MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

INSIGHTS
INDIA EDITION APRIL 2010

GAME CHANGERS
 02
THE EDITOR
LETTER FROM

03

This year’s DLF Indian Premier League T20 tournament tore through the cricket obsessed country transforming
03 Letter from the Editor the Indian sports entertainment arena. Here Elina Meswani, Kunal Kapoor and Farhan Akhtar cheer on the
Mumbai Indians during a match with the Chennai Super Kings played at Brabourne Stadium on March 25, 2010
in Mumbai, India. (Photo by Yogen Shah-IPL 2010/IPL via Getty Images)
04 Contributor’s Page
Meet our all-star team.

08 Game ChangerS
content Every once in a while someone comes along and
takes the game to a new level. Here are the people letter from We can’t believe that it has been a year since
Slumdog Millionaire’s jubilant Oscar® win.
the nation this year and is making an impact
on the Indian sports entertainment sector
who stand apart from the rest.
         
the editor So much has happened and continues to
change. The news moves so fast especially
beyond cricket. We feature three game chang-
ers whose revolutionary work has impacted
12 Slumdog Billionaire in the Indian Media and Entertainment space the entertainment industry on a global level.
A roundup of what has been happening between where the talk is always about growth, growth Korn/Ferry International sent over their list
Hollywood and Bollywood since last year.  and more growth. of remarkable South Asian female executives
and we decided that you should get to know
16 Showmance Going Strong With the world spinning so fast, we felt it was them in our pages. Vinod Chopra’s 3 Idiots
India’s economic climate is still bright for dealmaking.  important to accomplish two things with this was a laugh-out-loud hit, but it didn’t merely
issue. The first is to inform you on what’s cur- make its mark on the box office. The film’s
18 The Korn/Ferry International rently happening. PricewaterhouseCoopers’ uber successful Internet site and online game
The top female South Asian executives in the world.  Deborah Bothun gives us the broad strokes has given marketers in India something to
on the current state of affairs in the Indian consider when launching future campaigns.
28 Going Digital… Gradually Media and Entertainment Industry.
Marketing films through new media is not a big hit Personally, the game changed for me this year
in India. Yet. But the scenario is changing.  Our second objective is quite contrary to the with regards to our magazine because of all
fast-paced world we live in because we actually the talented people who offered their exper-
32 IFFLA Industry slow it down a bit to in order to gain some tise. A special thank you to our patient and
Leadership Awards perspective on how the past has formed the extraordinary designer Elena Kapintcheva.
Sanford Panitch, Fox Films International
present. Her profile as well as those of our other vol-
Uday Shankar, STAR India
unteers are featured in our Contributor’s Page
  
For most of us, it’s as if life speeds through so please take a moment to meet them all.
36 Ready. Set. Go!
a lens leaving little opportunity to pause or– It takes a village. Sometimes two.
Cricket may still be King, but the game is on for a new
yikes–rewind for reflection. We don’t see all
field of players in India’s sports entertainment industry. 
the precious plot points along our journey We hope you find the pages ahead of you
that have led to the part of the story where informative and interesting. But most of all
42 spotlight on
the spotlight currently shines. we hope you read them in your leisure taking
The remarkable father-son team Rakesh and
the time to absorb how what has happened
Hrithik Roshan.
So in putting together this issue, we’ve indulged is shaping what is to come next.
in savoring the game changing achievements,
moments and magical coincidences that come Enjoy.
together to form the exciting news of today.

For example, the astonishing Indian Premier

League competition frenzy that blazed through

Reena Singh
Editor
04
contributors
meet our all-star team
Contributors
Deborah Bothun is a Partner in the Advisory practice in the Los Angeles office of Pricewaterhouse-
Coopers. She leads the US Advisory Entertainment, Media and Communications practice,
Kapintcheva
focusing on assisting clients in adapting to the changing content and distribution marketplace.
Ms. Bothun specializes in market entry analysis, commercial and financial due diligence,
DEBORAH corporate business planning and strategy, and crisis management. Ms. Bothun has over 20
BOTHUN years of experience working with Fortune 500 E&M clients. In her global responsibilities, Ms.
Bothun has travelled across the world, including India, where she has consulted with many of
the largest entertainment and media companies.
A recognized industry expert, Ms. Bothun has been featured at several industry conferences,
and she is frequently quoted in trade publications on industry issues and topics. Her recent
contributions to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ thought leadership include, “How to Capitalize on
Lifestyle Advertising in a Customer-Centric World”, “Breaking Down the Walls: How an Open
Business Model is Now the Convergence Imperative”, and “The Rise of Lifestyle Media:
Achieving Success in the Digital Convergence Era”.
Preeti Chandan is a Los Angeles based freelance journalist who has been writing on various
subjects, including Indian films, for nearly 20 years. Her articles have appeared in India
Today, India West, India Abroad, The Times of India, rediff.com and The Press Enterprise.
preeti
chandan
Anand Gandhi is currently Director of Business Development for Disney Channels Worldwide,
responsible for business development and planning for The Walt Disney Company’s US kids’
television networks. He serves as a key strategic partner in managing Disney Channel, Disney
XD, Playhouse Disney and ABC Kids. Anand leads the major annual planning processes,
anand including the strategic plan, five year plan and annual operating plan. He develops and
gandhi evaluates strategies to grow revenues, improve financial performance and enhance competitive
position. In addition, he manages the P&L’s for the channels, meeting operating income goals
while balancing the spending needs for original programming, acquisitions, marketing and
digital media across the networks. Anand grew up in northern New Jersey, and graduated
from Columbia University in New York. He began his career in investment banking in Morgan
Stanley’s Mergers & Acquisitions Department in New York, and then moved to Fox Entertainment/
News Corp in Business Development for Fox Networks Group in Los Angeles. Anand joined
natarajan
Disney after about three years at Fox, and has been at the company for approximately five years.
Shipra Gupta joined the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles just this year as a member of
the Operations department. Thanks to her involvement with IFFLA, Ms. Gupta has also been
given the opportunity to work with The Association of Media Entertainment Counsel (AMEC)
as the Production Coordinator for the organization’s quarterly publication, M/E Insights.
shipra In addition to working with IFFLA and AMEC, Ms. Gupta attends school full-time at the
gupta University of Southern California, where she is studying to receive her B.A. in Cinema-
Television (Critical Studies) from the School of Cinematic Arts. At USC, she is a proud
member of the recently resurrected co-ed cinema fraternity, Delta Kappa Alpha. In her
spare time, Shipra enjoys writing and photography.
While attending the College for Creative Studies in Michigan, Kapintcheva was recruited as
the in-house designer by the Lear Corporation and took part in the creation of their SAE
International display in 2006. Today Kapintcheva has her own graphic design studio in
05
Bulgaria where she works on various projects for The National Commission Against Human
Elena Trafficking, the Ministry of Education and others. She also works on US-based projects
including designing AMEC’s quarterly Media & Entertainment Insights magazine. Additionally
Kapintcheva collaborates closely on projects with the non-profit organization Artists United
for Social Justice as well as with actor, humanitarian, and filmmaker Michael Cory Davis.
Ms. Marouda was born on Crete, Greece. With a BA in International Relations from the Athens
University of Economics and having worked in marketing for United Colors of Benetton in
Greece and Italy as well the fashion brand Caramelo in La Coruna, Spain, she came to the
United States to complete her graduate education. She was awarded a Masters in Business
CHRISTINA Administration from California State University at Long Beach. As a graduate of this institution
MAROUDA I am familiar with its MBA program and personally know several of the professors. After
receiving her MBA, Ms. Marouda worked in prominent executive roles in the entertainment
industry before launching the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles. In 2001, after working in
the New Media and Marketing department at Trimark Pictures and Lions Gate Entertainment,
Ms Marouda entered the film festival arena when she worked closely with the Director of
Programming at the American Film Institute (AFI) Film Festival. In 2002, she worked with the
Programming and Marketing Coordinator at the Los Angeles Film Festival. Since then she
has been working with AFI FEST as the Director of the Filmmaker Office and Guests Service.
In 2002, Ms Marouda took the ambitious initiative to establish the Indian Film Festival of
Los Angeles (IFFLA) as a non-profit organization, the first and only film festival in the U.S.
dedicated to showcasing films from and about India by Indian and international filmmakers.
The festival premiered successfully in April of 2003 at ArcLight Hollywood, and has been
established as an annual event, now in its eighth year. Ms Marouda also produced the 2nd
annual Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (LAGFF) in June of 2008. She participated in the
prestigious program, IFP Producers Lab, where she honed her producing skills and is now
producing the short film TRANCE directed by Andrew Scoles. She speaks Greek, English,
Spanish, Italian and French.
Siva Natarajan works for the Strategic Operational Initiatives group at The Walt Disney Studios.
In his current role, he partners with multiple business areas across the studio to identify strategic
opportunities. Prior to Disney, Siva spent over six years working in Silicon Valley & India for
companies that include Oracle Corporation, PeopleSoft, Allegis and Infosys Technologies.
siva
Siva diligently follows new business models, market trends and new media developments in
Hollywood, Bollywood and Silicon Valley. He also worked as a sales and acquisition intern for
The Film Sales Company in NY and as a marketing lead for 3rd I South Asian International
Film Festival in San Francisco.
Siva holds an MBA from Columbia Business School in Media and Strategy, Masters in Management
Information Systems from The University of Iowa and Bachelors in Electrical Engineering from
BITS, Pilani, India. He is originally from Chennai, India and is fluent in Tamil, Hindi and a little
bit of Telugu.
 Surekha Paruchuri’s has a dual background in film publicity and television programming. Her
clients have included AFI Fest, the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA), Vitagraph
Films, MGM International Television, Universal Studios Television Networks. While at MGM and
Universal, she launched TV networks in several countries. A few years later she was on the
06
surekha front lines of emerging media as director of multi-platform programming for LIME-Healthy
paruchuri
contributors

Living with a Twist (Life Balance Media) where she developed a programming strategy that 07
enabled LIME to be the first to launch simultaneously on linear TV, VOD, broadband and
wireless platforms. Aside from her TV experience, Surekha has handled a myriad of areas for
the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles including sponsorship, publicity, grant writing, and
event planning since its inception. Through that experience combined with her publicity work
at AFI, Surekha has promoted hundreds of independent films and obtained local, national,
and international media coverage. Over the last year, Surekha made her foray into producing
as production supervisor on several spec commercials and acted as associate producer on
TENT CITY, an ITVS-funded short film. Recently, she made the leap into creative producing
and is working on the Independent Animated sci-fi bollywood feature LOVE IN THE TIME OF

Congratulations!
GENOCIDE. Surekha is a graduate of Tufts University with a B.A. in English and Asian Studies.

Arnold Peter is a founding partner of Peter Rubin & Simon, a full service boutique law firm with
marquee clients in Hollywood and Bollywood. He began his career in the entertainment industry
as Vice President of Legal and Business Affairs for Universal Studios and led a 12-attorney
team that negotiated agreements for the expansion of Universal Citywalk. Arnold is the first
arnold Asian American to become General Counsel to the National Association of Television Executives

trim 7.5 in W x 10 in. H

peter (NAPTE)—the global television industry’s No. 1 non-profit organization dedicated to the creation,
development and distribution of televised programming around the world. He served for two
years as a member of the Board of Directors overseeing the National Asian Pacific American Bar
Association. Arnold is the General Counsel and Chair of the Board of Directors for the Indian Film
Festival of Los Angeles and was named last year by Korn/Ferry International as one of the “25
Most Influential South Asians in the Entertainment and Media Industry.”

Sheila Shah graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in Rhetoric.
After that she worked as a tour manager for the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company in San
Francisco, as a producer’s assistant at Plum Pictures in New York, and has been a production
manager on several feature films. She received a Master’s in Cinema from New York University
sheila in 2009 and has been writing ever since.
shah

Anam Syed is a writer who divides her time between Dubai and Los Angeles. When not writing,
she is involved in several photography & visual art projects, primarly focusing on documenting
her native Pakistan. More of her work can be seen at anamsyed.com.

anam
syed Thank you for leading the way!
The Walt Disney Company commends
Anju Jain Kumar and Aparna Pande, honorees
on Korn Ferry International’s list of the Most Influential
South Asian Women Executives in Media and Entertainment,
along with Rising Stars, Reena Singh and Kavi Mehta.

© Disney
 Game
Changers
08
changers
game
P. Jayakumar
Animation Revolution
Animated content is shaking things up in India.
P. Jayakumar is on the frontlines.
Toonz Animation India Pvt. Ltd. C.E.O. P. Jaya-
kumar is leading a quiet revolution. While his
may not involve people shouting slogans in
the streets, it is a revolution nonetheless. As
an experienced professional with over a de-
Every once in a while cade of media and entertainment experience,
someone comes along Jayakumar is spearheading Indian animation’s
and takes the game to steady climb.
a new level. He began his animation career at Toonz in
Here are the people who 1998 as CFO. At the time there were only two
stand apart from the rest other animation companies in India. Toonz
itself was founded on little more than a busi-
ness premonition by G.A. Menon. An IBM India
employee in the 70s, Menon already had
several successful business ventures under
his belt when he read a newspaper article
about the future of computer animation. All
of a sudden, something clicked—he pegged a
trend, and realized the business potential of
the burgeoning medium. Backed by an inves-
tor, Menon established Toonz in Kerala, taking
on Bill Denis, a former VP of Feature Animation
at the Walt Disney Company, as well as a staff
of top global talent, (Jayakumar among them).
Of the five original Toonz employees, Jayakumar
was the only Indian national.
“The initial challenge was not only to deliver
high quality products and establish Toonz as
an animation company,” Jayakumar says, “but
also to sell India as an animation destination.”
During those first years, Jayakumar and the
rest of the Toonz team made a conscious ef-
fort to foster talent development and nurture
an industry that was still nascent in India.
Their first step was utilizing the best animation
talent they could find globally, hiring every-
where from the USA & Australia to Korea &
Image from upcoming Toonz Animation film The the Philippines. As a result of their focus on
Life and Adventures of Santa Claus.
Courtesy of Toonz Animation. Courtesy: Gene Lewis
p. jayakumar mira nair EMANUEL nunez animation revolution
p. jayakumar
Toonz Animation Mirabai Films Creative Artists Agency
Toonz Animation
The Industry is not for people that
are in it just for money in the short-
term. It’s about perseverance, staying
long-term and building a reputation
for quality in this business.
tapping into the most skilled expertise avail-
able in the industry, half of their initial hires
were from overseas.
Despite this influx of foreign talent, Jayakumar
and Toonz were committed to fostering local
talent development. As such, they launched a
weekly mentoring program which allowed In-
dian companies as well as their own employees
to interact with a veritable “who’s who” of the
animation industry worldwide. Jayakumar’s
efforts paid off greatly, as local talent pushed
and trained hard to catch up to the global
standards of the medium. This strategic deci-
sion in turn helped push Toonz into the role
of a leading animation company, and not just
a low cost service provider.
Continuing on this trend, Jayakumar and Toonz
prepared themselves for the changing land-
scape of Indian animation and the appearance
of burgeoning competition. Around 2001, a
significant level of hype developed around
the Indian industry, and suddenly local firms
began attempting to poach talent from Toonz.
Sensing potential employee turnover could
be a concern; they established Toonz Academy,
which strove to provide education and training,
while producing well-rounded individuals. This
game changing effort drastically increased
their internal growth potential. Though initially
established for internal training of existing
Toonz employees, the company received a
significant demand from outside candidates.
Thus, nine other Toonz Academy centers were
opened throughout India, with future centers
planned in Malaysia and the Middle East.
Toonz’s ground breaking efforts have not gone
unnoticed; in 2000 the company won the First
Prize at the World Animation Celebration in
Los Angeles.
However, Toonz’s success hasn’t been easy.
With the passing away of their founder G.A.
Menon in 2003, Jayakumar stepped into the
role of CEO. The climate at the time was a
bit different than when the company started
09
up. There was increased competition from
markets in China and other South East Asian
countries, and as their clients’ business
models were changing and evolving, Toonz
profit margins were being squeezed tighter
and tighter. Thus, Jayakumar decided to shift
from a service model to an IP (Intellectual
Property) one.
Adding to the struggle, India does not offer
any subsidies or tax incentives for local ani-
mation studios. Unlike Canadian and Euro-
pean markets where local studios are able to
recoup close to 60% of budgets from selling
content to local markets, Indian animation
faces some tough setbacks. Indian studios,
competing with international companies and
foreign productions, find it difficult to recoup
money from the local market despite creat-
ing content that is tailor made for it, such as
Hanuman Returns, an animated adventure
starring the titular Hindu deity, which Jayakumar
co-produced.
Indian IP is still in the early stages, though
Jayakumar is adamant in his belief that it
has immense potential. With over 300 million
children in India, there is a wide market base
for the target audience of IP products. Jayaku-
mar expresses a desire to emulate animation
giant Pixar, but admits “it’s just a dream for
now and we have a long road ahead of us.”
So what advice does Jayakumar have to offer
any young entrepreneurs? “The Industry is not
for people that are in it just for money in the
short-term. It’s about perseverance, staying
long-term and building a reputation for quality
in this business.”
And what a business it is as the Indian anima-
tion industry is expected to grow 30% annually,
compared to just an 18% projected growth in
the overall media industry. So while doubters
may be slow to accept Indian animation’s
promise and prowess, visionaries like Jayaku-
mar will keep on fighting the good fight.
Viva la revolución!
Compiled by Anam Syed, from an interview
by Siva Natarajan

