Radhika Bhirani (HINDUSTAN TIMES; June 1, 2020)

The romanticism of Switzerland, the rough desert terrain of Abu Dhabi, exotic locales of France and spectacular islands across the world — Bollywood has, for long, captured the beauty of these and more in its films. But this could temporarily change in the aftermath of the Coronavirus pandemic, not just due to logistical reasons, but also as India gets ‘vocal for local’.

Karan Johar’s team had done extensive recce to lock locations across Italy and Spain for his ambitious project Takht. And he’s not the only one in a quandary over locations. According to trade sources, a spate of movies — some yet to be announced — were slated to be shot abroad. An OTT show was due to be shot in Bangkok, Salman Khan’s Radhe had a schedule in Dubai, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 and Tiger 3 also had foreign schedules.

Filmmaker duo Raj Nidimoru & Krishna DK say 50% of one of their big projects was set abroad, but now they’re reassessing plans.

Raj Nidimoru, who believes it may be “irresponsible and impractical” to think that once the lockdown is lifted, people can do as they want, says, “It’s a question of what precautions you’re going to take.”

So, while the “let’s wait and watch” mantra continues, industry experts feel some filmmakers may tweak scripts to set them in India.

Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 producer Bhushan Kumar tells us, “If you haven’t started shooting yet, you can change the script. Our film had a foreign scene, but we’re thinking of changing the setting to Goa now. Getting permissions to shoot abroad won’t be easy now, too.”

Considering that the effect of this unprecedented crisis will last another six to eight months, filmmakers will have to consider minimal outdoor shoots, points out Ajit Andhare, COO, Viacom18 Studios. He explains, “We’ve to redraw shoot plans. However, to redraw you need to first define and determine conditions that are unknown as yet. Locations will be a key point to re-examine.”

Incentives such as tax credits, cash rebates, refunds, fee-free location scouting et al, have attracted filmmakers to shoot in myriad locations abroad in recent years, but Red Chillies Entertainment COO Gaurav Verma says at least 90% of our films and series are shot within India. Having said that, he raises the several questions that will come with planning an outdoor shoot.

“Countries will exercise caution. So, one has to see how much travel will be allowed. And that is apart from the fact whether we want to travel or not,” Verma says, adding that it “will take time to build confidence” before people start travelling even within India, let alone to foreign countries.

Arjun Kapoor to conduct a masterclass on the future of cinema at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne next month
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; July 29, 2019)

As an actor with a flourishing career and the son of a successful producer, Arjun Kapoor has an innate understanding of the creative and commercial aspects of movies. That coupled with the fact that he is part of the current crop of actors navigating stardom in times of digital invasion makes him the perfect voice to analyse the growth of India cinema. It's only fitting then that Kapoor has been invited to the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne where he will spearhead the discussion on 'The Future Of Cinema'.

At a time when OTT platforms are churning out stories that can give films a run for their money, he will discuss their impact on the domestic box office, the change of template in storytelling, and whether he has contemplated jumping on the digital bandwagon. Joining him in the hour-long conversation on August 10 will be directors Sujoy Ghosh and Onir, Ajit Andhare, COO, Viacom Motion Pictures, and Gaurav Verma, business head, Red Chillies Entertainment.

"Understanding the perspectives of people from different places is always fun. This is my first time at the festival. I'm looking forward to exchanging notes about the future of cinema with the other members on the panel and the audiences. This diverse panel of speakers, each with an incredible body of work, is what Indian cinema is about today," says Kapoor, whose India's Most Wanted will be screened at the festival.

DNA (October 13, 2017)

While the Ittefaq trailer being attached to Golmaal Again is seen as a Karan Johar and Ajay Devgn patch-up, there’s another angle to this story. Let’s not forget the Rohit Shetty-Shah Rukh Khan connection. SRK is the co-producer of Ittefaq and shares a bond with Rohit who has directed him in two films. So, naturally, the actor played a part in attaching the Ittefaq trailer with Shetty’s Diwali bonanza.

Gaurav Verma, Chief Revenue Officer, Red Chillies Entertainment, says, “We have always enjoyed a great relationship with Rohit Shetty and are thankful to him and Reliance Entertainment for attaching the Ittefaq trailer with Golmaal Again. We are happy with the response and appreciation the Ittefaq trailer has received and Golmaal Again will give us an opportunity to showcase it to a wider audience on big screen.” Now, you know who the connecting link is.

