minimum guarantee was
fulfilled, the producers had no further liability. Profit or loss would be the destiny of
the distributors.

The 'other' sources of finances are:

– Conventional moneylenders (who lend at an interest rate of 36-40 per cent \

annually);
– non-conventional but corporate resources,
– Promissory note system (locally called 'hundi' system): this is the most widely
prevalent source, and
– Underworld money: about 5 per cent of the movies are suspected to be financed
by these sources.

Film production thus became a risky business and the relationship with usurious
money-lenders strengthened over the years.

India has a National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) which finances some
films. A few film makers, who would find it hard to obtain finance from the regular
sources, have been financed by the NFDC. However, NFDC cannot be considered to
play a central role in the film industry because it finances too few films which, too,
are not of the type that has made the Indian film industry so vibrant. It however goes
to the NFDC's credit that, without it, some of India's best film makers wouldn't have
got a break in the industry.

5
 Future:

This is not intended to be a scare story, however. As mentioned above, the overall
entertainment industry in India is taking on professional colours and this will change
the culture of the film industry too. Some film production companies, such as Mukta
Arts, have made public share issues, thus keeping out of the world of murky
financing.

The Film Federation of India is actively seeking to make film financing a viable
proposition for banks. It is likely that films would also be insured to offset possible
losses for banks.

The granting of industry status to the film industry will eventually allow overboard
financing of films, though this will result in production of fewer films than at present.
Stricter enforcement of copyright law will help the film industry in its fight with cable
operators.

Foreign entertainment companies, with steady revenue streams, can do good

business if they invest in Hindi and other Indian language films. Despite high risks on
a per-movie basis, the risk spreads out across a number of movies.

6
 3. SEGMENTATION OF INDIAN FILM INDUSTRY

(I) REGIONAL FILM INDUSTRIES

India is a large country where many languages are spoken. According to the 1991
Census of India there are about 10,400 'raw mother tongues' in India. Indian film
producers have made films in thirty of the largest languages. However, only the very
largest language groups support major regional industries. These are: Hindi, Tamil,
Telugu, Bengali, Marathi, Kannada,Odiya,Malayalam. Official statistics categorise
Indian films according to the languages in which they are distributed.

There is a great deal of mobility between the regional industries. Many workers in
other regional industries, once their talent and popularity is established, move on to
work in other film industries, nationally as well as internationally. For example, A. R.
Rahman, one of the best known film music composers in Indian cinema, started his
career in Tamil cinema in Chennai but has since worked in Bollywood, London, and
New York. Similarly, films that succeed in one language are often remade or dubbed
in others. Films like Padosan and Roja, for example, were re-made or dubbed from
their original Bengali and Tamil versions respectively, into Hindi.

1. The Bengali (Bangla) film industry

The history of cinema in Bengal dates back to the 1890s, when the first "bioscopes"
were shown in theatres in Calcutta. Within a decade, the first seeds of the industry
was sown by Hiralal Sen, considered a stalwart of Victorian era cinema when he set
up the Royal Bioscope Company, producing scenes from the stage productions of a
number of popular shows at the Star Theatre, Minerva Theatre, Classic Theatre.

However, the first Bengali Feature film, Billwamangal, was produced in 1919, under
the banner of Madan Theatre. Bilat Ferat was the IBFC's first production in 1921.
The New Theatre production of Dena Paona was the first Bengali talkie. Today, there

7
are two Bengali film industries, one in Kolkata (Calcutta), India and the lesser known
one in Dhaka, Bangladesh (called Dhallywood). The film industry based in Kolkata is
sometimes referred to as Tollywood.

Its most famous film director is Satyajit Ray, who won an Oscar for lifetime
achievement in cinema. However, Bengali films have always remained the hot
favourites among the National Awards jury almost every year since its inception.
Some of the most popular Bengali film personalities include Kishore Kumar, Mithun
Chakraborty. Some of the other Bengalis who have made it big are Ashok Kumar,
Bimal Roy, Mrinal Sen, Ritwik Ghatak, Aparna Sen and Suchitra Sen.

2. The Hindi film industry

The Hindi film industry, based in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), is the largest branch of
Indian cinema. Hindi film Industry is often called 'Bollywood' (a melding of Hollywood
and Bombay). It is believed that 95% of the Indian population watches Bollywood.
Bollywood has been recently greatly criticized for what critics see as a violation of
Indian cultural values and its discussion of controversial topics. It is considered the
most liberal out of the Indian language film industries.