10
MIra Nair
changers
Game
Before Slumdog Millionaire, Bend it like
Beckam and Born into Brothels, there was
Mira Nair, the filmmaker who helped put
India on Hollywood’s map. the intoxication of life. I love the sound of
Nair, who was born in Orissa, India, has been
making films since the early 1980’s. But it
was after the debut of Salaam Bombay!, her
Oscar® nominated film about street children
in Mumbai, that Nair became part of the Hol-
lywood elite. In 2002, Nair directed Hysterical Blindness
Nair did her early schooling at a boarding
school in Shimla, India and then studied
sociology at Miranda House, Delhi University,
where she became involved in political street
theater and performed for three years in an
amateur drama company. adaptation of Thackeray’s Vanity Fair.      Hollywood and Bollywood get increasingly
But it wasn’t until 1976, at age 19, when she
came to the US with a scholarship to Harvard
University, that she caught the filmmaking bug.
“I started taking a documentary class in school
and got into making documentaries about
the lives of people. I discovered that telling
stories was it for me. I remember taking Grey-
hound bus trips anywhere to show people my
work. I wanted bigger audiences for my films
so I made Salaam Bombay! That is really how
it happened 22 years ago. And it became the
first Indian film to be distributed internationally,”
Nair recalled in a recent interview. street children annually.       for investment dollars.
After her early success with Salaam Bombay!
Nair continued to tell stories that explored
the intersections between family, identity and
race, such as Mississippi Masala and Mon-
soon Wedding.
But she doesn’t like her films to be reduced
to their social messages, “Social message
doesn’t sound fun. I am a devotee of masti—
laughter in an audience. But at the same
time film is an impactful medium. Film has to
get under an audience’s skin. But film should
never be like homework. I don’t think that is
fun,” she says. in Africa and teaching film courses at Columbia
for HBO which gave the channel its highest
original film ratings ever, winning the Golden
Globe® for star Uma Thurman, and three Emmy®
Awards for Gena Rowlands, Ben Gazzara and
design. In 2004, Nair directed Reese Wither-
spoon as Becky Sharp in Focus Features’
A year later, Nair’s adaptation of Jhumpa
Lahiri’s bestselling novel The Namesake
became another critical and commercial suc-
cess for the director. However, Nair cites her
work as an activist when asked what makes
her a true game changer in the film industry.  this film or do I really need to do it? That’s my
 
In 1988 she used the profits of Salaam
Bombay! to create the Salaam Baalak Trust,
which has directly impacted government
policy on street children in Inda. Twenty years
later, the Trust’s twenty-five centers provide
a safe and nurturing environment for 5,000
In 2005 Nair founded Maisha, a filmmakers’
training program based in East Africa. In its
five years of operation, Maisha has trained
hundreds of students from Uganda, Kenya,
Rwanda and Tanzania in screenwriting, direct-
ing, producing, acting, sound design, editing,
and cinematography.
mira nair
Mirabai Films
I am a devotee
of masti—the innovative ways to help our
intoxication
of life.
EMANUEL Nunez
“Establishing a film school in East Africa that It was the deal heard around the world. India’s
has nine programs, that [makes me] a game Reliance ADA Group invested $825 million
changer because it is an antidote to the ups to finance the new DreamWorks. One of the
and downs of cinema.”      architects behind the groundbreaking deal:
Creative Artists Agency’s Emanuel  Nunez.
These days Nair divides her time between her
New York based production company Mirabai Cuban-born Nunez, who came to CAA in 1991
films, her work as a filmmaker, her film school works with some of Hollywood’s brightest stars
including Tom Cruise, Nicolas Cage and Will
University. Smith. But he is also known for being an ex-
pert at putting together big independent and
When asked where she finds the energy to international film financing deals.
maintain her busy schedule, Nair credits
Iyengar yoga, her husband and son, and the Nunez has been helping to arrange film financ-
rejuvenating effects of gardening. ing for more than 24 years beginning when
he was at International Creative Management.
As the artistic and commercial circuitry of It’s something that Nunez is still passionate
about today. He credits DreamWorks Anima-
complicated, this seminal director has a tion CEO Jeffery Katzenberg as giving him the
simple philosophy regarding her future work. best career advice, “His advice was along the
lines of ‘Work like an animal, but do things
“When things are offered to me I ask two you are passionate about,’ and what I love
things. One do we really need this film in the is finding innovative ways to help our clients
world? And second can anyone else make make their films,” says Nunez.
compass when it comes to choosing projects His passion is probably much needed in the
and it keeps me focused.” current climate of film financing, which has
become increasingly difficult. Over the past
few years the economic downturn has nega-
Compiled by Sheila Shah from an interview tively impacted traditional revenue streams
by Reena Singh from hedge funds and Wall Street. With fund-
ing drying up, Nunez began looking overseas
He and his colleagues at CAA started vetting
the emerging BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and
China) countries for financing options. In 2006,
he was invited to take a trip to India with client
…what I love is finding
clients make their films.
11
Will Smith. While in Mumbai and New Delhi, Then Reliance came to the agency with a
Nunez met with many entertainment compa- bolder proposal for something that would
nies in the film, television and mobile indus- “really move the needle.” A company like Reli-
tries. It was during this trip that they decided ance that has a strong identity and touches
to target India versus the other countries as a over 250 million consumers needed to find a
new financial opportunity. partner with equal brand value. So when Ste-
ven Spielberg and DreamWorks came along it
“When we looked at India, 50 percent of the was an ideal match.
population is under 30. It is an enormously
young and vibrant population with a growing  “There was nothing that was going to be big-
economy and a rich movie making culture. ger or bolder than Reliance and DreamWorks
English is the second language.  And they are coming [together] to create DreamWorks 2.0,”
a tech savvy country,” says Nunez. “In India, a says Nunez.
village doesn’t put up a telephone pole. They
put up a cell tower and then suddenly every- Nunez believes that emerging markets are
one has access to mobile technology.” still a vital source of financial opportunities
for Hollywood, and while the business of film
Returning to Los Angeles, Nunez and his CAA funding has become increasing difficult and
colleagues focused on two companies: Reli- complex, there is an upside. “Even 10 years
ance and UTV. First, they made a six picture ago, you would still have to explain foreign
deal between UTV and such Hollywood A-listers value to people, but now people understand
as Overbrook partners Will Smith and James it and that is great for our industry because it
Lassiter. Later, when the Walt Disney Company shows that we are now globally aware.”
invested in UTV, Nunez saw it as a vote of
confidence on the decision to target UTV.
by Anand Gandhi and Reena Singh
When it came to Reliance, the agency initially
recommended that they focus on a develop-
ment fund with top Hollywood talent. For
Nunez, owning intellectual property and
having the right talent are essential ingredi-
ents in creating the content that audiences
want to see. His advisement helped lead to
first-look deals with stars like Julia Roberts,
Brad Pitt, Tom Hanks and George Clooney.
“This was the way for Reliance to control
content as well as have a meaningful seat
at the table,” says Nunez.
EMANUEL nunez
Creative Artists Agency
 12
billionaire
slumdog
Searching for the next international hit from India. Images from ©iStockphoto.com/mammuth, ©iStockphoto.com/bjones27
slumdog
billionaire
A roundup of what has been happening
in Hollywood and Bollywood
since last year
When Slumdog Millionaire swept the Oscars® last year, top Bollywood
brass debated whether the award was a victory for Indian cinema
to claim. Irrespective of the film’s status as an true Indian movie or
an international film, both Hollywood and Bollywood were quick in
setting their respective dealmaking machines into motion to find
ways to work together. So, what has happened between India and
Hollywood since Slumdog Millionaire swept the Oscars® last year? Is
there a Slumdog Billionaire already in the works?
Hollywood Majors
Fox Searchlight has had numerous victories with South Asian content
movies. Besides Slumdog, take movies such as Water, The Namesake
and Darjeeling Limited. But there is no doubt that Slumdog provided
a unique opportunity for Fox Searchlight because of its international
appeal. With Slumdog’s tremendous success1, Fox has ventured into
a new zone of distributing globally themed South Asian content to main-
stream America. Of late, Fox Searchlight acquired the US distribution
rights for Shah Rukh Khan’s Hindi movie My Name is Khan (MNIK).
This is the first time for a mainstream Bollywood movie to be acquired
and distributed in the US by a Hollywood distributor2. MNIK has already
broken all time opening weekend box office records for a Hindi movie
in the US. Still the majority of the viewers have been mainly South
Asians so far and hence, the jury is still out on MNIK’s universal appeal
and its ability to tease the appetite of mainstream Americans for original
Indian cinema. A shortened version of MNIK is expected to be released
targeting the non-South Asian audience in the US.
Besides acquisitions, Hollywood is actively looking for new growth
opportunities outside of the US, particularly in India through local
language productions. Even before Slumdog, Hollywood studios had
already hung up their shingles in Bollywood via their local production
ventures. Disney’s Roadside Romeo, Warner Bros.’ Chandni Chowk to
China and Sony’s Saawariya are among Hollywood’s pioneering efforts
in India. Of course, Slumdog became the beacon of light in their real-
ization that in addition to local productions, there is great opportunity
to export Indian content to a global audience. And now keeping the
flame burning is the Amir Khan hit 3 Idiots, which broke the all time
opening weekend record in India and in the US for a Bollywood film.
3 Idiots is also likely to undergo an American makeover before it gets
widely distributed in the US. Another potential with global appeal is
Teen Patti, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Ben Kingsley. Yet despite
the star power in this movie, none of the major studios are associated
with this feature at this point.
Walt Disney Pictures is actively pursuing local language productions in
India covering the entire spectrum of Bollywood to regional languages
across India. Currently it has several active projects in its pipeline in-
My Name Is Khan. Image courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures.
cluding a superhero feature called Zokkomon, starring the child actor
Darsheel Safary from Taare Zameen Par (English title: Stars on Earth).
Incidentally, Disney’s Home Entertainment arm also just released
Amir Khan’s Taare Zameen Par in the US market. Given Disney’s im-
mense talent in discovering and launching successful child artists, it
wouldn’t be a surprise move if Disney engaged in kid-driven projects.
Warner Bros. upcoming local production in collaboration with Mumbai-
based production outfit Wide Frame Films is Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge?
(Guest, When Will You Leave?), in collaboration with Mumbai-based
production outfit Wide Frame Films. Notably, this is Warner Bros. first
Hindi film after Chandi Chowk to China. Warner Bros is also looking
beyond Bollywood in India and was very recently involved in co-pro-
ducing a Tamil movie called Goa, in partnership with Ocher Studios.
But due to unknown reasons, Warner Bros pulled out from the project.
Sony Pictures first attempt with Saawariya marked the first ever local
production by a Hollywood studio in India. Sony is now ramping up
for their second attempt. The Studio is co-producing the remake of Hol-
lywood flick Stepmom with Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions.
Indian Majors
Dealmaking and the quest to find the next Slumdog Millionaire
hasn’t been just a one way street. As much as the Hollywood studios
are trying to make a play in and out of India, Indian media companies
have been very active in chasing deals in the western world. Slumdog’s
victory combined with a weakening dollar and global recession provided
13
the right impetus for some cash rich Indian companies to execute on
some big deals last year.
One of India’s notable and biggest dealmakers in Hollywood has been
Reliance ADA Group. Reliance has been slowly and steadily carving
a piece of its own in Hollywood over the last few years even before
Slumdog’s victory. But Slumdog’s win did provide a shot in the arm to
India’s technical talent and Reliance leveraged the spotlight on India
to partner with California-based In-Three Inc. The deal established
a 1000-person $40 million facility in Mumbai to convert 2D films
into 3D. In the last three years, Reliance has essentially extended its
footprint across most parts of Hollywood’s ecosystem–co-owning
DreamWorks to co-producing deals with major Hollywood talent to
establishing post production deals to owning cinema theaters in the
US. None of the media majors have been able to achieve as much of
a vertical and global integration as Reliance has in the last few years.
Even if Reliance’s 3 Idiots doesn’t sell well to American mainstream
audiences, Reliance is hoping that its first ever international production
Kites will reach the masses in the US. The film features Hrithik Roshan
and Mexican actress Barbara Mori in lead roles and the announcement
rightly timed after Slumdog’s victory stole the limelight at the 2009
Cannes Film Festival.
UTV is another major media company from India that has been very
successful in crisscrossing the worlds of Hollywood and Bollywood
even before the Slumdog buzz caught on. UTV, a media conglomerate
with diversified businesses across the Web, television, mobile and
films, has been methodically growing its collaboration with the US
media companies over the last few years. While Slumdog’s victory

didn’t directly serve as a catalyst for any UTV
deals in the last year, one notable strategic
partnership is its tie-in with Bloomberg Televi-
sion to form Bloomberg UTV–a 24 hour
English language business and financial
broadcast news outlet in India. But being
one of the most established Indian compa-
nies in Hollywood, UTV stands to gain just as
much as any studio in this new post-Slumdog
environment.
14
Small Screen
billionaire
slumdog
Talent
Acclaimed music composer A.R. Rahman,
who won two Oscars® and also, two GRAMMY
Awards for Slumdog Millionaire, continues to
break barriers. Universal Studios chose A.R.
Rahman to score music for its summer release
Couples Retreat despite the fact that it was
a mainstream Hollywood movie with no
Indian element in the storyline. Universal’s
selection of Rahman is exemplary of the
globalization of Indian talent. So is the col-
laboration between the Pussycat Dolls and
A.R. Rahman for a remix of the iconic Slumdog
Reliance
MediaWorks
Reliance MediaWorks Limited is India’s
fastest growing film and entertainment
services company and a member of the
Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group.
History:
The company was established in 1975 as a
motion picture processing laboratory. With
conversion pioneer In-Three to establish the
world’s largest facility dedicated to the
conversion of 2D films and videos into 3D,
based in India.
In September 2008, Reliance MediaWorks
became the first motion picture services
facility in India and all of Asia to be accredited
by the UK’s- industry body FACT (Federation
Against Copyright Theft). The certification is a
major recognition of the efforts by Reliance
MediaWorks to protect and safeguard the
films that it handles from piracy.
It is interesting to note that only a handful of
Bollywood talents are represented by major
talent agencies in Hollywood. Anil Kapoor,
one of the major stars to come out of Indian
cinema, didn’t have an agency until his role in
Slumdog Millionaire. He is currently repre-
sented by ICM and as a result has become a
household name in the US with his repeated
appearances in 24. Talents such as Hrithik
Roshan and Irfan Khan have representation
through Brillstein-Grey, but the number of
actors from India represented by Hollywood
ated the pace of adoption and recognition of
South Asian content by mainstream Ameri-
can audience. This acceleration in turn has
provided the long awaited momentum for
the Hollywood majors to start experimenting
with both South Asian consumers and South
Asian content in a much more aggressive
fashion than ever before. Though South Asian
identity is nothing new to America due to the
large immigrant population here, it is certainly
a matter of “when and not if” this time around
for South Asian content and talent to stay