MID-DAY (October 16, 2015)

Shah Rukh Khan is likely to cross swords with Salman Khan at the box office next Eid, but that has not stopped him from attaching the teaser of his pre-Christmas release, Dilwale with his newfound friend's Diwali release, Prem Ratan Dhan Payo.

A source says, "The makers of Dilwale were looking for an apt date to unveil the promo and what better time than Diwali? After discussions with the creative team, they felt it would be best to reveal the teaser with Salman's film as it is the next big release. Officials of SRK and Salman's production companies met and took the decision."

The two stars have always been pitted against each other for their on-off friendship. After an alleged tiff in 2008, they were not on talking terms for long. However, they decided to bury the hatchet by hugging it out at an Eid party two years ago. Shah Rukh also visited Salman on the eve of his sister Arpita's wedding last November. Since then, the two have been cordial to each other.

"Now, fans will see an exciting reunion of the stars on screen in a different way. Salman's film is a solo release and a big opening is expected since it is releasing on Diwali. Breaking the promo of another much-awaited film with it is a wise idea," says a trade source.

Gaurav Verma, chief revenue officer, Red Chillies Entertainments (RCE), says, "RCE would like to thank Salman Khan and Rajshri Productions for this wonderful gesture."

Gaurav Dubey (MID-DAY; July 25, 2015)

More than a decade after its launch as a production company, Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment (RCE) has branched out into the distribution market with Rohit Shetty’s Dilwale featuring the star himself opposite Kajol.

A source says, “Red Chillies is now planning to expand its business and convert itself into one of the biggest studios in the country. Apart from co-producing Dilwale, it has also taken up the responsibility of distribution in India as well as abroad. As of now, the film has been sold to exhibitors in major trade centres like Delhi-Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Nizam, Rajasthan and Central Province at the highest rates ever. The business expected is nearly R280 crore.”

Gaurav Verma, chief revenue officer, RCE, confirms the development and says, “We want to upgrade Red Chillies into a film studio. So, the basic function is not only to make a film, but also exploit the other avenues. We will be working with partners across all platforms, but it will largely be controlled by us. Our films are mostly marketed and distributed based on merit and we understand the expectation the film carries not just from us but the audience as well. And we know how to cater to that expectation.”

Red Chillies’ distribution will not be limited to home productions, adds Verma. What are their plans to maximise business as Dilwale is all set to clash with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s magnum opus, Bajirao Mastani this December? “As far as the division of audience and business is concerned, we have seen makers shuffling their release dates to avoid clashes at the box office. So, it’s too early to comment on our plans.”

Asira Tarannum (MID-DAY; July 20, 2015)

Of late, the teaser trailers of big-ticket Bollywood projects are being launched several months before the film hits the theatres. We find out the pros and cons of this marketing strategy...

In the West, it is not uncommon for teasers and trailers to come out a full year ahead of a film's theatrical release, more so in case of big-ticket movies. This practice seems to have seeped into the Hindi film industry lately. Ajay Devgn was the first to go the Hollywood way by providing a glimpse of his on-off-on project 'Shivaay' in mid-May. Ekta Kapoor's 'Azhar' biopic followed suit a week later.

The latest movie to be added to this fast-growing list is 'Raees'. On the eve of Eid, Shah Rukh Khan fans got a sneak peek into the crime thriller, which is slated to release on that festive occasion next year. Before that, the teaser of another SRK film, 'Fan', was publicised on various platforms. Producer Ritesh Sidhwani says, "Since 'Raees' is releasing on Eid 2016, the ideal time to showcase the first look of the film was this Eid. This is a special Eidi for all fans." Red Chillies Entertainment also released two posters and the teaser trailer for the film, which is slated to clash with Salman Khan's 'Sultan' — another not-yet-on-the-floors project whose introductory ad was presented by YRF last month.


A new trend
Ajay Devgn has booked 2017 Republic Day for his maiden directorial venture, 'Shivaay', whose first look came out in May — 20 months in advance — although the shoot will commence in Bulgaria only in January 2016. It will mark the debut of Sayesha Saigal, yesteryear actress Saira Banu's grand niece.

Speaking about the strategy behind such early marketing, the spokesperson of Eros International says, "Movie audiences have become smart and are now looking forward to something new. As movie marketers, there is the demand to constantly innovate and market the movie differently to attract eyeballs and widen our reach to the viewers. By releasing the teaser much in advance, movie marketers want to engage with not just the Indian moviegoers, but also touch base with millions of international movie consumers as well."