Regional movies are distinctively different from Bollywood (Hindi) movies, as the
stories and themes of these movies portray the culture of the region from which they
originate, while most Bollywood movies nowadays are greatly influenced by Western
culture.

3. The Kannada film industry

The Kannada film industry, based in Karnataka, is sometimes called 'Sandalwood',

as Karnataka is known for its sandalwood; however, this term does not seem to be in
widespread use. The Gubbi Veeranna Company, or Veeranna's Sri
Chennabasaveshwara Krupa Poshita Nataka Sangha and other groups established

8
themselves first as theatre troupes, and later went on to dominate kannada cinema
into the 1960s. Kannada films has become very popular after the recent hits like Jogi
(2005) & Mungaru Male (2007).Mungaru Male has been the first Indian movie to be
screened in many European countries .

4. The Kashmiri film industry

The Kashmiri film industry, which had been lying dormant since the release of Habba
Khatoon in 1967, was revived after a 39-year hiatus with the release of Akh Daleel
Loolech in 2006. Cinema halls had been shut down for a long time in Kashmir, by
militants protesting against the New Delhi based Government. There are few cinema
halls and a handful of directors have been returning to shoot in the region. Though
the region was favoured by many producers as a scenic locale in pre-militancy era
Bollywood movies as a romantic backdrop, the regional industry was not very strong,
due to lack of finances and infrastructure.

5. The Malayalam film industry

The Malayalam film industry, based in Kerala. Malayalam movies are known for their
artistic nature and they frequently figure in the national film awards. It is also
currently known for being the most conservative out of the different film industries in
India, despite the fact that it went through a liberal phase in the 80's.

The first 3D film which produced in India was in Malayalam. Its name was My Dear
Kuttichatthan produced by Navodaya Productions. Padayottam, the first fully
indigenous 70MM film with all its work done in India was in Malayalam which was
also produced by Navodaya. The first Cinemascope film in the world was produced
in Malayalam. Chemmeen was the first film which earned a gold medal from the
President from South India."Guru", directed by Rajiv Anchal, is the only Malayalam
film nominated for Oscar Award so far.

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6. The Marathi film industry

Film Shwaas (The Breath)was a milestone in Marathi cinema. Movie was also sent
as India's official entry to 77th Academy Awards.

The Marathi Film industry is based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Marathi film industry is
one of the oldest in India. Dadasaheb Phalke was one of the pioneers of the films in
Marathi. He is in fact,termed as father of Indian cinema.
Uttarayan and mainstream successes like Aga bai Areccha, Shubhmangal
saavdhan, Khabardaar and Saatchya aat gharat makes Marathi films popular.

7. The Tamil film industry

The Tamil film industry (Kollywood), based in the Kodambakkam area of Chennai is
one of biggest film industries in India. Popularity and collections wise, the Tamil film
industry is second only to the Hindi film industry. Tamil films have enjoyed consistent
popularity among Tamil speakers in India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia and
Mauritius. Tamil films also receive fame in countries which contain Tamil immigrant
communities such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and other
European countries.

The Tamil film industry accounts for approximately 1% of the gross domestic product
of the state of Tamil Nadu.

8. The Telugu film industry

The Telugu film industry is based in Andhra Pradesh's capital city, Hyderabad. After
Bollywood, more movies are produced every year in Telugu than any other language.
The state also has what is claimed to be the largest film studio in the world, Ramoji
Film City. Telugu movies are released world wide in United States, Canada, parts of
Europe, South Africa, Malaysia and Singapore.

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(II) CONTENT OF INDIAN MOVIES

Based on the content Indian movies can be divided into three broad categories; each
of these clusters have their own opportunities, challenges and imperatives.

 Hindi 'masala' movies

Indian films need to go beyond the NRIs to cover Asian audiences who have
developed a liking for such content. They also need to reach out to people of Indian
origin (PIOs) in countries such as Fiji or Surinam.

 Mystical Indian themes or other cultural themes

The industry needs to think big. "A regular global release demands 3000 to 4000
prints. The biggest Indian release rarely goes beyond 250 prints.

Moreover, it requires much more hard work than simply tweaking formats to present
Indian mythology, culture, or stories appealing to the sensibilities of the global
audience.

 Animation

The companies need to scout aggressively for opportunities in film festivals and
trade fairs. As it includes programming content such as animation which can be
produced for markets such as CIS, West Asia, Africa or East Europe, suiting their
local needs.