American television has certainly had its share
of the Slumdog effect. Besides the notice-
able increase in the number of Bollywood
performances in reality talent shows such
as America’s Got Talent, So You Think You
Can Dance etc., a few South Asian comedy
pilots produced from years ago have been
revived. The comedy pilots are Nirvana at Fox,
Outsourced at NBC and a US version of the
popular British comedy The Kumars at No.
42. Even though these pilots were produced
years before Slumdog hit the scene, today’s
sensibility and appetite for South Asian
content seems to have justified their pick-
ups by the networks.
Sharman Joshi, Aamir Khan and R. Madhavan as the 3 Idiots.
Image courtesy of Vinod Chopra Productions.
song Jai Ho. Beyond Rahman, India–the land
of musicals–seems to be in abundance when
it comes to music composers. MNIK, for
instance, showcases the immensely talented
Shankar Ehsan Loy.
The talented Freida Pinto landed her a role in
Woody Allen’s upcoming movie You Will Meet
a Tall Dark Stranger. Fortunately, she doesn’t
have to wait for the release of the movie to
meet top brass in this town. Represented by
CAA, one of the largest agencies in Hollywood,
Pinto is well on her way to meeting as many
established Hollywood producers and direc-
tors. Keep a close eye on her twitter feed for
breaking news!
the entry of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani
Group in 2005, the company has seen trans-
formational growth in the scope and canvas
of its operations and has established a
dominant and integrated presence across
the entire Film and Media Services businesses
with a global footprint across Asia, Europe
and North America through its various inter-
related businesses of exhibition, film and
media services and television software.
Cinemas:
Reliance MediaWorks operates BIG Cinemas,
India’s largest cinema chain with over 515
screens spread across India, the United
States, Malaysia, Nepal and Netherlands
and caters to over 35 million consumers
every year. In India, BIG Cinemas has estab-
lished leadership in film exhibition with over
250 screens and accounts for 12 to 15%
of box office contributions of large movies.
BIG Cinemas has also successfully created
a pan US footprint and the circuit plays
Hollywood and Indian features.
Film & Media Services:
The various parts of Reliance’s comprehensive
portfolio include presence in film and media
services through business verticals of motion
picture processing and DI; visual effects;
film restoration and image enhancement;
2D to 3D conversion; digital mastering;
studios and equipment rentals with facilities
located in the US, UK and India. To further
strengthen the company’s global presence,
Reliance MediaWorks has formed a strategic
alliance with Imagica Corp, which is Japan’s
largest lab and post-production to offer Film
Restoration, Image Processing and Enhance-
ment and HD Conversion services to Japanese
Broadcasters and Studios. Reliance Media-
Works has also partnered 2D to stereo 3D
agents is a very tiny fraction of the immense- and sweep the Western world. Why so? Be- 15
Formerly known as Lowry Digital, Reliance ly large talent pool from India. Traditionally, cause, the final answer is “d) It is written” as
MediaWorks USA is based in Burbank,
Indian actors didn’t need an agency in Hol- Jamal Malik would put it.
California and is universally regarded one lywood as they were neither seeking out nor
of the premier digital restoration facilities.
being sought after by Hollywood projects, but Footnotes:
The company utilizes proprietary image
the recent and soon-to-be recent films from Juno is all-time #1 for Fox Searchlight with
1.
processing science to deliver superior picture
elements and unsurpassed image quality India could shakes things up. Domestic Gross of $143M and Slumdog
for all outputs, including film, broadcast Millionaire is a close second at $141 M,
television, commercials, digital cinema, Blu- What’s next? source: Box Office Mojo
ray, or Web-based video. The company’s
services include film restoration, emergency If one were to look back at the entire gamut 2.
Sony’s Saawariyaa, Warner Bros. Chandni
image repair, digital blow-ups and digital
of major and minor developments in the South Chowk to China and Disney’s Roadside
intermediate enhancements and it has handled
Asian media landscape in the US over the Romeo were all co-productions and not
projects for industry giants like Walt Disney
last year, giving credit to Slumdog Millionaire pick-up deals
Pictures, Paramount Pictures, MGM and 20th for all of these developments wouldn’t be
Century Fox and entertainment leaders like
entirely fair. However, it is fair to acknowledge
George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and James
the fact that Slumdog Millionaire has acceler- by Siva Natarajan
Cameron.
Television:
Reliance MediaWorks’ television venture, BIG
Synergy, is among the top players in the Indian
television programming industry and is widely
regarded as a leader in television program-
ming. The company has enjoyed singular
success in adapting international formats for
Indian viewers and has attained both critical
and commercial success with several of its
shows.
Growth:
In the past five years, the growth in terms of
canvas and scale of operations has led to a
compounded annual growth rate in topline of
over 75% per annum and robust EBIDTA growth.
Final Answer? Anil Kapoor in Slumdog Millionaire. Image courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures. 
 Showmance
16
Going Strong
By Deborah K. Bothun
Bothun is PricewaterhouseCoopers’ US
advisory leader for entertainment, media
going strong
showmance

and communications. 17

A new dawn for dealmaking in Bollywood. Image courtesy of ©iStockphoto.com/kshishtof.

Showmance Going Strong

It’s been over a year since Slumdog Millionaire swept the Oscars®
and the groundbreaking Reliance-DreamWorks deal signaled a new
era in Hollywood-Bollywood relationships. And the cross-border col-
laboration is going strong.
Against the backdrop of a difficult economy on a long road to recovery,
there’s no denying India’s stand-out appeal. According to Pricewa-
terhouseCoopers’ Global Entertainment & Media Outlook, while the
US and global entertainment and media markets are expected to
grow only 1.2% and 2.7% respectively from 2009-2013, India is
forecast to see 11.6% growth. Filmed entertainment will expand at
more than four times the US box office (14.4% versus 3.3%). Even
struggling television advertising will see double digit-growth (10.2%
versus 0.6%).
What’s behind the story? A rapidly rising GDP is translating into higher
disposable income. Put the newfound wealth of a fast-growing middle
class into the hands of one of the youngest populations in the world
(with a median age of 24 versus nearly 37 in the US) and you find
a steep growth curve for modern entertainment demand. Add to this
a flourishing Indian diaspora around the world, and the time continues
to be ripe for innovative cross-border M&A and new strategic alliances
that bring two legendary creative communities even closer together.
A notable feature of India’s recent growth has been a rise in corporate
investment. Gross capital formation has stepped up significantly from
25.5% in 2002-03 to 39.1% in 2007-08, highlighting the transformation
of the investment climate and favorable growth prospects for the Indian
economy. India continues to retain its position as a preferred destination
for investment, achieving a growth of 85.1% in foreign direct investment
in 2008, the highest increase across all countries.
Filmed entertainment, broadcasting and print generated the most
interest from foreign investors. Clearly, 2008 was a watershed year
with Disney’s acquisition of 60% of UTV, Fox and Star TV partnering
to create Fox Star Studios, Warner Bros. entering India and the epic
$825 million Reliance-Dreamworks co-production deal.
A movie-going public of 1 billion has long held appeal for Hollywood.
Traditionally a major challenge in the market has been dubbing US
films into regional languages. But recently, films such as Slumdog Mil-
lionaire, Monsters vs. Aliens, Valkyrie and the most recent installment
of Harry Potter have done brisk business. Now, the trend is moving
beyond the majors with Summit Entertainment recently inking distri-
bution deals for the first two films in its Twilight series, among others.
The prospects for greater collaboration, of course, work both ways.
Reliance Media has been quite open about its interest in both US
and European assets. The company acquired London-based Ilabs
earlier this year.
Within the country, determining which areas to enter and carefully
orchestrating that entry are the two most important initial steps.
The key is to choose the right opportunity based on the likelihood of
monetizable growth.
Opportunities also lie in leveraging content across platforms and across
borders. India now has upwards of 500 million mobile phone users,
adding nearly 15 million users per month in 2009. And many of India’s
750,000 villages remain isolated except by cell phone. This makes
the country’s wireless 3G spectrum auctions, which began this month,
critically important to enhancing the country’s infrastructure and allow-
ing for the expansion of modern mobile entertainment and communi-
cations options.
As demand for Indian content continues to grow around the world, the
globalization of Indian entertainment and media could well be a signi-
ficant growth story of the next few years. Whether bringing content into
larger markets like the United States or helping Indian companies
achieve their global aspirations to be more ‘mainstream’ players in
entertainment and media, opportunities abound.
Hollywood and Bollywood may still be separated by nearly 9,000
miles. But from television channels catering to Indian communities
abroad to production and co-production deals here in the US, the
two communities have never been closer. This in turn can bring in-
novative growth strategies into closer proximity, as well. As Slumdog’s
signature song proclaims, ‘jai ho’—may victory be yours.
by Deborah K. Bothun
 The top female Farah K. Ahmed
Assistant General Counsel
south asian
Personal Care Products Council
18
executives
Farah K. Ahmed serves as Assistant General
international
korn/ferry
Counsel for the Personal Care Products Council,
which boasts over 600 member companies,
in the world
including several leading international brands
such as Proctor & Gamble, L’Oreal, & Shisheido
amongst others. With the Council, she devel-
Korn/Ferry international ops strategy and represents the industry on
issues regarding the advertising & marketing
indian film festival of of cosmetics in both the US and foreign mar-
kets. She also leads the industry’s Sunscreen
los angeles & Organic/Natural/Green Task Forces. Most
recently, the International Standardization
the amec Organization (ISO), appointed her Convener
of the Cosmetic Marketing Group.
As a recognized expert in cosmetic packaging
and advertising for both global and domestic
markets, Ahmed has been interviewed by nu-
merous national media outlets, including The
New York Times, WebMD and O: The Oprah
Magazine. She holds a B.S. in Physiology
and Biochemistry and is a graduate of the
University of Virginia School of Law. She is
also a co-founder and board member of
SAMMA, (South Asians in Media, Marketing,
& Entertainment).
Farah K. Ahmed
Vishakha N. Desai
President
Asia Society
Dr. Vishakha N. Desai is the President and CEO
of Asia Society, a leading global organization
dedicated to strengthening partnerships
among the people, leaders, and institutions
of Asia and the United States. Founded by
J.D. Rockefeller III in 1956, the Asia Society
has been a premier organization with a three-
dimensional focus, combining culture, com-
merce and current affairs of more than 35
countries from Iran to China. President since
2004, Dr. Desai sets the direction for a diverse
range of programs, including major US-Asia
policy initiatives and national education
partnerships, art exhibitions and Asian Ameri-
can performing arts. Dr. Desai is a frequent
speaker at national and international forums
regarding US-Asia relations. Her op-eds have
appeared in more than 50 global publications,
and she is well known in international art circles
for introducing contemporary Asian art in the US.
She has served on the boards of the Andy
Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, LEAP
(Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics),
and the South Asian Council of the Associa-
tion of Asian Studies. Dr. Desai is also the
recipient of numerous grants, fellowships,
and honorary degrees. She holds a B.A. in
Political Science from Bombay University, as
well as an M.A. and Ph.D. in Asian Art History
from the University of Michigan.
vishakha n. desai
Indu Jain Shibani Joshi
Chair Analyst and Reporter
Times Group of India
FOX Business Network
As Chairman of The Times Group, Indu Jain Shibani Joshi has been a reporter on the FOX
has infused a unique energy into the rapid Business Network since 2007. She began her 19
growth of India’s largest media house. The career as an investment banking analyst at
Times Group publishes several of India’s Morgan Stanley, where she worked on merger,
largest newspapers and magazines, including acquisition, and corporate finance deals in real
The Times of India, and The Economic Times, estate. Joshi worked on the first privatization
as well as maintains a dominant presence
in radio, television and on the Web. Under
of a REIT, which was awarded Institutional
Investor’s “Deal of the Year.” She also served
her leadership, the Times Foundation has
garnered international accolades for its pio-
as Senior Manager in Strategy & Business
Development at Disney/ABC Media Networks
neering achievements, including community
development services, a research foundation,
from 2004-2006. There she worked on the
launch of ABC News Now and aided in the
and establishing the Times Relief Fund for
disaster relief efforts. A consummate phi-
development of a global digital media strategy.
lanthropist, she also committed to women’s Joshi later left the corporate sector to pursue
causes, actively supporting their rights, as journalism, starting out as a news production
well as their advancement in the avenue of assistant at CNNfn, contributing to Lou Dobbs
entrepreneurship. Moneyline and CNN Money Morning. Her
other experience includes work with Reuters
Jain also is credited with making spirituality Television, & TIMES NOW, serving as a co-host
an integral part of the Times Group’s company on several South Asian programs, and con-
culture. At the 2000 United Nations Millennium tributing business and technology stories for
World Peace Summit of Religious & Spiritual ABCnews.com. An Oklahoma City native, Joshi
Leaders, she delivered a speech wherein she holds an MBA from Harvard Business School,
emphasized unity between all faiths, spear- as well as a Bachelor’s in Finance & Accounting
heading the message of “Peace within first,” a from the University of Oklahoma.
movement committed to spreading the prin-
ciples of peace globally. She is founder Presi-
dent of the Ladies wing of the Federation of
Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry
(FICCI FLO). She is also an avid patron of
culture and literature, serving as Chairperson
of the Bhartiya Jnanpith Foundation.
indu jain Shibani joshi
 Superna Kalle
Senior Vice President
Sonty Pictures Television
As Senior Vice President, International Networks
at Sony Pictures Television (SPT), Superna
20 Kalle has overseen the group’s television
networks business in India since 2008, and
international
korn/ferry
was granted additional oversight of SPT’s
networks business in the US in 2009. Under
the banner Multi Screen Private Limited, which
includes channels Sony Entertainment Tele-
vision, MAX, SAB, & PIX, each channel’s
management works under Kalle’s leadership
to ensure profitability and establish overall
business planning and initiatives for the
region’s channels. She is also responsible for
spreading the content of Indian programming
across multiple distribution platforms in the
United States.
Additionally, Kalle sits on the board of Multi
Screen India, Multi Screen Singapore, and
TheOneAlliance, Multiscreen’s distribution
joint venture with Discovery Communications
India. Prior to her promotion in 2008, Kalle
was SPT’s Vice President, International Networks
from 2005. She originally joined SPT from
parent company Sony Pictures Entertainment
where she started out as a manager, Corporate
Development in 1999, later being promoted
to Vice President of that very department in
2004. She was also previously an associate
at Bankers Trust Company as well as an ana-
lyst at Morgan Stanley.
Kalle holds a B.A. in Economics from Columbia
University as well as an M.B.A. in management
from NYU.
superna kalle
Ekta Kapoor
Creative Director
Balaji Telefilms
Regarded as a visionary, Creative Director of
Balaji Telefilms, Ekta Kapoor is credited with
revamping the television landscape in India.
Her successful shows are cited as contribut-
ing to the country’s satellite television boom,
and generally have a place in the top 2-3
shows on each channel. As the creative force
behind Balaji’s success, she maintains a
hands-on approach to the direction of each
show or film, routinely committing 16-18
hour work days. Kapoor continues to innovate
and move with the rapidly changing climate
of television.
Her efforts in creating a large content conglom-
erate at a young age has won her several
national and international distinctions, including
the Economic Times Businesswoman of the
Year 2002, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of
the year 2001, and the American Biographical
Institute Woman of the Year 2001, among
others. Under her creative eye, Balaji has gar-
nered every major television award in India.
ekta kapoor
Roma Khanna
President
Global Networks and Digital Initiatives
NBC Universal International
Roma Khanna is the President of Universal
Networks International & Digital Initiatives,
NBC Universal International. Khanna oversees
a fast-growing portfolio of over 70 international
television channels, including a recently-
launched core of five flagship channel brands:
Syfy Universal, 13th Street Universal, Diva
Universal, Universal Channel and Studio Uni-
versal. Khanna and her team generate growth
through geographical expansion, local and
pan-regional partnerships, creating strong
business models and channels with a focus
on strong global brands with local appeal and
investment in first-run original content. In ad-
dition, Khanna oversees the Digital Initiatives
division, developing digital businesses and a
360 degree approach to content for NBCU.
roma khanna
Naina Lal Kidwai
Group General Manager and
Country Head HSBC India
Naina Lal Kidwai serves as the Group General
Manager & Country Head for HSBC India.
Under her leadership, she oversees more
than 35,000 employees in the sectors of
banking services, insurance, asset manage-
ment, securities and capital markets, among
other realms both domestic and international.
She has been recognized in India and abroad
with several awards for leadership and busi-
ness. Among her honors: ranked in Fortune’s
List of Top Women in Business, Wall Street
Journal & Financial Times’ Global List of Women
to Watch, one of Time Magazine’s 15 Global
Influential 2002, as well as the prestigious
Padma Shri from the Indian government in
honor of her contributions to industry and trade.
She also serves on the board of several gov-
ernment bodies, charities, and organizations,
including the India Advisory Board of Harvard
Business School, Audit Advisory Board of the
Comptroller and Auditor General of India, as well
as serving as Chairwoman on City of London’s
Advisory Council for India, and non-executive
director on the Board of Nestlé SA. Kidwai
holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.
naina lal kidwai
Anju Jain Kumar
Director, Counsel—India Legal Affairs
The Walt Disney Company (India)
Anju Jain Kumar serves as the Walt Disney
Company (India)’s general counsel, where
she is responsible for the legal and regula-
tory functions for the company’s operations
in India. Kumar, alongside her team address
legal issues regarding studio, consumer prod-
ucts, Internet & mobile business, television,
and home entertainment, as well as any new
business within India. She also serves as
advisor to the country manager and other key
members of the management team on all
legal and regulatory affairs. She holds more
than 12 years of experience as legal counsel.
Prior to joining Disney, Kumar was appointed
partner of the law firm AZB & Partners where
she led the media and intellectual property
practice for the firm. She was responsible for
establishing India operations to service off-
shore clients in entertainment and publishing.
In the past, Kumar has also served as a legal
counsel with the intellectual property firm
Anand & Anand, assisted a human rights law
firm on several advocacy matters for public
health in India, and interned at the Motion
Picture Association in Los Angeles. Kumar holds
a B.A. in Law from the University of Bombay
and an L.L.M. in Intellectual Property from
Franklin Pierce Law Center.
anju jain kumar
Jhumpa Lahiri
Author and Member of President’s Committee
on Arts and Humanities
Pulitzer Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri was born
in London and raised in Rhode Island. She
is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship
and the author of two previous books. Her 21
debut short story collection, Interpreter of
Maladies, was awarded the Pulitzer, the PEN/
Hemingway Award, as well as The New Yorker
Debut of the Year. Her novel, The Namesake
was a New York Times Notable Book, a Los
Angeles Book Prize finalist, and was selected
as one of the best books of the year by USA
Today and Entertainment Weekly, among other
publications. It was also adapted into a fea-
ture film. Her most recent book is Unaccus-
tomed Earth, which won the Commonwealth
Writers’ Prize of Europe and South Asia, an
Asian American Literary Award, and was a
New York Times Editors’ Choice. She lives in
Brooklyn, New York.
jhumpa lahiri
 Vandana Malik
Head
Studio 18
Vandana Malik’s television career began in
1992 as Editorial Coordinator with Business
India Television, but she quickly became
the face of Television 18, a business news
22 channel broadcast based in Bombay. As she
moved up to Executive Producer and Bombay
international
korn/ferry
Bureau Chief, Malik worked both in front and
back stage to ensure that Television 18 debuted
on the Bombay Stock Exchange at a fantastic
premium. In May 2006 she joined the team
of Studio 18/The Indian Film Company in the
capacity of Creative Director for Studio 18’s
Feature Film Production wing. Since beginning
at Studio 18, Malik has been involved in the
entire creative supervision of their films and
brings her keen sense of story telling to the
fore. Vandana did her schooling and senior
education in Delhi and holds a graduate de-
gree in Arts from The Lady Shree Ram College.
vandana malik
Deepa Mehta
Director/Writer/Producer
Hamilton-Mehta Productions, LLC
Deepa Mehta is an internationally acclaimed
screenwriter and director. She self-produced
her first feature film in 1991, Sam & Me,
which won an honorable mention by critics
for the Camera D’Or at the Cannes Film
Festival. Mehta is perhaps best known for
her Elements trilogy, the first installment of
which, Fire, picked up much acclaim on the
festival circuit. The tale of forbidden love
garnered Mehta a Silver Hugo award for Best
Director at the Chicago Film Festival. The sec-
ond installment, Earth, an adaptation of Bapsi
Sidhwa’s partition novel Cracking India, opened
to a standing ovation at its Toronto Film Festival
premiere.
Never one to shy away from controversy,
Mehta embarked on one of her most ambi-
tious projects yet—the final film of her trilogy,
Water, dealing with the lives of widows on
an ashram in Varanasi. Though filming was
plagued by riots, it was completed in 2004,
and opened to much acclaim, including an
Oscar® nod in the form of a best Foreign Film
nomination. Aside from the trilogy, Mehta has
embarked on many diverse projects during her
career, including the romantic musical comedy
Bollywood/Hollywood, as well as collaborating
with her brother on the film Cooking with Stella.
In light of her global acclaim and contributions
in Film, Mehta has been awarded honorary
degrees from McMaster University and the
University of Victoria.
deepa mehta
Zarina Mehta
Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer
UTV Networks
Zarina Mehta is one of the founder Directors of
United Television (UTV), a leading Pan Asian
Media Company and serves as the Chief Cre-
ative Officer of UTV’s four entertainment chan-
nels. Prior to this, she served as COO of UTV’s
children’s programming channel, Hungama TV,
where her innovations drove it to become the
number one kids channel within 18 months of
its launch, beating out an international giant.
Mehta supervised the launch of Hungama
TV’s prototype channels in Indonesia & Ma-
laysia, called Astro Ceria. This new channel
served as the first local children’s station in
both countries and once again beat out inter-
national players to become number one.
Over the last 15 years, Mehta has been re-
sponsible for the start-up & creation of some
of UTV’s major divisions, and has produced
over 3500 hours of award winning television
programming in multiple languages. She has
worked with every major broadcaster and is
also a multi-award winning director of cor-
porate documentaries. Mehta was born and
brought up in Mumbai. She is a graduate of
St. Xavier’s College with a BA in Economics
and is also trained in theatrical acting.
Zarina mehta
Sujata Murthy
Senior Vice President, Public Relations
Universal Music Enterprises
Sujata Murthy is the Senior Vice-President,
Public Relations and Artist Relations, for
Universal Music Enterprises (UMe) and Verve
Music Group, both divisions of Universal Music
Group. She develops and executes all media
campaigns for both companies and works di-
rectly with artists. Prior to joining UME, Murthy
performed many similar duties at Capitol/EMI
Music, concentrating on brand management
for Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Al
Green, The Beach Boys and Dean Martin. A
native of Madras, India, raised in Los Angeles
and Houston, Murthy graduated from the
University of Texas, Austin.
Sujata Murthy
Mira Nair
Director/Writer/Producer
Mirabai Films
Mira Nair made her filmmaking debut with
the critically acclaimed SALAAM BOMBAY!
which received more than 25 international
awards, including an Academy Award Nomina-
tion for Best Foreign Film. Since then Nair
has directed numerous award winning fea-
tures including Mississippi Masala (1991),
The Perez Family (1995), Kama Sutra: A Tale
Of Love (1996), My Own Country (1998),
Monsoon Wedding (2001), Vanity Fair (2004)
and The Namesake (2006). Her more recent
films include Amelia (2009), starring Hilary
Swank and Richard Gere, and New York, I
Love You (2009) starring Natalie Portman
and Irfan Khan. A long time activist, Nair
divides her energies between filmmaking, her
two successful non-profit organizations and
her production company Mirabai Films. Her
forthcoming feature will be an adaptation of
Mohsin Hamid’s bestselling novel, The Re-
luctant Fundamentalist, to be filmed in New
York, Pakistan and Chile in 2010.
MIra Nair
Indra nooyi
Chief Executive Officer
PepsiCo, Inc.
Indra Nooyi is Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo,
a billion dollar food and beverage company.
She is heralded as a chief architect of PepsiCo’s
multi-year growth strategy. Nooyi was given
the title of President and CEO in 2006, and
ascended to Chairman in 2007. She has di-
23
rected the company’s global strategy for over
a decade and spearheaded its restructuring,
including the acquisition of Tropicana, as
well as a merger with Quaker Oats. Prior to
becoming CEO, she served as President and
CFO in 2001, when she was also named to
the Board of Directors, becoming responsible for
corporate functions such as finance, strategy,
corporate platforms & innovation, investor
relations and information technology. Before
her career at PepsiCo began in 1994, Nooyi
worked in such diverse avenues as: a Swiss
industrials company, the Boston Consulting
Group, as well as holding product manager
positions in India at Johnson & Johnson.
Nooyi also serves as a member of the boards
of the Consumer Goods Forum, Catalyst and
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. She is
a Successor Fellow of Yale corporation and
serves as Chairman of the US-India Business
Council. She holds a BS from Madras Christian
College, an MBA from the Indian Institute of
Management in Calcutta, and a Master of
Public and Private Management from Yale.
Indra nooyi
 Aparna Pande Saijal Patel Priti Shahani Latha Sundaram Deborah tellis Selina Tobaccowala
General Manager, U.S. Consumer Magazines Analyst and Commentator Senior Vice President Executive Vice President and Global Account Senior Vice President Vice President, Product and Engineering
Disney Publishing Worldwide Squawk Box Asia and Worldwide Exchange The Indian Film Company Director, Starcom Worldwide International Distribution Survey Monkey
CNBC Summit Entertainment

