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WARNER
BROTHERS TO FOLLOW IN UNIVERSAL'S FOOTSTEPS:
PLANS HINDI FILM
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 Egged
on by the successful foray of domestic and global
corporate big-wigs like Universal Studios and Zee
Telefilms into Hindi cinema, Hollywood major Warner
Brothers has now decided to set foot in the same
territory. The step is prompted quite obviously by
the runaway success of Hindi films like 'Kaho Na
Pyar Hai', 'Mohabattein', 'Mission Kashmir', 'Lagaan'
and 'Gadar' in the US and UK markets.
Universal was the first to announce its foray into
Hindi cinema. Their debut film, directed by renowned
music video maker Radhika Rao, will feature Zyed
Khan, brother-in-law of current heartthrob Hrithik
Roshan, as well as newcomer Anita Pradhan.
Not to be left behind, Warner Brothers' India office
sent a proposal to headquarters for a Hindi film,
and this has now got the nod from the studio heads.
A hunt is on for the right script and an
announcement relating to the project is expected
soon. Columbia Tristar and Disney are also planning
productions in India in the near future.
This trend follows the good showing by Hindi films
in overseas markets, with the Indian diaspora in the
US, Great Britain and another countries looking for
more and more entertainment from the motherland.
Trade analysts view these moves as a major
development in the Hindi film industry. Hope has
been stirred that with the entry of the Hollywood
majors the industry may be able to get out of the
clutches of the underworld. These studios, with
their unlimited funds, will make all the difference,
it is felt. Recourse was taken to underworld finance
so far as official funding was difficult to come by.
So the new directors especially see this development
as a good sign for the industry.
Hindi cinema has been going through a lean patch
over the last four-five years, and last year saw an
all-time low in fortunes. No star could guarantee a
hit. To complicate matters, some of the stars turned
producers, and this affected the production plans of
others in the fray. For example, when Sharukh Khan
was signed for K.Shashilal Nayar's 'One Two Ka
Four', he was not very busy, but in between he set
up his own production company, Dream Unlimited, and
got him self busy producing 'Phir Bhi Dil Hai
Hindustani'. The film bombed at the box-office, and
when he got back to 'One Two Ka Four', his heart was
just not into it. The film was released this year
and flopped miserably.
One star-turned-producer who has tasted success is
Aamir Khan, with "Lagaan' doing very well at
the box office. The other film doing well at the
moment is the "first corporate venture",
Zee Telefilms' 'Gadar-Ek Prem Katha'. Zee's
successful foray into the Hindi film industry is
pointing the way Hollywood majors like Universal,
Warner Brothers, Paramount, Columbia Tristar and
Disney, who have been keeping a close watch on the
developments in the industry. Some of them have
applied for permanent studios in Film City in Mumbai
and have already appointed heads for their film
divisions in India. They have also over the past
five years established a strong distribution
network, which should help them in the days to come.
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