 Art cinema in India

In addition to commercial cinema, there is also Indian cinema that aspires to
seriousness or art. This is known to film critics as "New Indian Cinema" or

11
sometimes "the Indian New Wave", but most people in India simply call such films
"art films". These films deal with a wide range of subjects but many are in general
explorations of complex human circumstances and relationships within an Indian
setting.

Art films are subsidised by Indian government: aspiring directors could get federal or
state government grants to produce non-commercial films on Indian themes. Many
of these directors were graduates of the government-supported Film and Television
Institute of India.

(III) BUDGET BASED CLAASIFICATION:

The 'bigness' of the budget is attributable mainly to the high fees paid to 'stars',
celebrated music directors, high-end technologies and expensive travel costs to
shoot in exotic locations worldwide.

 A reasonable budget film in Hindi could cost US$1.75 million.

 A low budget Hindi film can be made for even as low as Rs. 15 million.

 A big budget Hindi movie can cost in excess of US$30 million.

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 4. WHICH FACTORS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE GROWTH OF
FILM SECTOR IN INDIA?

The buoyant economy has given a fillip to the consumer's income which in turn
increases the disposable income that the consumer spends on Entertainment. This
combined with technological advancement and policy initiatives undertaken by the
Indian government has contributed to the growth of the film industry. Factors such as
low media penetration across various socio-economic classes and lower ad spends
have also helped drive the industry. The other key factor is the liberalized foreign
regime, the recent being FDI permitted in films have opened foreign investments. In
short it can be said that the Indian films has everything going for it, be it technology,
digitalization, government support and industry developments.

Indians
love to watch

movies. And advancements in technology are helping the Indian film industry in all
the spheres – film production, film exhibition and marketing. The industry is
increasingly getting more corporatised. Several film production, distribution and
exhibition companies are coming out with public issues. More theatres across the
country are getting upgraded to multiplexes and initiatives to set up more digital

13
cinema halls in the country are already underway. This will not only improve the
quality of prints and thereby make film viewing a more pleasurable experience, but
also reduce piracy of prints.

Market for Indian films abroad is now crossing the NRI lines to English speaking
audiences as well. This popularity will drive the film entertainment business, poised
to grow to $1.1 billion by 2008.

Other key Drivers:

• Economic growth of the country in general and rising disposable income
levels in particular.
• Gradually liberalizing attitude of the government.
• Greater interface with international companies.
• Privatization and growth of the radio industry.
• Advancement in Technology.
• Favorable regulatory initiatives.
• Liberalized foreign investment regime.

Opportunities in the sector:

The popularity of Indian entertainment industry goes well beyond the geographical
frontiers of the country. Indian television channels and films are viewed and enjoyed
across the entire South Asia. Across the Middle East, parts of South East Asia and
Africa, large expatriate populations ensure that Indian TV channels and films are a
regular part of their entertainment bouquet. In UK and North America (USA and
Canada), Indian TV channels and films are increasingly finding a foothold beyond
the expatriate pockets as the audience there has started to enjoy and identify with
the contemporary Indian culture. Quite a few of Indian filmstars are also getting good
offers from Hollywood. The future prospects of Indian entertainment industry look to
be extremely good. As India's profile rises on the global stage outside interest in
India's culture and entertainment industry is also bound to grow.

14
 5. BARRIERS TO INVESTMENT IN FILM SECTOR

A lot more investment can be drawn into the entertainment and media industry if
certain sectoral policy barriers can be addressed. Some of the issues that need to be
addressed which commonly impacts all segments and need to be addressed
urgently include:
1. Piracy:

The problem of piracy assumes a different proportion in a country such as India with
an area of 3.3 million sq. km. and a population of over 1 billion speaking 22 different
languages. Most of the credible efforts today to combat piracy have been initiated by
industry bodies themselves. On part of the government, lack of empowered officers
for enforcement of anti-piracy laws remains the key issue that is encouraging the
menace of piracy. This, coupled with the lengthy legal and arbitration process, is
being viewed as a deterrent to the crusade against pirates. The current Copyrights
Act too is dated in terms of technology improvements, and above all, it does not
address the needs of the electronic media which has maximum instances of piracy
today. The draft of the Optical Disc Law to address the need for regulating piracy at
the manufacturing stage is still lying with the ministry for approval.

