Shifting Focus

With the “turn of the era” in the Indian film industry and a variety of content on offer,some production houses are looking at changing their image — and sometimes even their set-up — to fit the bill better. Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions,best known for romantic dramas like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001),produced Kurbaan (2009)and My Name Is Khan (2010),both with terrorism as the backdrop. Rajshri Productions too,feels it is moving on with the times as their next two productions,Love U…Mr Kalakaar and Isi Life Mein,steer away from family dramas to “more progressive themes” like college romance. “Both our films are going to be light,entertaining romances by debut directors who bring interesting ideas to the table,” says PK Gupta,V-P,Rajshri Productions.

Much of the change can be attributed to allowing,as Gupta says,young turks to take over. “Dharma Productions wants to launch better talent. The young come with their thoughts and ideas. I will support them in their endeavors. I am all for a variety of cinema — films about real people in the real world,be it edgy or alternate,” says Johar,who is producing debutant Punit Malhotra’s I Hate Luv Storys. With films like this and Wake Up Sid last year,Johar is no doubt attempting to tweak bubblegum romance-dramas to give them a real yet fun edge.

On the other hand,Walkwater Media,which was launched after film veteran Manmohan Shetty sold off Adlabs to Reliance,has to its advantage the young blood at the management reins. With his daughters Pooja Shetty Deora and Aarti Shetty at the helm,Walkwater is looking at doing the same work as Adlabs,but with an edge. “Unlike Adlabs which was bureaucratic,Walkwater is a creative organisation with a small team and linear structure. We want to focus on content,” says Deora. Walkwater has made the acclaimed Marathi film Rita,collaborated with Prakash Jha for Raajneeti and will now release Tere Bin Laden,a small-budget satire on terrorism.

Kapoor too feels that the management changes have contributed to the turn around of her film division. “I’ve brought in a new team,headed by CEO Vikram Malhotra. A panel of people—which I am a part of—now takes a decision about which scripts to back.”

Any kind of change,integral to the image of the company or the structure,isn’t easy to accommodate,admits Deora. “Some key people from Adlabs put their faith in us without knowing where Walkwater was headed. It could have affected the morale but the enthusiasm to do something new won over and Walkwater,within two years of inception,is already a brand,” remarks Deora.

Kapoor,on the other hand,had to create a new audience without letting go of the mass fan base of Balaji. “The conflict within the team was apparent. That is when we decided to bring in the new team and launch ALT. My uncle Ramesh Sippy,in charge of Balaji Films earlier,now enjoys the consultant’s role.” Rajshri when faced the same dilemma,handed over the reins to Sooraj Barjatya who now enjoys the producer’s role.

Though these production houses are attempting to create a new image,some things,they insist,have to remain the same in order to maintain the USP of the brand. “I will never make horror films,” asserts Johar. “I don’t watch horror films and I will go wrong with them the way I did with Kaal.” Gupta agrees,“Our core competency has been to ensure that the whole family can watch the film together and that cannot change. The backdrop may change but you will never find extreme violence or item tracks in our films.”