Aparna Pande is Vice President, General
Manager of the Disney FamilyFun Group. In
her current role, Pande has general manage-
ment responsibility for Disney FamilyFun and
Disney en Familia magazines, overseeing
editorial, consumer marketing, production,
24 advertising sales and marketing efforts for
the US Consumer Magazine divisions. Pande
international
korn/ferry
CNBC correspondent Saijal Patel is a Certified
General Accountant and a CFA charter holder.
She brings to CNBC 8 years of financial industry
experience alongside clear analysis and up-
to-the minute coverage of news driving the
Asian markets. She is a regular contributor to
CNBC’s global program Worldwide Exchange,
and also presents live reports on Squawk
Priti Shahani has been working in the Hindi
film industry for almost 6 years with Studio
18/The Indian Film Company. where she is
Senior Vice President of Acquisition, Marketing,
Distribution & Syndication. At Studio 18/The
Indian Film Company, Priti Shahani has been
instrumental in identifying, acquiring, market-
ing, distributing & syndicating some of the
Latha Sundaram is a power player of the
advertising scene. As Executive Vice President
of Starcom Worldwide, Sundaram oversees
media in 80+ countries. At her 15th year with
Starcom, she has managed tech accounts
such as Samsung, Oracle, and Sun Microsys-
tems. Her range of experience covers such
diverse avenues as communications strategy,
Deborah Tellis currently serves as Summit
Entertainment’s Senior Vice President of Inter-
national Distribution where she is instrumental
in the studio’s success with such notable titles
including the extremely popular Twilight & The
Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Knowing, Red Cliff and
P.S. I Love You. Tellis maintains a presence
within 83 international territories working
Vice President of Product & Engineering at
SurveyMonkey, Selina Tobaccowala joined the
company in October 2009. Previously, she
was Senior VP of Product & Technology at
Ticketmaster’s European division, managing
a 200 person product, technology, and
operations team. Prior to that, Tobaccowala
was VP of Online Product & Technology at

joined Disney Publishing Worldwide in 2008 Box Asia, Capital Connection, Squawk Box media planning & buying, as well as account closely with local distributors on distribution Entertainment Publications, where she led 25
highest box office earners in the last decade
from Meredith Publishing where she most Europe, as well as coverage of the Middle such as Ghajini, Golmaal Returns, Singh Is management, production and research. She strategy, dating, and the execution of market- the company’s online sales and technology
recently served as General Manager, Parent- East, Pakistan and India. King, Welcome, and Jab We Met. For all of is the recipient of numerous awards and ac- ing campaigns of Summit’s film and video initiatives. In 1997, she founded Evite.com,
hood Group. Previously, Pande has overseen these films Shahani created tremendous value colades in her field, including a 2004 “Rising releases. Tellis has served as Vice President the revolutionary online invitation service,
the P&L for Parents and American Baby Patel has interviewed many politicians and by introducing aggressive and innovative Star” honor from Media Post Magazine, a 2007 of the department since July of 2005 and as where users currently send over three million
magazines where she supported the Meredith top CEO’s from some of Asia’s biggest corpo- Marketing and Distribution strategies. For the “Agency Innovator” from Internationalist Director since October of 2004. Before coming invites per month. As VP of Engineering for
Publishing Group’s President on strategy andrations, including: Canadian Prime Minster film Jab We Met, she created a new syndica- Magazine, as well as a Jack Meyer’s Media on board at Summit, Tellis worked in Marketing Evite.com, she led the company’s develop-
operational initiatives. She has also servedStephen Harper, US Commerce Secretary tion model for the use of of satellite rights Award in 2005. at Sony Pictures Releasing International. ment and operations, playing a key strategic
as Brand Manager of Children’s Books at Gary Locke, and DBS CEO Piyush Gupta. Prior of films which unlocked hidden revenue for role in the direction of the company’s board.
Meredith, launching this brand-new business to her work for CNBC, Patel worked both on films and has now become the norm within Sundaram was born and raised in Chicago, Tobaccowala holds a B.S. in Computer Science
and off camera for Canada’s business chan-
for the group. Prior to her work at Meredith, the industry. Prior to joining Studio 18/The Illinois, and attended Northwestern Univer- from Stanford University.
nel Report on Business Television, serving
Aparna was Assistant Brand Manager at Mattel. Indian Film Company Shahani had worked sity, graduating in 1995 with a BA in both
as a producer and stocks reporter covering with Sahara One Motion Pictures as Head of Economics & Sociology. She continues to
Pande received her BA in Economics from UC Canadian, US and International markets. Marketing for two years, and before that she be a proactive talent at Starcom, dedicating
Berkeley and her MBA from USC, with a focus worked with Hungama.com for five years as one herself to global development efforts, and
on Strategy and Entrepreneurship. Patel has a B.A. in Commerce from the of its founding members. has served as a leader on the company’s Di-
University of Manitoba. versity Council. She also launched Starcom’s
employee affinity group program, which won
a 2007 American Advertising Federation
Mosaic Award.