2. Merging of the FII and FDI caps

Some industry members are of the view that converting the current cap on foreign
institutional investment (FII) investment to foreign direct investment (FDI) is not a
very encouraging move by the government. FII is primarily considered “hot money”
and is invested by foreign funds to make quick returns unlike FDI, which is longer
term in nature and is actually invested into the business. FDI in several cases is also
accompanied with expertise (such as technology) being brought into the country that
helps in the growth and development of the industry. An FII invests like a financial
investor with the prime motive of quick appreciation of its invested capital rather than
taking a longer-term view of the business, whereas an FDI investor is more in the
nature of a strategic investor and is in the business for the long haul. The new policy

15
does not recognise the need for creating an environment that encourages strategic
investors in making investments in the sector.

3. Changing needs of the customer/ viewers:

 Consumer needs are expanding beyond the mass media and segmented media
to ‘Lifestyle Media’, a new approach that will help consumers maximise their
limited time and attention to create a rich, personalised and social media
environment. This approach presents many opportunities for the industry to
create new avenues to generate revenue.
 Knowledge of ‘consumer activity’ rather than exclusive ownership of content or
distribution assets will become the basis for competition. Businesses that
capture ‘consumer activity’ data and use it to inform business and advertising
models will be positioned to succeed.
 Significant advancements in audience measurement technology will be needed
to capture, analyse and standardise consumer activity data across platforms.

16
 6. ROLE OF FILM INDUSTRY IN DEVELOPMENT OF INDIAN
ECONOMY

Over the last few years there has been a rise in the overall consuming levels of
Indian consumers attributed to the strong economic growth and lower interest rates
in the country that has led to higher disposable income. Government announcement
of the key policy initiatives such as migration to revenue share regime, opening of
licenses to private players and allowing foreign investments into the segment will
help drive growth in this sector.

(I) FDI IN FILM SECTOR:

According to the 2006-07 Budget, the government of India has put in place a liberal
and transparent investment policy. FDI up to 100 per cent is allowed under the
automatic route in most sectors/activities. FDI policy in India is reckoned to be
among the most liberal in emerging economies.

100 per cent FDI is permitted in film industry (i.e. film financing, production,
distribution, exhibition, marketing and associated activities relating to film industry)
subject to the following:

Companies with an established track record in films, TV, music, finance, and
insurance would be permitted
The company should have a minimum paid up capital of US$ 10 million if it is the
single largest equity shareholder and at least US$ 5 million in other cases
Minimum level of foreign equity investment would be US$ 2.5 million for the
single largest equity shareholder and US$ 1 million in other cases
Debt equity ratio of not more than 1:1, i.e., domestic borrowings shall not exceed
equity.

17
(II) INVESTMENTS
Due to the liberal economic policies of Indian Government, various foreign
companies have started investing in this sector. Few of these examples are shown
below in the following table:

18
(III) GLOBALIZATION OF INDIAN CINEMA

Contact between Indian and Western cinemas was established in the early days of
film in India itself. Dadasaheb Phalke was moved to make Raja Harishchandra after
watching the film Life of Christ at P.B. Mehta’s American-Indian Cinema. Similarly,
some other early film directors were inspired by Western movies.

Today, Indian cinema is becoming increasingly westernised. This trend is most

strongly apparent in Bollywood. Newer Bollywood movies sometimes include
Western actors (such as Rachel Shelley in Lagaan), try to meet Western production
standards, conduct filming overseas, adopt some English in their scripts or
incorporate some elements of Western-style plots. Bollywood also produces box-
office hit like the films Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge and Kal Ho Naa Ho, both of
which deal with the overseas Indian’s experience.

However, the meeting between west and India is a two-way process: Western
audiences mostly of Indian origin are becoming more interested in India, as
evidenced by the mild success of Lagaan and Bride and Prejudice. As Western
audiences for Indian cinema grow, Western producers are funding maverick Indian
filmmakers like Gurinder Chadha (Bride and Prejudice) and Mira Nair (Monsoon
Wedding). Both Chadha and Nair are of Indian origin but do not live in India, and
who made their names in Western independent films; they have now been funded to
create films that “interpret” the Indian cinematic tradition for Westerners. A similar
filmmaker is Deepa Mehta of Canada, whose films include the trilogy Fire, Earth and
Water. Indian cinema is also influencing the English and American musical; Baz
Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge! (2001) incorporates a Bollywood-style dance sequence;
The Guru and The 40-Year-Old Virgin feature Indian-style song-and-dance
sequences; A. R. Rahman, a film composer, was recruited for Andrew Lloyd
Webber’s Bombay Dreams; and a musical version of Hum Aapke Hain Koun has
played in London’s West End.

