In January 2005, when the Chinese government did not allow Will Smith’s film ‘Hitch’ to be screened in the country, the actor was definitely disappointed. He appealed to the chief executive of Sony, Sir Howard Stringer, and a studio executive, Michael Lynton, to introduce him to Chinese producing partners. “We can be more helpful in India,” Lynton told Smith. “India has a robust movie industry with none of China’s political constraints,” Lynton offered to introduce the actor to Indian producers, actors and directors. And the next month Smith took his first trip to India.Now he has a deal — to make movies in India. Overbrook Entertainment, the company created by Smith and his business partner, James Lassiter, announced it was working with UTV. UTV will pay the films’ costs up to a specified sum (after that amount, Overbrook has to raise the money) but the burden is on Smith and Lassiter to develop a script and hire the cast. The deal says a lot about Hollywood’s desire to court foreign audiences. After years of declining movie attendance at home, studios and movie stars are looking for new opportunities. Last week, for instance, Hugh Jackman made an arrangement with 20th Century Fox to produce as many as five films a year in his native Australia. Quentin Tarantino, a fan of Chinese martial arts movies, has marketed Asian-language films in the US.However, Smith is also aware of the risks involved in film-making in India. They acknowledge that India’s close-knit film community is already well established. And the most popular movies are Bollywood musicals, a genre in which neither Smith nor Lassiter has any experience. As a result, their live-action movie produced with UTV could be filmed outside of India. The other film will be made in India where UTV has animation operations.