aparna pande saijal patel priti shahani latha sundaram deborah tellis selina tobaccowala
 rising star
rising Kavita Amar
Senior Counsel, Business & Legal Affairs
starS
New Line Cinema
As Senior Counsel, Business & Legal Affairs
Korn/Ferry international for New Line Cinema, Kavita Amar has served
indian film festival of as the production attorney on projects such
los Angeles as Sex and the City, Semi-Pro, Pride and Glory
as well as the upcoming Sex and the City 2
and the Farrelly Brothers’ comedy Hall Pass.
Amar drafts above-the-line agreements for
talent, directors, and producers, manages all
legal aspects of production with marketing,
26
publicity home video and product placement
international
korn/ferry
departments, and counsels New Line on is-
sues relating to copyright, clearances, chain
of title and other intellectual property rights.
Before joining New Line in 2005, she worked
as an entertainment and litigation associate
at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, an employment
litigator at O’Melven & Meyers LLP, and clerked
for The Honorable Robert S. Lasnik, Western
District of Washington.
She graduated with a J.D. /M.B.A. from USC,
and attended U.C. Berkeley for undergraduate
studies. She has served as a member of Ninth
Circuit’s Public Information and Community
Outreach Committee and has authored and
co-authored a number of articles regarding
communications law. Amar is also the author
of the novel L.A. Style which follows single
fashionistas as they navigate love and life in
Los Angeles.
kavita amar
rising star
Meghna Ghai-Puri
President
Whistling Woods International
As President of Whistling Woods International,
Meghna Ghai-Puri has been instrumental in
shaping India’s largest film, television,
animation, & media arts institute since its
inception. At Whistling Woods, Puri heads all
operational aspects of the institute, manag-
ing a team of well over 150 professionals &
faculty, as well as 350 students.
Early in her career, she managed marketing
and business development for Mukta Arts Ltd.
She has been involved with key businesses
in the Indian entertainment industry through
high-profile projects including the ambitious
stage celebration Cinema 100, a showcase
of 100 years of Indian cinema. She has also
been associated with such Bollywood hits as
Pardes, Taal & Yaadein.
Puri holds a Bsc Honors in Business from Kings
College, London, as well as an advanced
degree in Communications, Advertising &
Marketing.
meghna ghai-puri
rising star
Sharmalee B. Lall
Vice President
Business & Legal Affairs
Comcast Entertainment Group
As Vice President of Business & Legal Affairs
for Comcast Entertainment Group, Sharmalee
Lall oversees legal matters for some of the most
dynamic network properties of the day, includ-
ing E!, Style., and G4. She has over ten years
of experience in the media and entertainment
industry. Lall began her career practicing
corporate law in New York first at the firm of
Kaye Scholer LLP and then at Loeb & Loeb
LLP. She was able to make a quick transition
into the entertainment field, serving as in-house
counsel at Rainbow Media Holdings, LLC
(which owns AMC, IFC, WE, and several regional
sports networks). In 2005, she made the move
to Los Angeles as VP of Business & Legal
Affairs at SiTV Inc. She began her tenure at
Comcast a short while later in 2007.  California State Bar and is admitted to prac-
Lall graduated first in her undergraduate class,
and in the top two of her law school class.
While in law school, she was also Executive
Articles Editor of the St. John’s Law Review as
well as a Summer Fellow at Battle Fowler LLP
after only her first year.  Southern California. At ABC Network News,
sharmalee b. lall
rising star
Kavi Mehta
Senior Counsel, Legal Affairs
ABC Family
Kavi is currently Senior Counsel, Legal Affairs
for ABC Family. Part of the Disney-ABC Televi-
sion Group, ABC Family is distributed in over
98 million homes. ABC Family’s programming
is a combination of network defining original
series and original movies, quality acquired
series and blockbuster theatricals. Prior to
joining ABC Family, Kavi worked for Walt
Disney Animation Studios and Buena Vista
International, both divisions of the Walt Dis-
ney Company. Kavi’s career in entertainment
law began with legal internships at New Line
Cinema, Paramount Network Television and
Twentieth Century Fox. Kavi received both her
Bachelor of Arts and law degree from Pep-
perdine University. She is a member of the
tice in both California and the US Supreme
Court. Kavi was born and raised in Kansas
City, Missouri.
kavi mehta
rising star
Reena Singh
Disney Channel Original Movies
Currently Reena Singh is Director of Develop-
ment for Disney Channel’s kid and family
branded movies. While at Disney Channel,
she has worked on some of the network’s
highest rated programs—High School Musical,
Jump In! and Camp Rock. She collaborates
with the brand management team to extend
the company’s most prominent franchises
across various lines of business. She travelled
to India for the production of the Disney
Channel Original Movie—Cheetah Girls One 27
World and is now developing movies as part
of the company’s new co-production model
with the international programming team. Prior
to Disney Channel, she spent a year at ABC
network as an Entertainment Associate work-
ing with senior executives in every aspect of
network programming from development and
current programming, production, research,
marketing and sales. She began her media
career at Bon Appetit magazine and then
attended the Annenberg School of Journal-
ism’s Masters Program at the University of
she produced day-of-air and long form docu-
mentary style pieces for World News Tonight
with Peter Jennings, Good Morning America,
Nightline and Primetime. After several years
on the road covering US politics, natural di-
sasters and international events, she crossed
over to the entertainment division. She is the
editor of this issue of Insights as well as a
member of the Women In Film International
Committee.
Compiled by:
Surekha
Paruchuri,
Sheila Shah and
Anam Syed
reena singh

28
gradually
going digital…
Marketing films through new media is not a big hit in India. Yet.
But the scenario is changing.
Released last December, 3 Idiots has become the highest grossing
Indian film to date. The road trip comedy kicks off with three former
college friends embarking on a search for a buddy, played by Aamir
Khan, who vanished right after graduation. But a huge box office
draw isn’t the only big story surrounding the blockbuster. The market-
ing blitz for 3 Idiots is considered a benchmark in digital publicity of
an Indian film. “Now, you cannot look at marketing without what you
can do digitally,” says 3 Idiots producer Vinod Chopra.
Vinod Chopra Productions went all out to build a multi-platform
digital campaign for the film. Central to the effort was an alternate
reality game (ARG) focusing on a disappearing movie star, Aamir
Khan. For the ARG, Aamir Khan traveled incognito to different Indian
towns and clues to his next appearance were dropped as riddles
in the media including on the Internet that had fans scrambling to
figure out his whereabouts. The excitement built to a fever pitch with
fans learning to play the game and then competing with each other
to find Khan.
The Road to 3 Idiots.com Sometime ago, MSN India created a virtual Companies are also tapping into the expanding
“Munnabhai BOT” for the superhit Lage Raho VOD market in the US UTV recently made its
Online games for the Indian films have had an online presence since Munnabhai that could be added to users’ Abhishek Bachchan starrer Delhi-6 download-
Bollywood blockbuster the mid 1990s. Traditionally, most have had a Windows Live Messenger allowing them to able on iPhone for $9.99 and plans to offer
3 Idiots took users to
basic Web site featuring cast, crew, synopsis, chat with the lovable hoodlum in his Mumbai- more through this platform, he says.
the Idiot Academy and
schooled marketers on trailers and downloads, but the marketing style street lingo. More than 200,000 users
the ABC’s of a successful game has been changing over the past few befriended Munnabhai within the first two However, experts say that the effort is minis-
online campaign.
years. Innovative methods including gaming weeks of the promotion. cule compared to its potential.
are now coming into play. Although the first
multi-user film-based game was created for Paa starring Amitabh Bachchan and Akshay The Obstacles
Shahrukh Khan-starrer Don, the scale, content Kumar headlined Kambakkht Ishq were among
interactivity and strategy for the 3 Idiots digi- other recent movies that went beyond the Despite recent success stories and pressure
tal promotion became a pioneering effort. usual Web site and offered interactive elements for global awareness, insiders say new media
to build interest and engage the viewer in the marketing of Indian films is still in its infancy.
Prior to 3 Idiots, the box office top-grosser film’s content. Nevertheless, they are certain that demo-
position was held by another Aamir Khan graphics, corporatization and revenue potential
starrer Ghajini in late 2008. Two weeks before Online film promotion has gained in impor- will propel bigger new media marketing cam-
the release of Ghajini, an integrated new me- tance in the last two years. Trailers are mar- paigns in the near future.
dia promotion was unleashed with two viral keted on high-traffic websites such as MSN,
campaigns: Find Ghajini, where online users Rediff, AOL and Yahoo to drive audiences to “There is a steep shift toward online advertising”,
played the lead role portrayed by Aamir Khan the film’s content. The Web campaigns are agrees Dhar.
in the movie, and like him, try to find Ghajini, also gradually moving toward interactivity
the killer, by looking for clues. When users find rather than just providing information that Unfamiliarity with the digital medium in an in-
all the clues, they are given a phone number can only be seen and consumed. Presence dustry dominated by family-owned production
on which they hear Aamir Khan talking to them. on social networking sites such as Facebook houses for nearly a century is a prime factor
The other viral allowed users to upload their and Orkut has also increased turning the in the wariness to engage in it.
photo onto Aamir Khan’s Wall of Suspects online community into unpaid marketers for
29
based on the film’s story line. The Web site, the film. Producers are realizing that word- “We have to evangelize the medium to (the
like the memory of the movie’s central char- of-mouth is one of the most important influ- producers),” says Hungama’s D’Silva.
acter, refreshed itself every 15 minutes–dri- ences in moviegoing decision. Stars including
ving the user back to the homepage. Around Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Priyanka Producers typically spend 55-60 percent of a
270,000 visitors logged in within the short span Chopra and Preity Zinta feed updates of their film’s marketing budget on TV ads, 20-30 per-
leading up to the film’s release. upcoming films to fans through their blogs and cent on print ads and billboards, and about
SNS pages. Each of Aamir Khan’s post on his 5-7 percent on new media initiatives, said Priti
“It was a very comprehensive plan,” said blog receives 1,000 to 10,000 comments. Shahani, most recently head of marketing,
Carlton D’Silva, creative director of Hungama distribution and syndication of the Indian
Besides the ARG, the film’s Web site – www.idiotsacademy.com – took Digital Media that executed the campaign on Global Reach Film Company–India’s first publicly listed
users to different rooms of the Idiots Academy like the director’s office, various platforms. Besides the Web site, movie- film company. According to Shahani, the
hostel, cafeteria, classroom and, yes, even the bathroom. Each room based ringtones and callback tones were Online presence has become crucial to mar- sheer reach of conventional media across
offered interactive applications based on the movie. The Web site offered. An email campaign urged users to keting Indian films in the three major overseas all strata of society is indisputable.
recorded more than 4.5 million game plays over a 6 to 8 week period. register for film updates. The integrated digital markets (US, UK and UAE) as most films earn
campaign engaged 1 million visitors over two 15-20 percent of their revenue there.
“We were asked to create something different instead of a run-of-the- “SNS creates a huge awareness but, at this
months. Hungama won two Abby’s, a coveted point, there are no indicators of its impact
mill site,” says Rohit Sharma, CEO of Zapak, an online gaming portal
advertising world award, for this campaign. “Internet is the only way for us to get the word on ticket sales,” Shahani says. After all, the
that designed the games and is the digital arm of the film’s distributor
Reliance BIG Entertainment. out about our films to expatriate Indians who bottom line is to pull the viewer to the movie
do not have Indian TV channels,” says Lokesh theater.
Social networking was also part of the film’s marketing machine. More Dhar, CEO of UTV Motion Pictures, USA.
than 125,000 fans worldwide logged in to chat live with Aamir Khan
through his Facebook profile “Aamir Khan the Pucca (Real) Idiot”. Then
there was the music component. The film’s music was launched online
via webcam instead of a traditional launch at a press conference.
Film-themed mobile applications were part of the strategy too. So
unique was the overall campaign in the Indian scenario that Forbes
India examined it in an article titled Idiot Savant.
 Producers also rely heavily on star-power to
generate a good opening. Dharma Produc-
tions’s thrust for My Name is Khan was on
leveraging director Karan Johar’s track record
and the superstar cast of Shahrukh Khan and
Kajol, whose presence at numerous promo-
tional events around release time combined
with aggressive TV and print campaigns, were
enough to get it the highest-grossing opening
weekend of any Indian film. Digitally, the movie
had a Web site, Facebook presence, and PC
and mobile games.
Star faces on posters remain a huge draw
in small towns, said veteran print-publicity
designer Rahul Nanda whose credits include
3 Idiots. His company H-One also creates
movie websites. “We lack digital-friendly
concepts and story line”, he says adding that
sci-fi’s, thrillers and adventure flicks would be
ideal for creating digital synergy. He is plan-
ning an extensive virtual-world campaign for
30 the upcoming sci-fi RA-One, he says.
gradually
going digital…
“[The] Internet’s strength lies in creating Indian professionals who keep their eyes Pressure to go digital is also exerted by new
communication, developing levels of engage- trained on Hollywood’s use of the new media business models brought in by large corpora-
ment for different kinds of audience,” said to promote films claim that the Amercian film tions such as Reliance, UTV and production
Krishna Prasad, former executive producer of industry is leagues ahead. eMarketer.com alliances with Hollywood studios such as
MSN India. “Producers need to take a holistic estimates that Hollywood studios will spend Warner Bros., Disney, Fox and Sony. Third
view of digital marketing,” he added. 9.3 percent of its total marketing dollars on generation of traditional filmmakers also have
online ads this year and expects it to reach greater comfort in using the new media.
Advocates of digital marketing point out that 14.2 percent in 2013. With nearly 228 million
the primary film-going audience is in the sophisticated Internet users (74 percent of Other compelling pluses of Internet marketing,
age group of 15-30, belonging to the same its population and nearly four-times India’s experts say, is interactivity, which could lead to
demographic as Internet users. Their distinc- user-base) and easy access to broadband, exponential popularity for a film, and the low-
tive trait is they are wired and they network. innovations abound. Varied tools are used cost of these campaigns. Internet-based cam-
D’Silva called urban youths “a restless kind… such as Webisodes to introduce and socialize paign costs about 10 percent of a TV campaign.
who want to see something different, who look a movie’s characters before release. There are Use of technology and new media have also
for intelligent content.” Innovative marketing also complex applications to hook in die-hard opened up new revenue streams. With 470
is essential to get them to spend their buck gamers as well as the use of social networks, million cellphone users in a movie-crazy country,
on your film out of the 2-3 new releases vying trailers and downloads. Indian marketers cited film-based ringtones and callback tones have
for it every week, he added. examples of Avatar’s multi-layered Web site turned highly lucrative. Zapak’s Sharma said
packed with interactive features and the paid film downloads and ads on movie Web
Even though movies with bankable elements marketing of The Dark Knight as excellent sites promise additional gain.
are setting the trend in digital marketing, case-studies.
content-driven movies with unknown names The rising awareness of the medium’s poten-
are likely to benefit more, Shahani said. For Growth potential tial is goading producers to venture into new
example, the stupendous box-office success territory. “Everyone wants to do something on

Target Audience
Would box office collections of Ghajini and
3 Idiots have dropped without a digital cam-
paign? Shahani and Nanda don’t believe so
considering their director-star saleablility.
However, they are convinced that if strategized
thoughtfully, digital marketing has the poten-
tial of a large conversion rate. According to
Shahani, digital-marketing window is prior to
mainstream marketing. If started early on in
the film’s production, Internet campaigns can
play a vital role in kindling and whetting a
wide audience’s curiosity, experts say.
of recent American ghost-flick Paranormal Ac-
Acceptance may be gradual but industry
tivity, which cost $15,000 and grossed $183 experts predict that digital promotion will
million worldwide, is attributed to innovative become an integral part of a film’s multi-
viral campaigns. Similarly, The Indian Film media marketing strategy in 2-3 years time.
Company’s Striker, a small-budget Hindi mov- Several factors propel this shift. First, Indian
ie without known names had a brief theatrical filmmakers are realizing that since the youth
run in India this February. But it garnered forms the largest segment of the paying audi-
400,000 paid downloads on YouTube in the ence, new media marketing is imperative.
first week. The producers dubbed the strategy Also, although limited to the Internet literate
“a gold mine”. A special Striker edition of the English-speaking Indians, the country’s 57
popular Touch Carrom game is now available million users present a significant market
for iPhone and iPod. since the current penetration of the Internet
is only 5 percent of the country’s population
highlighting unlimited growth potential.
the Internet, even if they are not sure what,” 31
said D’Silva. Zapak and Hungama, have created
teams to pitch digital marketing to producers.
The more emboldened are already forging al-
liances to develop and deliver digital promo-
tion across platforms and India’s tech-savvy
creative professionals are impatient to take
on the challenge.“We can create digital cam-
paigns of Hollywood caliber,” says D’Silva.
by Preeti Chandan