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(IV) AWARDS

The Filmfare Awards ceremony is one of the oldest and most prominent film events
given for Hindi films in India and is sometimes referred to as the “Bollywood Oscars.”
The Filmfare awards were first introduced in 1954, the same year as the National
Film Awards and gave awards to the best films of 1953.

ceremonies held within India are:

• Stardust Awards
• Star Screen Awards

Ceremonies held overseas are:

• Bollywood Movie Awards – Long Island, New York, United States
• Global Indian Film Awards – (different country each year)
• IIFA Awards – (different country each year)
• Zee Cine Awards – (different country each year)
Most of these award ceremonies are lavishly staged spectacles, featuring singing,
dancing, and lots of stars and starlets.

(v) FILM TRAINING IN INDIA

Film And Television Institute Of India, Pune

Asian Academy Of Film And Television, Noida
Satyajit Ray Film Institute, Kolkatta
Asian School Of Media Studies, Noida

20
 7. LEADING PLAYERS IN THE SECTOR

B.R. Films Vinod Chopra Productions

Balaji Telefilms Yash Raj Films
Vishesh Films (aka Bhatt Productions) 20th Century-Fox Film
Dharma Productions Buena Vista Pictures
Applause Entertainment Columbia Pictures
Excel Entertainment DreamWorks Distribution
Film Kraft Miramax Films
Fish Eye Network (aka Shreya
Shree Krishna International
Creations)
Lighthouse Entertainment Newmarket Films
Maruti International Paramount Pictures
Nadiadwala Grandsons Universal Pictures
MAD Films (Orion Pictures) Warner Bros. Pictures
R.S. Entertainment Warner Home Video
Red Chillies Entertainment (aka Dreamz Venus Films (aka Venus Records and
Unlimited) Tapes)
Factory (aka Ram Gopal Varma Productions;
S.K. Films Enterprises
Dream Merchants; K Sera Sera)

21
Ram Gopal Varma

History

Ram Gopal Varma was born to Krishnam Raju and Suryamma. He dropped out of
the V.R.Siddhartha Engineering College in Vijayawada from the civil engineering
branch, before taking up a career initially as the owner of a video shop and then
became one of India's leading film directors. He was not a regular at classes, but
was known more as a big movie buff during his college days and used to analytically
watch both American and Indian films through repeat viewings.

He and his uncle were crazy about movies and would often skip classes to watch
them in spite of beatings from his mother. He used to get very excited each time he
saw the ‘Directed by’ and ‘A Film by’ title card and had the same passion when he
saw his own name on the title card of his debut Shiva. There was no support from
his family and even his uncle thought he was crazy.

An engineer by profession is said to have worked as an engineer in one of the star

hotels in Hyderabad for just Rs 800 per month long time back when it was being
constructed. And today he is now one of the most sought after directors of India who
has made Hyderabad as one of the base for his film productions

Career

Ram Gopal Varma started his film career in the Hyderabad film industry as
production assistant for the films Raogarillu and Collectorgari Abbai produced by
S.S.Creations. Ram Gopal Varma made a huge mark in the telugu industry with his

22
debut film Shiva , a violent stylized crime drama with a college backdrop. At the age
of 28, with no film background and training, he was able to convince Nagarjuna, then
a young telugu star to do his debut movie. Nagarjuna liked the narration of the script
and energy displayed by Varma, and produced the movie himself. Shiva became a
landmark film for the Telugu industry and was later remade by Varma in Hindi, but
was not able to repeat the same commercial success as that of the original. It has,
however, become a cult classic

Rangeela marked the entry of Varma to Bollywood and was a box office success.
Then followed a not so successful Daud. Come Satya and Varma moved into the big
league of directors. Satya has turned out to be the critics' delight, besides doing well
at the box office and brought the best from a unpopular actor like Manoj Bajpai.

Achievement

While popular Indian Cinema was either over the top action films or glamorous love
stories, his movies were more deep and realistic. Though Indian Cinema has always
produced ace movie-makers who reveled in the portrayal of realism, he is credited
for bringing realistic films into the mainstream and creating his own niche as a maker
of stylish yet realistic commercial cinema.

