Low Cost

Hollywood filmmakers are always looking for ways to reduce costs as their film budgets are spiraling out of control. Bollywood can offer not only an overall low-cost structure but also high quality talent and production facilities. Ramoji Film City, a studio located in Hyderabad, is arguably the largest comprehensive film studio complex in the world. It offers an entire range of production facilities, equipment and services for filmmakers all over the world, including a state-of-the-art dubbing and editing facility. Reputed film producer Yash Chopra is currently setting up a modern film studio, which is expected to begin commercial production in 2004 and will offer huge studio space and modern processing and shooting facilities. Hollywood producers can now take advantage of modern infrastructure, technology and other related low-cost facilities,²⁹⁷ without having to compromise on quality. Similarly, Govind Swarup²⁹⁸ observed that "the cost differential prevailing between the two industries is sometimes almost thousand percent. Studio rentals in Hollywood are usually US$ 1,000 per hour, whereas here it is a maximum of US$ 1,000 for an entire day and night for our best facility.”

Co-Production Activities

Today, with Bollywood making strong inroads in the global market and with foreign investment being permitted, filmmaking in Bollywood is set to enter into a new phase, namely, co-production of films with Hollywood. Currently, much discussion is in progress between both industries in order to evaluate how they can work and complement each other. According to news reports, Crown Media Holdings²⁹⁹ is producing the film Thief of Baghdad in India for US $30 million with a mix of Indian and international stars.³⁰⁰ Similarly, some of the big co-productions planned are those with AFMA.³⁰¹ Also, India is in talks about being in a co-production treaty with Canada which should be concluded in the next few months.

Moreover, Hyperion Pictures India is producing Marigold as discussed earlier and also has plans to develop and produce US-India cross-cultural film & TV content in English for the international market. The primary market for the content shall be non-Asians & non-resident Indians. It also proposes to introduce the art of "Indian filmmaking" and "Indian culture" through American writers and directors. This will hasten the "cross-over" process for non-Asian audiences. They will also employ Indian talent such as actors (to start with), writers and directors. The main focus will be to produce "interesting" and "cost-effective" contentwhile still managing to pull in higher worldwide revenues. Hyperion Pictures has recently acquired the animation rights of Raj Kapoor Santoshi's comic caper Andaz Apna Apna and will be making the film for the North American and European audiences, in addition to releasing the film in India.

Locations

Given the fact that the Indian sub-continent extends right from the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas in the North, to the warm coastal regions in the South and that it even has a desert, the range of locales for film shoots covers every type of conceivable climate. Even though the trend to use Indian locations has not really caught on internationally (in comparison to Australia and Canada) there is tremendous opportunity and scope. On the other hand, amongst Indian producers, there has been an increasing preference for using locations outside India especially for the song and dance sequence. One of the prime factors driving this is that the producer can complete the shooting in a single stretch without having to worry about stars being pulled away by other producers. This leads to a quicker and more cost effective production.³⁰²

Any collaboration with Hollywood will not be the first of its kind. Hollywood has, in the past, collaborated significantly with the Japanese and Hong Kong film industries. The recent unprecedented success (in the U.S. market and at the Academy Awards) of the joint products of Hollywood and the Taiwanese film industry has "un-hid another dragon.” Now, it is the turn for the crouching tiger, Bollywood, to leap into the limelight and develop joint products.

Shekhar Kapur feels the film-going audience in Asia will be an important contributory factor to box-office hits the world over. Hollywood will, therefore, not only have to cater to the tastes and preferences of this large Asian market but will also need to set up necessary infrastructure, such as studios and theaters conducive to the production and exhibition of such films in the Asian region. Kapur feels that this is the right time for India to strategically position itself so as to fit into these plans. Just like Los Angeles is the financial conduit for Hollywood, India could also be a conduit for the production of Asian/Hollywood films. India must therefore establish a presence in the international film industry, which at this point in time could even mean producing successful films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.