Images from the popular online site based on the

Aamir Khan thriller Ghajini. 
 iffla
industry
leadership
awards
Sanford Panitch
Sanford Panitch, president of Fox International Productions, is a
globetrotter, who forges alliances in key foreign markets to produce
local-language films.
He has been going to India every six weeks for the last 18 months
scoping out prospects in Mumbai, New Delhi and Chennai. Watching In-
dian movies, reading Bollywood trades and Indian dailies, and checking
out Indian movie-business websites have become routine for him.
India and China are his division’s biggest priorities, Panitch said.
Under Panitch’s leadership, FIP recently pulled off a feat with its world-
wide release of the Hindi film My Name is Khan (MNIK), which it co-
produced with Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions. The film is one of
the highest grossing Bollywood films of all time.
Panitch, 42, a 20-year Hollywood veteran, will be honored with the
Industry Leadership Award by the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles,
along with Uday Shankar, CEO of Fox’s Indian sister company, STAR
India. The award will be presented at a special luncheon April 22.
“I am so honored to receive this award and to have the opportunity to
celebrate the outstanding global achievements of Indian cinema, includ-
ing our recent successes,” Panitch said. “It is humbling that in such a
short period of time, 20th Century Fox has caught the attention of the
Indian film community and managed to work with such acclaimed
filmmakers. We look forward to even more collaborations in the future.”
The tremendous growth potential of several overseas film territories
32
especially India (that offer extraordinary cost-to-grosses ratio revealed
again recently by MNIK and 3 Idiots) at a time when Hollywood growth
industry awards
IFFLA leadership
has flatlined, prompted Fox to turn its sights toward them. It formed a
new division, FIP, in 2008 to establish a production foothold primarily
in territories where local films dominate such as Japan, France, Germa-
ny, Spain, South Korea, Italy and UK, besides India and China. Panitch
was chosen to lead it.
The same year, FoxStar Studios India, a joint venture between Fox and
STAR Network, was created to align the two corporations’ respective
strategic interests. FIP and STAR oversee FoxStar. Headed by CEO Vijay
Singh, FoxStar produces or acquires local Indian film material, develops
it, supervises production, and then markets and distributes Indian
films. Panitch said STAR’s exceptional relationships and reach in the
Indian film industry, developed over 20 years, are great assets for
the studio in making significant inroads. STAR is the biggest buyer of
Indian films and the leading broadcaster in India.
“There is evidence that Bollywood could surpass Japan by 2014 to
become the second biggest market in the world with 95 percent local
production. It makes sense for us to participate where Hollywood
market share is not dominant,” Panitch said.
SANFORD In 2009, FoxStar distributed the hilarious Tamil curry western Quick
Gun Murugan but entered production in the Indian market with MNIK.
PANITCH
Its next film, Dum Maaro Dum with Ramesh Sippy Entertainment, is
already under way. The action-packed thriller, directed by Rohan Sippy
(Bluffmaster) stars Abhishek Bachchan and Bipasha Basu. Two other
FOX FILMS INTERNATIONAL films are likely to start this year, Panitch said.
FoxStar has entered into a multiple-film deal with top producer-director
Vipul Shah (Singh is Kinng, London Dreams, Waqt). It has also struck
a deal with AR Murugadoss, who directed Aamir Khan-starrer block-
buster Ghajini, to develop and produce Tamil films.
Through widespread distribution, FoxStar also aims to draw non-Indian
audiences into theaters to check out Indian fare. A shorter, altered
cut of MNIK will be released as an art-house movie shortly in the US
and six other markets including Italy, Spain, Germany and Russia.
Panitch said Fox’s strong international distribution network would be
an asset for Indian films. “I think it speaks to Fox’s versatility that it
could pull off success for a Hindi film worldwide along with Avatar at
the same time,” he added.
In the recent success of Indian films such as taut terrorist drama A
Wednesday, horror flick Bhoot and the gritty Fashion despite being
devoid of the traditional staple of song-and-dance, Panitch sees a
willingness in the Indian film market to evolve. Acceptance of new,
emerging genres is encouraging and exciting for foreign producers,
he said.
Better acquaintance with India has brought about a shift in Panitch’s
perspective. Calling the well-established, century-old Indian film
industry an “emerging market” is an oxymoron, he realized. “It’s an
emerging market only for the west,” he said. “We are just children try-
ing to learn about the Indian film business and in whatever way we
can be additive, we’ll try.”
Panitch’s unit has made impressive strides in other territories as well.
He struck a deal for Fox’s first Chinese co-production, Hot Summer
Days which in recent weeks has become the most successful Holly-
wood local-language production of all time at the Chinese box office.
Other highlights include The Admiral, the second-highest grossing
Russian film of all time; Brazilian romantic comedy If I were You 2, to
be remade in Hindi; and Spain’s top comedy of 2009, Spanish Movie.
Panitch said he taps into his ability, honed from years of working on
films, to identify a big idea. He emphasizes good story-telling as key
to the success of any film but added that the guidance of local ex-
ecutives the studio has hired in each country is equally crucial.
Panitch has worked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood.
Soon after graduating from Tulane University, he went to work for
33
James Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd at Pacific Western Productions
in 1989 making such films as The Abyss and T2.
Before taking the helm at FIP, he served as president of Filmed Enter-
tainment for New Regency Enterprises. He was previously executive
vice-president of 20th Century Fox from 1997-2000 during which time
he was executive on Titanic and initiated the Dr. Doolittle franchise.
Before coming to Fox, he ran Arnold Kopelson Prodcutions.
During his tenure, he supervised over 75 films including The Fugitive,
Falling Down, Jumper, Office Space, Daredevil, Alvin and the Chipmunks,
Man on Fire, Big Momma’s House and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. He was a
co-producer on David Fincher’s Brad Pitt starrer Seven and Wolfgang
Peterson’s Outbreak.
Despite his peripatetic lifestyle, Panitch finds time to pursue some of
his other passions at home. As visiting adjunct professor at Tulane,
he teaches a class on new approaches to creative writing relying on
filmic references. He serves on the board of the Santa Monica Civic
Association, the board of Student Voice Project that supports high-school
newspapers in inner-city schools, and on the curator’s council of the
LA Art Organization. This year, he also served on the Academy’s Foreign
Language Committee.
by Preeti Chandan
 iffla
industry
leadership
awards
uday shankar
Uday Shankar is among the fortunate who can pursue their passion
as a profession.
 
The CEO of STAR India, a leading Indian media and entertainment
company that owns numerous television channels, is a self-confessed
die-hard TV lover. “I have been fascinated with TV since its entry in India
in the 1980s and that enchantment continues even today,” Shankar
said in a phone interview from Mumbai.
 
In his three years as CEO, Shankar, 47, has led STAR’s transformation
from a leading broadcaster to an integrated media company with
a significant presence in regional broadcasting, film production,
cable, DTH and home shopping. He also manages STAR’s Interna-
tional businesses.
A veteran print and TV journalist, Shankar will be honored with the
Industry Leadership Award by the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles—
along with Sanford Panitch, CEO of Fox International Productions (FIP)—
at a special luncheon April 22.
“I thank IFFLA for bestowing this honor upon me and thank my
wonderful team at STAR India for their continued efforts in bringing
quality Indian-themed entertainment to an international audience,”
said Shankar.
 
STAR has the highest reach among India’s broadcasters, beaming to
over 168 million people every week across India and 65 countries.
Its portfolio includes 32 channels in eight languages spanning such
household brands as STAR Plus, STAR One, STAR Gold, Channel [V]
and STAR Movies as well as joint venture channels Asianet, STAR
News, ESPN and STAR Sports.
Shankar took the helm in 2007 at a time when STAR was traumatized
34 by a spate of high-profile exits. He set about to restore confidence in
the company’s leadership potential among its young demographic and
industry awards
IFFLA leadership
put it on the path of aggressive growth.
 
He aligned STAR India to achieve the dynamic growth objectives—phys-
ical spread as well as financial performance—of its parent company,
News Corporation. He rolled out a slew of regional-language channels
in the states of Maharashtra, Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala
and Andhra Pradesh, making STAR a key player in each market within
uday just two years. He was also instrumental in reinventing some of STAR’s
smaller channels such as STAR Movies and Channel [V].
shankar
 
The next phase of growth for STAR, he said, would come from having
a rich and diverse portfolio of programs that would touch the lives of
star india every kind of content-consumer.
 
Part of his strategy to achieve this was the creation of FoxSTAR, a
movie production arm that is a joint venture with STAR’s sister com-
pany 20th Century Fox’s Panitch-led FIP. “I am closely involved with
FoxSTAR,” Shankar said adding that the venture unites  the comple-
mentary strengths of the two companies—Fox’s knowledge of the
movie-making business and STAR’s strong grasp of India’s consumer
landscape. “FoxSTAR’s conscious strategy is to become a leading
producer of Hindi films as well as deeper penetration into regional
cinema,” he said.
 
STAR—and its rival Zee Network—are also pushing for expansion of
Direct to Home (DTH) and Shankar believes it will grab a large market
share in the near future.
A keen analyst of India’s broadcasting industry, Shankar sees tre-
mendous growth potential in the Indian cable and satellite market
because its current reach is only 105 million to 110 million homes,
less than 50 percent of total Indian households. “The audience is
changing as cable and satellite spread across the country,” he said.
However, the challenge will be creating localized content to cater to
India’s daunting diversity. “It is not easy for broadcasters to create
content centrally and offer it countrywide. The creative process will
have to be decentralized,” he said. “Indian TV or film market is not
like the US, held together by a common language and largely a single
religion. It’s more like the European Union where every market is a
distinct linguistic and cultural group,” he added.
 
Shankar predicts that a powerful shift will occur with the rise of niche
channels that target a smaller viewership but forge a distinct connect
with it.
 
STAR’s reputation as a pioneering, innovative brand and its presence
in some critical niches such as sports, English-language entertainment,
and youth and music programming give it an edge over Zee as well as
newcomers Colors and NDTV Imagine, Shankar said.
STAR’s extensive line-up of soaps that transcend all socio-economic
barriers has also made several  of their channels a favorite with the
huge Indian expatriate market. Shankar said Indians overseas miss
stories from “home” and tales presented through these soaps provide
them an emotional connection with relatives in India.
 
His years in journalism proved to be a remarkable training ground for
this management position, Shankar said. Looking at the society more
closely and deeply than any other profession; gaining an outside-in
perspective, analyzing it and then devising strategy; and not taking
people for granted are some of the strengths honed as a journalist
that serve him well today.
 
Shankar started as a political journalist with the national daily The Times
of India and later specialized in environment. He also served as asso-
ciate director of the prestigious Centre for Science and Environment.
In his impressive journalism career, he was in-charge of establishing
Sahara TV’s news operations. As editor and news director of the TV
Today Network of the India Today Group, he spearheaded the launch
of the Hindi news channel Aaj Tak in 2000 and steered it to the top 35
spot in the ratings charts. In 2003, he launched Headlines Today, a
24-hour English language television network, for the same group.  
 
In 2004, he became CEO and editor of MCCS, which operates the Hindi
news channel STAR News, the No.1 Bengali news channel STAR Ananda
and the No.1 Marathi news channel STAR Majha.
He joined STAR India in April 2007 as COO and was promoted to CEO
later that year.
 
In all his years with TV networks, Shankar’s job description included
TV watching. “I watch it all the time, even when I am overseas and
don’t understand the language. I never tire of it,” he said. He watches
with a simultaneous sense of engagement and inquiry. “What I like is
the relationship that TV has with homes. Other than working in their
profession and sleeping, people spend a lot of their remaining time
watching TV,” he said.
 
So what does Shankar watch on TV? The answer: News, sports especially
cricket, and movies. STAR soaps that he helped create such as Pratiggya,
Geet, Bidaai and Yeh Rishta, are also a part of his daily viewing diet.
 