Rangeela (7 awards),.In 1995 he won the Filmfare Award for best Story for his film
Rangeela. In 1998 he Won the Film Fare Award (critics) for his film Satya. Also won
the Bimal Roy award for best Director for the same film. He also has won Best
Director (in Bollywood) four times for Satya, Jungle, Company and Bhoot

YASH RAJ CHOPRA

History

Yash Raj Chopra born 27 September 1932) is a writer,

director and producer of Bollywood movies. He has
directed hit movies such as Waqt, Deewar, Lamhe,
Darr and Veer-Zaara

Yash Chopra aka Yash Raj Chopra was born in Lahore,

British-India, now Pakistan, on 27th September, 1932,
during British Raj. He was the youngest of the eight
children fathered by Shri Vilayati Raj Chopra. His brother Baldev Raj Chopra was a
film journalist, who later began directing movies. Initially Yash worked as an assistant

23
to I. S. Johar; then he worked for his brother. Later he setup his film production
company Yash Raj Films. Baldev gave him his first directorial opportunity in Dhool
Ka Phool.

Daag in 1973 was Chopra's first film under the Yash Raj banner. Yash Chopra's son
Aditya Chopra is also a film director who manages the most of Yash Raj Production
House. A second son, Uday Chopra, is an actor who was given the first break in his
brother's film, Mohabbatein. His wife is Pamela Chopra.

Career

As a director his speciality has been romance - he possesses a rare aesthetic knack
of making his films look larger than life. His hallmark has always been the
presentation of his screenplay embellished with gorgeous locations, snow-capped
mountains, lakes and rivers, beautiful women draped in the most gorgeous
costumes amidst fields of flowers - sights that he paints with his visual imagery. Love
and romance inevitably happen to his characters who have become icons for film
buffs.

Yash Chopra is reputed to make his characters look the most gorgeous in his films -
whether he works with a well-known star or a newcomer, they have never looked so
visually appealing as in his films. His sense of music, an integral part of Indian
cinema, is renowned - musical scores from his films have become the largest selling
albums in Indian film history.

He is currently on the Advisory Board of the Information & Broadcasting Ministry of

the Government of India. He is the Vice President of the Film Producers’ Guild of
India since the last 10 years.

Achivement

• He has been honoured by the Swiss Government for rediscovering

Switzerland and recently, he was presented a Special Award by Ms. Ursula
Andress on behalf of the Swiss Government.

• He is the Founder Trustee of Film Industry Welfare Trust established in the

year 1996.

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 • He was also chosen for the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2001, the topmost
and the highest honour given in the Indian film industry.

• He was honoured at the 2nd Dubai International Film Festival .

• He was honoured with "Lifetime Achievement Award" at the 4th Pune

International Film Festival 2006

KARAN JOHAR

History

A close friend of Shahrukh Khan, he assisted Yash Chopra's Yash

Raj Films during the early days of of his career, making his
directorial debut with the mega-hit Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998). He
also had a popular chat show named "Koffee with Karan" (2004)
The success of "KKHH" made him one of the most high-profile directors in the Hindi-
language Mumbai Film industry, popularly known as Bollywood.

Also a close friend of Aditya Chopra, he has been a creative member of Yash Raj
productions such as Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), Veer-Zaara (2004), Dil To
Pagal Hai (1997), and Mohabbatein (2000).

Johar's success has guaranteed him worldwide distribution of his production

company, Dharma Productions, for many years to come.

Career

He made his directorial debut in 1998 with Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, which roughly
translates to Something Something Happens. The film was a major box office hit.
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai won eight Filmfare Awards in 1998 including Best Movie, Best
Director and all four Best Actor awards for both leading and supporting roles. The
film, commonly abbreviated KKHH, starred Shahrukh Khan, Kajol, Rani Mukerji, and
Anupam Kher.

His second directorial effort, the multi-starrer family drama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie
Gham, which roughly translates to Sometimes Happiness Sometimes Sadness, was

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released in 2001. It was also highly successful. K3G, as the film is commonly
abbreviated, went on to win five Filmfare Awards.

In 2003, he produced and wrote the script for Kal Ho Naa Ho, which was directed by
Nikhil Advani, his Assistant Director from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. Kal Ho Naa Ho, which
roughly translates to Tomorrow May Never Come, starred Shahrukh Khan, Preity
Zinta, Jaya Bachchan, and Saif Ali Khan. It too was a hit.

