Bollywood on the Brandwagon

Screen celebrated its 62nd anniversary with an insightful panel discussion on the new brand-savvy Bollywood

On January 1,2000,while the rest of the country was yet to wake up from a night of celebrations heralding the new millennium,Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt both teetotalers,as Mukesh cheekily added were up at 8am. They were together chalking out plans for their film production house,Vishesh Films reflecting upon the years gone by and the future they were about to venture into.

Both of us came to the conclusion that buying a star is going to be more expensive than making one. So we thought,lets make stars, recollected Mukesh during a panel discussion,titled Brandwidth at Screen Big Picture about brand-building in Bollywood. The quality of their films maybe debatable but the Bhatts were far-sighted enough to realise the importance of brands in star-centric Bollywood. Over the decade,the company has grown to create its own niche,churning out moderately budgeted films riding on a reservoir of new actors,directors and music composers.

We could have been Pakistan who depend on others,but we chose to be China,with an eco-system of our own, added Bhatt.

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The panel discussion,which marked the 62nd anniversary of Screen,also included Nina Lath Gupta,Managing Director of National Film Development Corporation (NFDC); filmmaker and adman R Balki; Ajay Chandwani,Director of Percept Ltd; and Neeraj Roy,Chief Executive Officer of Hungama Digital Media Entertainment. Held at JW Marriott,Juhu,on September 18,it was preceded by a special session with Hrithik and Rakesh Roshan,along with Vivek Oberoi and Kangana Ranaut,on brand Krrish,ahead of Krrish 3s release this November.

When someone from outside of India asked me how Krrish is different from Spiderman and Superman,I said our superhero can dance, said Hrithik,explaining how the traditional Bollywood values contributed to the unique brand identity of Bollywoods first superhero. Beside getting into merchandise,it now has an animated spin-off series on Cartoon Network called Kid Krrish.

The industry may have only recently become conscious of the value of brand-building exercise but it has always cashed in on a stars image,said Chandwani. He cited the example of Amitabh Bachchan as the Angry Young Man,which worked as a brand,capturing the imagination of the nation in the 70s. Brands are bigger than films. A movie has a limited shelf life of a few weeks or months. But the brand,which is an extension of the star or a series,continues to function. For instance,Hollywood animation film Cars that put up a record sale of merchandise even six years after the films release, added Chandwani.

But there is planning and far-sightedness required for the effective usage of a brand,according to Roy. The Star Wars have got into Angry Birds video games because of which even my daughter knows about it. For its reboot series,Walt Disney is already building an audience from a generation not familiar with Star Wars, he says.

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In Bollywood,Rakesh Roshan identified the potential after the success of Koi Mil Gaya in 2003 and turned it into a successful money-minting franchisee,while others,such as Dhoom,Munnabhai,Golmaal,Dabangg,are successful franchises too.

But does the brand-building onslaught take away the aura of movies and undermine its appeal? What is happening right now,with every star visiting

every television show,is noise. Promoting a film is not the same as advertising a soap. If the film is good,it will gradually catch on, said Balki.

Its essential,therefore,to communicate the core value of the film without going for a marketing overkill. Its important to position your films well. We,at NFDC,do not have big marketing budgets,but we genuinely believe that you cant put a good film down, said Gupta.

For a detailed report,pick up Screen,dated September 27

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