by Preeti Chandan

ready.
READY. SET. GO!
The game is on for India’s sports
entertainment industry.
36
redy. set. go!
The race is on for sporting events rights in the
competitive TV distribution market resulting in
record breaking deals. That’s because according
to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Global Entertain-
ment and Media Outlook report, worldwide
spending in the sports segment increased
12 percent in 2006 and is expected to
increase from $96 billion in 2006 to $124
billion in 2011 at a 5.2%CAGR.
India is a strong contender for leading the
worldwide sports sector’s growth due to the
rise in the country’s middle class population
and their disposable income. Additional factors
include the increase in TVs per household,
rapid growth in domestic as well as interna-
tional advertising and a passion for sports
and athlete celebrities.
set.
But forget the industry white papers, reports
and statistics. All anyone had to do was tune
into the India Premier League 3 (IPL3) cricket
craze to realize that the game is on when it
comes to the Indian sports arena.  the games. And Google partnered with IPL to
Last month kicked off the third annual DLF India
Premier League (IPL) cricket competition. The
six week contest featured eight cricket fran-
chises representing various regions of the
nation playing a shortened, more exciting ver-
sion of the game called Twenty20. But even
before the first batter was up, cricket fans
were tracking the action via such Internet
sites as ESPN’s Cricinfo and Yahoo! Cricket. 
Sony’s Set Max paid close to $1 billion to air
the games for a ten year period starting in
2008. During the competition, cricket enthusi-
asts had a complete menu of viewing options
besides television. Cinemas dropped their
shows and instead beamed the matches on
700 screens nationwide. In fact, multiplex
go!
©iStockphoto.com/kshishtof
theatres along with broadcaster UFO Moviez
plan to screen the final four IPL matches in
3D. VRockMobile teamed up with the IPL to
offer the latest news, score information and
stream the games live on YouTube. 
The Google-DLF IPL marriage is estimated to
be the biggest online sporting event deal to
date and the audience response was over-
whelming. According to Google, as of early
April the IPL YouTube Channel had attracted
over 30 million views total adding almost 1
million new channel views every day. Most of
the subscriptions and views were from India
despite earlier predictions that connectivity
issues would hinder domestic Web following
of the games. On the advertising front, the
success of Google and IPL3 translated in big
sponsorships including Hero Honda, Airtel,
HSBC Bank, HP, Coca Cola, Bangalore Royal
Challengers and Samsung.  starting his own representation business
Elina Meswani, Kunal Kapoor and Farhan Akhtar cheer on the Mumbai Indians during the 2010 DLF Indian Premier League T20 group stage match between Mumbai
Indians and Chennai Super Kings played at Brabourne Stadium on March 25, 2010 in Mumbai, India. (Photo by Yogen Shah-IPL 2010/IPL via Getty Images)
IPL3 alone is predicted to generate $1 billion
in revenues. But advertiser and broadcaster’s
interest in Indian sports sponsorships will most
likely continue after the last wicket has fallen.
That’s because of this year’s remaining sport-
ing events bounty—Football World Cup (FIFA),
the Commonwealth Games and the ICC World
Twenty20 Championship.  demonstrated the continued strength of this
In 2006, ESPN Star Sports experienced a 44
percent increase in viewership of the FIFA
World Cup from the 2002 games. This year
they expect continued record growth and have
consequently doubled their programming to
200 hours of coverage compared to 100
hours in 2006.
MVP:
MAHESH
BHUPATHI
Tennis star Mahesh Bhupathi began his
international tennis career at age 14. In
1997 he became the first Indian to win
a Grand Slam title and today he has has
eleven Grand Slam doubles titles under
his belt. In 2002 Bhupathi took a shot at
and came up aces. His company Globos-
ports covers such key arenas as celebrity
management, sports infrastructure, mod-
eling and casting, digital and new media.
Says Manu Sawhney, Managing Director of
ESPN STAR Sports, “We anticipate that the
biggest football cup tournament will resonate
with our many sports fans across the Indian
sub-continent including India, Pakistan, Sri
Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal and
Bhutan”.
Brand New Game
According to a December 2009 white paper
by Ficci (Federation of Indian Chambers of
Commerce and Industry) and License India
on The Business of Sports, IPL is cited as “the
gateway” for launching merchandise (caps,
Obviously cricket continues to be a big draw.
Do you see the playing field in Indian sports
entertainment expanding?
Popularity of sports such as tennis, golf,
and football is on the rise. While cricket has
a cult -like status at home, field hockey which
is India’s national sport got a new boost and
a chance to revive its past glory after hosting
2010 Men’s Hockey World Cup in February.
Abhinav Bindra’s gold medal in Beijing Olympics
in 2008 brought shooting into the forefront,
and it is one of the 6 sports actively promoted
by the Mittal ChampionsTrust, founded by the
steel tycoon, Lakshmi Mittal to help Indian
athletes compete on the world sports arena.
As India’s economy is doing well, people can
afford better lifestyle and in the wake of IPL’s
success audiences have developed voracious
appetite for entertainment.
t-shirts, footwear, etc.) via licensing partner-
ships between manufacturers and the cricket
franchise clubs. In doing so, IPL began defin-
ing itself as a recognizable brand, which has
grown since inception. The latest report by
Brand Finance puts the IPL brand value at
$4.2 billion. This year’s tournament has
iconic event. 
The 2010 season’s opening game between
Bollywood leading man Shah Rukh Khan’s
Kolata Knight Raiders and the Deccan Char-
gers attracted 42 million viewers, which were
made up of 45 percent of 15 to 35 year olds
37
How has the game changed for sports
celebrities in the past five years?
Sports industry is a fast growing business,
and the country is beginning to recognize
the importance of sports. The value of
deals signed on by celebrity athletes has
increased hundredfold and top celebrity
athletes make more money from their
endorsements than from sports. Abhinav
Bindra, who won India’s only gold medal
in shooting in Beijing Olympics in 2008,
closed an endorsement deal with a big
international brand – Samsung upon his
return home, notwithstanding that tradi-
tionally shooting has never enjoyed much
popularity in India. Also, we are seeing an
unprecedented number of sports driven
events and sports award ceremonies in the
country, which honor athletes’ contributions
to sports industry.
 and a surprising 38 percent were women.
Compare that opening night number to last
year during which it took the first four games
to reach an audience of 50 million viewers
and it’s easy to see that IPL is a growing brand.  Open and she has represented India at the
But truly nothing testified more to the strength
of the IPL brand than the excitement made
off the pitch. On March 21, IPL brought home
an astonishing $703 million (32 billion rupees)
when it sold two new franchises. Rendezvous
Sports World Ltd. (RSWL)—a consortium of
businessmen—won the bid for the new Kochi
franchise for $333 million. On the same day,
Sahara Adventure Sports paid $370 million
for the new Pune franchise. When IPL started
in 2008, the combined purchase price for the
8 franchises was $624.7 million.  management of sports and entertainment
The Endorsements
IPL3 certainly drew the stars out. Bollywood
actor Shah Rukh Khan co-owns the Kolkata
Knight Riders and actress Katrina Kaif donned
a red  Bangalore Royal Challenger’s jersey.
But the biggest celebrities were on the cricket
pitch. Cricketeer Sachin Tendulkar, for example,
is a crowd pleaser and advertisers have taken
notice.  sanctioned Avantha Masters golf tournament
India’s best batsman inked a lucrative, multi-
year deal with Iconix, the marketing arm of
international advertising giant Saatchi &
Saatchi. Additionally, Tendulkar is a restaura-
teur and has a healthcare and sports fitness
products venture with the India-based Mani-
pal Group. And if his demigod status as a
38 cricketeer wasn’t enough, Tendulkar has
been featured as a superhero in a Virgin
redy. set. go!
Comics series.  sports personalities to promote their
Sania Mirza is India’s star female tennis player
who has a knack for making news on and off
the court. A practicing Muslim, she has faced
criticism from religious Muslim groups for her
short tennis attire. Just a few weeks ago she
stole the headlines from the IPL 3 competition
when her engagement to former Pakistani
cricket captain Shoaib Malik was announced.
On the court, she is highest ranked female
tennis player ever from India. Her professional
achievements include winning the Wimbledon
India’s tennis darling Sania Mirza. Photo courtesy of www.mysaniamirza.com. Photographer Darren Centofanti
Girl’s Doubles title in 2003, she was the first
Indian woman to be seeded in a Grand Slam
tournament winning her first Grand Slam title
in mixed doubles last year at the Australian
Olympic Games. Each success has brought
in endorsement deals with such high profile
companies as Adidas, Coca Cola (Sprite) and
Aircel Telecommunications.  the best players on the European Tour to play
The endorsement game has become so
lucrative in India that just last month India’s
largest private sector company Reliance
Industries Limited (RIL) teamed up with IMG,
the world’s leading sports marketing and
management company. The joint venture will
focus on  the development, marketing and
in India. The super agency IMG Reliance Pvt
Ltd., will create and maintain new sports
infrastructures such as coaching facilities
as well offer management services to sports,
fashion and Bollywood celebrities.
The Rookies
While Cricket is still King, there is room for
other sports in India. In February the tri-
Mahesh Bhupathi continued
Sports is a great spectacle and corporate
sponsors are turning more and more to
products, given star athletes’ outreach
to masses and deep emotional connect
with the consumers. Traditionally, some
sports such as tennis and golf are more
commercially successful than others and
therefore will attract greater number of
sponsors and advertisers.
How has sports entertainment in India
changed since you were playing tennis?
When I launched Globosport in 2002,
there were two companies that offered
sports management services, one was
a global brand IMG and second was a
Bombay-based firm Percept. Now we have
at least 10 new strong players in this
segment and tremendous success of IPL
has spurred on the growth of the sports
took place at the DLF Golf and Country club
in the New Delhi suburb of Gurgaon. The event
carried a purse of $2.1 million and was
sanctioned by the Asian Tour, the European
Tour and the Professional Golf Tour of India.
Indian golf has been on the upswing in the
past decade, but the Avantha Masters put
the spotlight on India by bringing some of
against India’s star golfers. Jeev Milkha Singh,
Jyoti Randhawa and Arjun Atwal, all partici-
pated in the Avantha Masters and have more
than 25 titles between them.  India. The league will consist of two age groups:
Driving in India is a combination of courage
and prayer, but Formula One has had a smooth
ride since taking off in India with the Force
India motor racing team. Force India was
established in 2007 when Indian business-
man Vijay Mallya and Michiel Mol bought
the Spyker F1 team, which was renamed.
In 2011, New Delhi will host the first ever
Indian Grand Prix.  Basketball Federation) and the BFI (Basket-
The Indian Boxing Federation (IBF) is looking
for a knockout with their IPL-like boxing se-
ries. In February IBF Chairman Abhay Singh
Chautala announced that the Indian Series
of Boxing is slated for 2011. Structured like
marketing industry on the whole and made it
a global brand.
What do you see happening in terms of en-
dorsement trends over the next year or so?
India’s booming economy is seeing an influx
on international brands and they are already
familiar with the concept of sports sponsor-
ship/ sports endorsement on a global
scale. I think they will be open to explore these
opportunities in India. Worldwide sports is one
of the most powerful marketing tools since it
generates strong emotions in the consumers.
So the likelihood of endorsement deals soar-
ing with the advent of Commonwealth Games
is quite high as marketers seek to optimize
their brand message by aligning with celebrity
athletes. So I believe the number of endorse-
ments by professional athletes will grow at a
significant rate in the next year.
the IPL model, the Indian Series of Boxing will
be made of of regional franchises that will
compete in a tournament.
It turns out that Indian business mogul Anand
Mahindra is a Boston Celtics fan. He became
a fan of the team and the sport when he at-
tended Harvard University in Cambridge, MA.
Now he plans on bringing basketball to India
by sponsoring the Mahindra NBA (National
Basketball Association) Challenge—a seven
week league held in Nagpada and Andheri,
14 to 17 years-old and an over 18 years-old
group. 
This is not the first time that the NBA has made
a play in India. In 2008, NBA players and
coaches participated in a Basketball Without
Borders camp held in New Delhi. Fifty-three
players ages 19 and under were selected from
15 countries by the NBA, FIBA (International
ball Federation of India). From lay ups to free
throws, the campers took part in instruction
on the game as well as competed against
each other. 
What motivated you to start up Globos-
port? How did you go from athlete to
businessman? 39
Initially, I was driven to create a sustainable
environment for young sporting talent in
tennis, to groom a new generation of athletes
trained to perform on international circuit.
I loved the game and believed that tennis
had the potential to become very popular
in India.
Back home there were no other talent agen-
cies that focused on sports and infrastructure
only and I recognized the need to establish
a specialized sports agency, which would
not only provide professional expertise but
have a 360 degree approach to athletes’
career outside sport.
 Then in December of 2009, the NBA in an at-
tempt to extend its reach in the cricket crazed
nation announced the launch of its first digital
effort in India. Sponsored by NBA partners HP
and Reebok, the site targets the 25 year old
and under population and provides weekly live
game broadcasts, video highlights and blogs
by NBA players.
While India is a new market for the league,
the NBA is no stranger to global expansion.
NBA games are broadcast in 215 countries
and the league sells more that $750 million
worth of merchandise internationally. This year
they plan to set up an office in New Delhi.  How has the network grown since its inception
India caught the NBA’s eye not only because
it’s the second most populous country in the
world, but also because it is a tech savvy
country with 60 percent of the population
under the age of 30 years old and a growing
middle class. These potential young, comput-
er friendly customers with disposable income
are just the demo the NBA hopes to capture.  Mobile TV on the back of ICC World T20 last year in
“The demographics in terms of the economic
growth coupled with sports avidity in India
show us the potential is there,” says Bobby
Sharma, Vice President and General Counsel
of the NBA Development League. “They love
cricket and there seems to be opportunity for
other sports as well. We’re not trying to sup-
plant basketball as a sport over cricket, but
there seems to be an appetite for variety of
entertainment options.”  15+ years, belonging to A, B and C sections as per
But the league knows that building interest in
the NBA is a not an overnight task. They are
prepared to start at a grassroots level like
they did in China with programs such as Bas-
ketball Without Borders and by supporting
Mahindra’s basketball venture in India. Plus
40
they understand that India needs a better
infrastructure including courts and coaches
redy. set. go!
as well as recruitment of players before the
sport can take off.  healthy pace. TV remains the most important means
“In the perfect world you would have a league
in China and India, but first you need cultural
interest and infrastructure,” says Sharma. Yao
Ming was the result of years of grassroot
building of an infrastructure, which India is
just starting, but it’s a promising start.”
by Reena Singh
MANU
SAWHNEY
ESPN Star Sports (ESS), a joint venture between
two of the world’s leading media organizations,
Walt Disney (ESPN, Inc.) and News Corporation
Limited (STAR), has been in India since November
1996. ESS grew from a startup to an undisputed
sports broadcasting leader in Asia. ESS Managing
Director Manu Sawhney shares his thoughts on the
growth of his network and the Indian sports
entertainment sector.  teams or player plays, more so in the case of cricket,
in 1996?
From a couple of networks since the inception
of our business, today our offering includes 19
networks across Asia, digital media assets and
mobile service offerings serving sports fans
across the region.  increasing level of acceptance for other sports. Today
In addition to on-air networks, we have a robust
mobile service in mobile ESPN which has a large
suite of specialized offerings covering 3G, WAP and
SMS based [services]. We also launched ESPN
India which supports live streaming and video views
on demand. GPRS users can download the ESPN
Mobile TV client and view content on a subscription
rental model. On ESPN Mobile TV channel sports
fans can view our Cricket events, catch the F1 race
and three Grand Slam events.  besides key cricket and soccer properties such as
Who is your target demo? Any increase in female
viewership?  such as the Masters, The Open and US Open.
Today through our 19 customized networks in Asia,
we reach out to more than 300 million viewers
across 24 countries in Asia.  entertainment spend?
 
While the core target audience continues to be Male,
the Socio Economic Classification of the society,
the number for female audience for sports is
increasing. New formats like Twenty20 for the
most popular game of cricket, increased exposure
by broadcast coverage and media coverage and
larger participation of females in various sports is
contributing to this healthy growth. However there is
still big potential to be tapped for sports as far as
female viewership is concerned.  creatively and effectively tap into fans’ passion and
How are Indian viewers watching sports? TV?
Internet? Mobile?
The consumption of sports in India is growing at a
of consuming sports. According to research agency
TAM, the total sub base of individuals receiving
Cable and Satellite signals in India is 179 million
[C&S CS4+].  Champions League Twenty20, Indian Premier League
A recent Sunday ET-Nielsen survey conducted in
Delhi and Mumbai to track viewers’ behavioral
changes during sporting  events say that the average
time a male spends watching TV in a day actually
goes up by almost 20 percent when India plays
a cricket match and he tends to watch important
excerpts of football and hockey matches as well.
The male skew continues, according to TAM Media
Research that tracks TV ratings, viewership in the
age group of 4-55 across all sporting events—
cricket, hockey, football, Formula One, tennis.
Adding to comScore in January 2010, 10.3 million
Internet viewers visited a sports site in India from a
home [computer] or workstation. [That’s] an increase
of over 97 percent from the previous year. On the
mobile front consumption of live video streaming is
still in its infancy but has a huge potential base. The
user base of SMS alert based mobile packs has also
crossed the 10 million user mark in the industry.
Besides cricket, is there real growth potential for other
sports in India?
There is nothing bigger in reality entertainment than
sports. Nothing engages fans in a manner that sports
does and this has proven time and again.
Why? Because sports is unrehearsed, live, real time,
unpredictable and unscripted. When your favorite
fans come to a stop. Nothing comes in between them
and the action and quality cricket will always resonate
with the common man on the street in India. 
In a cricket loving nation like India, we’re seeing the
emergence of multi-sport fans and the Indian sports
fan is maturing faster than we can think with an
local golf stars like Jeev Milkha Singh have become
a household name and clubs like Manchester United
and Liverpool players like Rooney and Steven Gerard
have become immensely popular among the younger
and growing demographics for sports. With the Force
India team doing good in F1 and the race slated to
make an appearance in india in 2011, interest in
Formula 1 is very high. 
And reflecting these trends, we have invested in
a focused manner across other genres of sports
Formula One, top tennis Grand Slams at Wimbledon,
Australia Open and French Open, and golf majors
 
Are more advertisers increasing their sports
I believe that sports sponsorship is still one of the
most effective ways in which to reach a passionate,
brand loyal audience. However, with every marketing Bollywood meets basketball. Actor Ranbir Kapoor takes center court. Image courtesy of the NBA.
dollar being scrutinized more than ever, we find
advertisers are demanding more. And when I say
more, I am really talking about the quantity of media. Mahesh Bhupathi continued
They are looking for more ROI and clearer facts that
justify the spends.
We have successfully created for our sponsors, inte- Which athletes have the most endorse- profile” to establish strong affinity with the
What is the role of Globosport in the In-
grated offerings including customized programming to
dian sports world? ments? What characteristics are advertisers consumers, preferably a celebrity whose
in new ways [like] online assets to take engagement looking for when it comes to athlete personal image reflects the core values
with fans across media. In addition, through our on- In 2002, I pioneered the concept of Tennis endorsements? of the brand.
ground events we are able to provide brands an Academies in India and introduced the no- 41
opportunity to interact with the audience at a tion of personalized service to my clients. Sports, which attracts massive media coverage,
different level.  There was no infrastructure whatsoever, also attracts the highest number of corporate
and I focused on delivering a complete sponsors. Cricket is an indisputable leader in
In India, the last [year has] seen major action in the package, which will add value to my clients the number of record-breaking deals. Tennis
sporting domain including ICC World T20, Airtel
and allow them to focus purely on the holds second position and golf comes in third.
sports: professional coaches, world-class Success of individual athletes in badminton
and the Hockey World Cup, which have attracted the
attention of advertisers. And now, with another edition sports facilities, strategic career manage- (Saina Nehwal), shooting (Abhinav Bindra),
of ICC World T20 and FIFA World Cup on the calendar, ment and image consultancy. My team boxing (Vijender Singh) and wrestling (Sushil
there is increased activity as these Class A properties scouted the country for talent and signed Kumar) have contributed to the rising number
have consistently shown that they can deliver.  on India’s female tennis sensation—Sania of endorsement deals in the sports other than
Mirza, first youth sports icon outside the cricket.
I believe that during this period the quality events will world of cricket. Apart from Sania, Globo-
continue to pull in the dollars. These are world class sport manages Dipika Pallikal’s sports The marketers are well aware of the fact that
A, top quality sponsorships that are still demanding a celebrity brand ambassador could to influ-
career—rising squash star. Sports in India
and receiving large sponsorship dollars. However, B
will only get bigger, and we are actively ence consumer-purchasing decisions. Therefore,
Grade or niche events will struggle.
scouting for sporting talent outside tennis. advertisers look for celebrity with the “right
 spotlight on
Movie making is a family tradition for actor/director/producer Rakesh Roshan and his superstar son Hrithik Roshan.
Courtesy of FILMKRAFT productions and Mahender Soni.
The remarkable
father-son team
Rakesh and
Hrithik Roshan
When it comes to giving his son–Bollywood leading man Hrithik
Roshan–advice on filmmaking, accomplished actor/director Rakesh
Roshan says he chose to lead by example. “I didn’t ever have to give
him [Hrithik] advice because he saw me working with honesty. All my
projects are my best effort,” says Roshan Sr.  more time you give the director the better you become as an actor.”
Filmmaking seems to be in the DNA of this family going back to
Hrithik’s grandfathers Roshan, who was a music director, and legend-
ary director/producer J. Om Prakash. His father, Rakesh, has acted
in over 60 films and made his directorial debut in 1987 with Khud-
garz. Since that he has gone onto helm several Bollywood box office
hits. Roshan Sr. never had any doubts that his son Hrithik would
follow in his footsteps as an actor.  his relationship with his father.
According to Hrithik, his Dad was spot on. “I just always assumed I
42
would get into acting,” says Hrithik. “It wasn’t a choice because there
rakesh and hrithik roshan
Spotlight on
was nothing else I imagined doing. By the time I realized that I had
a choice, it was too late because I had been bitten by the acting bug.”
Hrithik first appeared on screen as a child extra in a dance number
for the 1980 movie Aasha. He went on to play small roles in Aap
Ke Deewane (1980) and Bhagwan Dada (1986) both which featured
his father Rakesh Roshan as the leading man. By then Roshan Sr.
says he knew son Hrithik wanted to seriously pursue acting, which
is why he made Hrithik work on his film crews for five years before
Hrithik Roshan and Barbara Mori star in Kites, which hits theaters May 21.
Courtesy of FILMKRAFT productions.
 