In early 2005, he produced another movie, Kaal, directed by Soham Shah, Johar's
Assistant Director from Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. Johar did not write the script to
Kaal.

Achivement

Johar has hosted numerous film award ceremonies in India, the most recent being
the Zee Cine Awards in 2007. On September 30, 2006 Johar became the first Indian
filmmaker to be a jury member in the Miss World competition, in Warsaw, Poland.

Karan Johar was chosen as one of 250 Global Young Leaders by the Geneva-based
World Economic Forum 2006. Along with various other Indian luminaries, Johar also
spoke at the Wharton India Economic Forum 2006 held at the prestigious Wharton
School of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia as well as the Hindustan
Times Leadership Summit in New Delhi in November 2006.

All movies written by Karan Johar (Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham,
Kal Ho Naa Ho, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna), start with 'K' and consist of four words
which are shortened to four letters. It is said that this is done for luck and success;
many Bollywood celebrities put some credence in numerology.

Since 2004 he presents his own show on Star One called Koffee with Karan.

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 8. SATRAM ROHRA – THE GREAT PRODUCER

Personal Profile:

Renowned singer of Sindhi folk songs and laadas, Satram Rohra started his singing
career under the aegis of Gobind Malhi’s troupe where he used to sing with the late
Bhagwati Navani. With many audio-cassette to his credit, the film ‘Jai Santoshi Maa’,
produced by Satram Rohra became a runaway hit equalling the collection of a
blockbuster like ‘Sholay’. He has the singular distinction of producing the hit ‘Hal Ta
Bhaji Haloon’, the first Sindhi film in colour. Satram Rohra has travelled all over India
and abroad in connection with Sindhi programmes. Numberi, Batwara, etc

His Achievements – as a producer:

His greatest achievement as a producer is the making of the film “Jai Santoshi Maa”,
years ago. When this film was released people flocked to theatres with flowers and
pooja thalis.
His other achievements are as outlined below:

Movie Name : Rockey Mera Naam

Year of Release : 1973
Producer : Satram Rohra
Director : Satram Rohra
Cast : Sanjeev Kumar, Bela Bose, Nevedita, Sundre, Rajan
Haksar, Leela Misra, Mumtaz Begum, Ram Mohan, A. K.
Hangal

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Movie Name : Ghar Ki Laaj
Year of Release : 1979
Producer : Satram Rohra
Director : B. R. Ishara
Cast : Moushmi Chatterjee, Deven Verma, C. S. Dubey, Sohrab
Modi, Sanjeev Kumar, Aroona Irani

Movie Name

: Jai Santoshi Maa

Year of Release : 1975
Producer : Satram Rohra
Director : Vijay Sharma
Cast : Ashish Kumar, Trilok Kapoor, Leela Misra, B. M. Vyas,
Rajen Haksar, Bharat Bhushan, Anita Guha, Kanan
Kaushal, Rajanbala

Movie Name : Nawab Sahib

Year of Release : 1978
Producer : Satram Rohra
Director : Rajinder Singh Bedi
Cast : Rehana Sultan, Johnny Walker, Om Prakash, Bharat
Bhushan, Parikshit Sahni, Tamanna, Farida Jalal,
Chaman Puri

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His Views on “contribution of films to development of India”:

The Indian Film industry has out­performed the Indian economy and is one of the 

fastest growing sectors in India. The Film industry generally tends to grow faster 

when the economy is expanding. The Indian economy has been growing at a fast 

clip over the last few years, and the income levels too have been experiencing a high 

growth rate. 

Above that, consumer spending is also on the rise, due to a sustained increase in 

disposable incomes, brought about by reduction in personal income tax over the last 

decade. All these factors have given an impetus to the Film industry and are likely to 

contribute to the growth of this industry in the future. Besides these economic and 

personal income­linked factors, there are a host of other factors that are contributing 

to this high growth rate. 

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 9. CONCLUSION

The Indian Film industry sector today has everything going for it - be it regulations
that allow foreign investment, the impetus from the economy, the digital lifestyle and
spending habits of the consumers and the opportunities thrown open by the
advancements in technology.

All it has to do is to cash in on the growth potential and the opportunities. The
government, on its part, needs to play a more active role in sorting out policy-related
impediments to growth. The industry needs to overcome all roadblocks- such as
piracy- in a concerted manner, while churning out high-quality, world class end
products. The sector has all that it takes to be a star performer of the Indian
economy.

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