Agrees Vivek Krishnani, senior vice president (Revenue and Marketing), MSM Motion Pictures, which is collaborating with Ekta's Balaji Motion Pictures for the 'Azhar' biopic starring Emraan Hashmi. "If you are dealing with a larger-than-life subject, you have to treat the film and its promotion in similar fashion. Azhar, the film based on one of India's most loved and yet most controversial cricketing captains, deserved the kind of buzz and build-up leading to the release of the film. So, we came out with a specially shot teaser announcement, which was perfectly timed and aired during the IPL finale," he states.

Even this film is yet to roll though an announcement of the release date has been made — May 13, 2016. "This scale of promotion places the film in the consciousness of the audience, as a movie to watch out for in 2016. Incidentally, after Azhar's announcement, a lot of other big films have taken the same route, be it Sultan or, more recently, Raees, since that helps in building perception and blocking the date as well," adds Krishnani.

Gaurav Verma, chief revenue officer, Red Chillies Entertainment, says the idea is to engage with the consumers at an early stage, to share with them what the film is all about and when are they likely to see it. And as the number of releases is increasing every year, there are no ways to differentiate them other than the cast involved. "For us, Eid was a wonderful window as 'it's this time next year' and the response was also phenomenal. Now, viewers know about the film, how it is and when it is expected. Also, in the movie business today, we are much more organised with regard to planning, prep work and the final product. Producers are spending more time on preparation, campaign planning and publicity. So, they are ready beforehand," he says.

Risks involved
Coming out with a teaser trailer much in advance arguably helps the film become a talking point. But a long gap between this event and the movie's actual release also has its set of disadvantages. With the teaser out, what are the other publicity materials to be explored when the film is just a few weeks away from hitting the marquee? What if it fades out of audience memory since it is bombarded with scores of film trailers every month? And what about the risk of overkill? Krishnani believes that there always lurks a danger of firing the shots in advance and then running out of ammunition, which has to be strategically handled. "Especially in case of the 'Azhar' biopic, we have contextualised the film and placed the premise before the audience and media, which clearly speaks about the exciting, engaging and entertaining content, thereby creating a lot of curiosity. There is also the risk of misfiring if the content fails to connect with the audience. You have to take a calculated risk and do it only if you are confident of the content," he suggests.

The Eros spokesperson says that before marketers start any movie promotion, a certain audience feedback/ research is taken into account before developing and building a strategy. "Each asset of the movie like teaser, trailer, songs and even dialogue promos needs to be backed by a different marketing strategy and spread out across a certain timeline. The objective is to keep the buzz alive among the audiences by constantly feeding them with interesting assets and ensure there is necessary anticipation before the release. Risk is involved in every business and the same goes with movie marketing. But it is important to take these risks — some may work in favour of the movie, while some wont. But ultimately, if your content is good, the results will reflect in your box office collections," he states.

Verma feels marketing campaigns today are long term and have become very specific to target audience. "A longer campaign actually helps us know what's expected and the eventual deliveries. This only has given us the flexibility to come out with a teaser so early. We don't think of it as overexposure. In fact, there is nothing such as overexposure today. Rather, you may ask if we will be able to maintain this excitement till the release next year. We think we can and are confident of maintaining it," he signs off.

Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 9, 2014)

Shah Rukh Khan is gearing up to transform his production house Red Chillies Entertainment into a fullfledged studio that will produce several films round the year, even those that not starring SRK. However, initially he plans to stick to his signature romantic comedy fare as far as the genres of these films are concerned.

This expansion is the brainchild of the actor and his company’s CEO Venky Mysore. New recruitments at Red Chillies Entertainment have further accelerated the process.

A few days ago, the production house appointed former Disney UTV executive director Gaurav Verma as chief revenue officer. Verma was handling worldwide theatrical distribution at the film studio in his previous role. Prior to Disney UTV, he was the head of distribution at PVR Pictures. In the past seven years, he has spearheaded the distribution of films like Raajneeti, Paan Singh Tomar, Delhi Belly, Barfi!, Ship Of Theseus, Chennai Express etc.

The other new entrant, UTV’s Creative director, Manish Hariprasad, who joins Red Chillies Entertainment as Chief Creative Officer, worked with Shah Rukh on Chennai Express. Revealed the source, “Manish has put in his papers in UTV. He will join Red Chillies in the next two months.”

Added the source, “The development of SRK’s studio will be a gradual process. However, no stone will be left unturned to make it a success.”