Before that
experience I
saw my father
as King of our
household.
launching Hrithik’s leading man career. “I told him [Hrithik] that you
have to learn everything that happens when making a film. Most ac-
tors don’t have discipline because they don’t know what happens to
the crew and the production when the actor is late to set. Or how the
Thus started Hrithik’s practical education in film. He assisted his father
in films Karan Arjun (1995) and Koyla (1997). Hrithik remembers
working in grueling situations sometimes under intense heat and
without proper meals. He says there were moments when the realiza-
tion of the hardships of filmmaking “scared the hell” out of him, but
overall the experience was transformational for both his craft and in
   
“Before that experience I saw my father as King of our household,”
remembers Hrithik. “We had servants and maids at home, but on set
one day he just picked up a broom and started sweeping the floor be- 43
cause there was something on the ground that was in his frame and
he didn’t like it. He didn’t get someone to do it. He saw that something
had to be done and he did it. For me as a son that was a real sight
that initiated the right perspectives. I learned what filmmaking meant.
It has nothing to do with the fame, glamour or parties. It takes passion,
working without ego and hard work to see you dream through.”
 The father-son duo teamed up for Hrithik’s first feature film as a lead
actor in Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai (2000), for which he received Film-
fare Awards for Best Actor and Best Male Debut. The movie also
established Hrithik as a heartthrob and dancing sensation.
The film was directed by Roshan Sr. and facing the camera for his
father was an adjustment for Hrithik. “I had to turn off being a crew
member,” he says. But for Roshan Sr. working with his son is like
working with any other actor, although he believes Hrithik is especially
dedicated. “He’s a perfectionist. It’s 110 percent for Hrithik.” The
movie was a commercial and critical success. Since then his perfor-
mances have earned him more awards and acclaim in such films as
Koi... Mil Gaya (2003), Krrish (2006), Dhoom 2 (2006) and Jodhaa
Akbar (2008).  due a much needed rest. After watching Gangsters Roshan,Sr. called
Their latest project Kites, produced by Hrithik’s father via his Filmkraft
production company and distributed and marketed by Reliance BIG
Pictures, stars Hrithik and actress Barbara Mori as a romantic couple
who speak different languages yet manage to find common ground
through their love for each other. “It’s a love story that shows love
does not have a language,” says Roshan Sr. Shot in New Mexico,
Los Angeles and Las Vegas, Roshan Sr. says shooting in the United
States was a great experience. First, the crowds of fans around the
set was significantly less as compared to India. Equally fulfilling was
watching the international crew come together. “We take crews from
India and bond with international crews to become one big family.
We get into each other’s shoes. It’s great fun.”  a role, I always ask myself if there is a better actor and if the answer
44
rakesh and hrithik roshan
Spotlight on
Hrithik as Emperor Akbar the Great in UTV Motion film’s historic romantic epic Jodha Akbar. Image courtesy of UTV Motion Pictures.
There are two versions of the film, which will be released on May 21 in
60 countries. The longer cut has more music for Indian audiences. The
Western version is to be reworked for a running time of 90 minutes.
The idea for the movie Kites came to Roshan Sr. while watching two
kites flying in the sky. To Roshan Sr. the kites were like two lovers.
“[They] were romantic, flying together and then fighting like lovers not
realizing that if they aren’t careful they would cut each other because
they are connected.”
 
Once the inspiration struck Roshan Sr. began thinking about directors.
Of course, in theory Roshan Sr. could have taken the job himself but
just prior to Kites, Roshan Sr. had come off of Krrish and felt he was
the writer/director Anurag Basu to discuss Kites. Needless to say Basu
was surprised to receive the call. “He said, ‘You’re giving your project
to me?’ But I explained to him that I was not in a race. I wanted to do
the best film and I was very impressed by Gangsters.”  I know how to hide all my flaws and I had to switch that off,” says
Hrithik was equally impressed when he heard Basu’s take of he movie.
Known for doing his own stunts in action packed fare like Dhoom 2,
Hrithik had seriously injured his knee while filming the historical epic
Jodha Akbar. The injury, which was thought to effect his running and
dancing abilities, was of such concern that Hrithik was considering
quitting acting. But after hearing the story Basu had come up with for
Kites, Hrithik realized he had found his next project. “When considering
is ‘No,’ then I jump on it,” says Hrithik. “In fact there have been times
when I have passed and even some instances where I have recom- In fact, authenticity is something he believes Bollywood filmmakers
mended another actor. With Kites I knew that this film had to manifest need to follow more. According to Hrithik, the pressure on Bollywood
and I could see myself in that movie.” to make commercial “masala” movies with something for everyone
is partly due to the desire to appeal to the diverse Indian audience.
What drew Hrithik to the movie is what he describes as being the “I think people have forgotten that there has to be a reason for a
“honesty” of the film. For the actor, the film doesn’t manipulate the song,” says Hrithik “Take the movie Scarface. You don’t put a song in
audience into feeling, but rather tells a grounded love story in which that movie! You can’t always force five dancers numbers in a movie
the emotions are earned. That departure, according to Hrithik, is differ- because it destroys the sanctity of it and some of us have forgotten
ent from traditional Bollywood commercialism. But then Hrithik, who that.” But he feels if Bollywood filmmakers worried less about judg-
has acted in a range of movie genres from science fiction to superhero ment and let go of their safety nets, the result would be “better, more
to historical romantic sagas, is no stranger when it comes to taking risks honest films.” 
in his performances. For Hrithik, Kites was two-and-a-half years of his
“life and heart,” during which he had to unlearn a lot of what made As for the future, don’t expect Hrithik to fall in the footsteps of his
up his forte in order to satisfy Basu’s authentic vision of the film. father as a director anytime soon. He is quite happy as an actor at
He credits Basu as pushing him to be vulnerable in his performance.   the moment and humbly believes he has far more life experience to
gather before he is capable of directing. And there seems as if there
“I have been in front of the camera so much that I know all my angles. are plenty of acting opportunities on the horizon beyond Bollywood
for Hrithik. He says that he is receiving more pitches than ever before
Hrithik. “Anurag pushed me to get rid of all of that. I had to let go of the from Hollywood writers, directors and agents. The interest leads him
camera angles, the clothes and get lost in the role. Simply put as an art- to believe that the entertainment world is on the verge of something
ist, I had to take flight… like a kite, I guess.” truly extraordinary.  
Hrithik went so far for the role that when his character had to sing “I really believe we are at the threshold of something big between
to his love interest in the film, he realized that it had to be his voice. these two industries,” predicts Hrithik. “It’s becoming a smaller industry.
Despite that his grandfather Roshan and uncle Rajesh worked in the It’s not going to be a matter of Bollywood and Hollywood, but just one
music business, Hrithik had never attempted singing for any of his film community.”
films. Singing for Kites was something that he claims “scared [him] to
bits,” but he discovered that it wasn’t about being a good singer, but by Reena Singh
about being authentic to the character.
It’s not going to
be a matter of
45
Bollywood and
Hollywood, but
just one film
community.
Cross Cultural Connection: Hrithik Roshan and Barbara Mori play a romantic
couple who overcome language and cultural barriers through love.
Courtesy of FILMKRAFT productions.
 MITCHELL SILBERBERG & KNUPP LLP
and Attorneys

PATRICIA MAYER WE CONGRATULATE

ENTERTAINMENT TRANSACTIONS ~ PVM@MSK.COM
and
DAVID RUGENDORF
USA IMMIGRATION/VISAS ~ DSR@MSK.COM
ROMA KHANNA AND SAIJAL PATEL
AND SALUTE THE
INDIAN FILM FESTIVAL OF LOS ANGELES

Are Proud to Serve

THE INTERNATIONAL FILM COMMUNITY
and Support the
INDIAN FILM FESTIVAL OF LOS ANGELES

46

47

LOS ANGELES NEW YORK WASHINGTON, D.C.

 Opinion:
mobile
entertainment
in india
My name is John Huffman IV and my avatars name is Technition,
as in “technology” and “ignition,” for those of you who cringe at
the thought that I have just misspelled a word.
Prepare yourself, because I enjoy being creative. I invent new words at
will and use youthful text message vocabulary, unapologetically.
Let us proceed.
I am a mobile entertainment producer and development director.
And thank goodness that I produce and develop from a new
point-of-view.
Why you ask?
The entertainment industry, at least the industry anyone over 40 grew up
experiencing, is being shook up all over the world. This is most evident in
India where cell phone carriers are leveraging a sweet combination of music,
data enabled phones for mobile web browsing and applications to increase
their ARPU (average revenue per user). How you ask? I’ll get to some of those
details later in this article, but for now let me tee “me” up for you.
There is great change in the way people–let’s not call each other consumers–
experience entertainment. However, at the corporate level, there could be
more innovation. And I am talking real innovation, not repurposing television
content for the web.
The music industry is dead. The radio industry is over. The TV industry is dying.
The film industry is in trouble. And it is all to the fault of the legal department.
How played out are these phrases? What to-da ever.
The other day a friend calls and says, “Tech, don’t you get that the music indus-
try is dying?” I shouted, “So are you!” Yes, that is exactly what I said. Let me
be honest, I will never view change, growth and innovation opportunities as
death, and to my pleasure this deadens his commentary.
So what am I doing here?
It is my duty to inspire you to greatness. LOL! JK… kinda.
Seriously, I have developed my own point-of-view and I am grateful to have
the opportunity to share it. I am not an attorney (though I wish I were). I
am not a conventional media or an entertainment executive (though we go
together like peanut butter and jelly). I am a kid, born in a Cleveland ghetto,
who grew up in Texas. I discovered very early on in life that leveraging tech-
nology to create entertainment experiences, and to manage entertainment
businesses, was a giant part of my personal destiny.
48
entertainment in india
opinion: mobile
I was a bit intimidated when I was asked to write a regular column for Insights.
I’ve read Insights articles and have found them to be crazy informative. That’s a
good thing. I was almost immediately relieved when I heard these words from
Arnold Peter, “bring a lighter attitude and your own voice to Insights.” How ‘bout
I let you be the judge of my attitude while I let the voice “bringing begin” with
this article on the Mobile Entertainment Industry in India.
Teach a man to fish with a cell phone.
Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish and feed
him for a lifetime. Give a man a cell phone while he’s fishing and he’ll save
money, listen to music and eventually watch mobile television shows while out
in the ocean.
Ok, I made that last bit up myself. But as I found out in a study by Harvard’s
Robert Jensen on the adoption of cell phones by fishermen along the coast of
India’s Kerala state, I’m not far off from the truth.
Robert Brough Turner superbly summarized Jensen’s study by stating that cell
phones have improved information flows, making markets work better and
resulting in quantifiable benefits for all parties. Prior to the study, six percent
of fish sales went unsold. After cell phones were introduced all product sold.
Fishermen profits went up 8% and consumer prices down 4%, directly driving a
20 rupee/person/month consumer surplus, or the equivalent of a 2% increase
in per capita GDP from this one market alone.
Why do I love this information?
Fishermen are people and there are 1.15 billion people in India. There are 471
million people in India with cell phones. And oh, to my utter delight, the cell
phone market in India is booming at 10% per quarter. To cell phone users in
India, those phones are more than just gossip devices. Their phones are having
positive effects on every industry.
And this includes India’s entertainment industry. I bet you won’t find 471 million
people in India with television sets, radios or movie screens combined. Who got
5 on it? (Translation: Who wants to bet me?) And for this reason, the entertain-
ment industry is far from deceased.
Demographers expect India’s population to surpass the population of China by
2030, making it the #1 most populated place on the planet. India is on track
to be the first country to reach the 2 billion mark (in the next 44 years). Do you
get that this means growth for the cell phone and entertainment industries?
Lets get n2da business.
What is the largest music company in India? Bharti Airtel is the largest music
company in India. Drum roll… AND THEY ARE A CELL PHONE CARRIER! The big-
gest in the country, I might add.
They are generating a staggering amount of annual revenue through the sale of
music subscription services for ringtones, ringbacks and downloads.
In 2008 Bharti Airtel won the Best Mobile Music, TV and Video Service award.
The company is also capitalizing on the fact that 80% of Indians are unbanked
by offering mobile-commerce services, simplifying how people can purchase
more and more entertainment content.
“At Airtel, we believe that music in its various forms and genres strikes a
universal chord with mobile users. Today an increasing number of customers
are looking at the mobile phone as their single device for all entertainment
needs”, says Bharti Airtel’s Deputy CEO Sanjay Kapoor to livemint.com.
The Americans are coming.
Will Smith is one of the greatest entertainers of all time. He is the only actor
in history to have eight consecutive movies reach 100 million dollars at the
box office. He has been nominated for two Academy Awards, multiple Golden
Globes®, and has won several Grammy Awards. Lets not forget that his hit
television show “The Fresh Prince of Bell Air” is still in syndication all over the
world. And I just love saying this part... he started his career as a rapper with a
DJ and his beat boxing homie.
Hollywood films account for only 5-10% of the box office receipts in India.
Bollywood, Tollywood, Mollywood and Kollywood films are killing it in the mar-
ket. [Each “wood” represents a different film making region in India.] But that
hasn’t stopped Mr. Smith from entering into the territory. This also didn’t stop
the King of Entertainment from helping to launch Sony’s Pix channel in India.
Or from becoming a guest on the talent competition show “Indian Idol” or from
establishing a 30 million dollar co-production deal with UTV, one of India’s
leading studios, all according to variety.com.
Smart phones are key to the mobile entertainment opportunity for Hollywood
types seeking to succeed in India. India is second only to the United States for
mobile browsing and ad requests by geography with 668,295,912 ad requests
between September 2008 and September 2009.
According to Admob (purchased by Google in 2009), the top handset manu-
facturer in the territory is Nokia. But newcomer Apple, whose iPhone is #1 in
smart phone traffic worldwide, just announced that they are now selling the
iPhone 3GS in India, with carriers Bharti Airte and Vodafone.
Remember, we are talking about growth in the entertainment industry. And
mobile clearly offers an expanding opportunity to innovate and generate
revenue like never before. Mobile is where entertainment companies (music,
television, movie and game) will find additional advertising, ala cart content
and subscription revenues. You can take those Rupees to the bank.
Entertainment Company, Reliance Big Entertainment is aggressively working
with CAA to build creative partnerships. According to Reliance press releases,
their initial partnerships include deals with Nicolas Cage’s Saturn Productions,
Jim Carrey’s JC 23 Entertainment, George Clooney’s Smokehouse Productions,
Chris Columbus’ 1492 Pictures, Tom Hanks’ Playtone Productions, Brad Pitt’s
Plan B Entertainment, Jay Roach’s Everyman Pictures and Steven Spielberg
who Reliance announced would receive an investment of 825 million dollars
and produce the globally compelling the Dr. Martin Luther King story with
Suzanne de Passe and Madison Jones.
Entertainment companies are poised to leverage mobile marketing strategies
and mobile ad networks like Quattro Wireless (purchased by Apple in Decem-
ber 2009) to make the Indian audience aware of their music, film, television,
game and app releases in a more cost effective way. I also conclude that
content produced as a result of Reliance’s Hollywood strategy, for example,
could end up as a driver of an unprecedented paid mobile TV subscription
service offered by wireless carriers and direct-to-consumer companies around
the world.
Snoop Dogg’s debut album, Doggystyle, was released in 1993. He has gone
on to star in movies like Trading Day and television shows like Snoop Dogg’s
Father Hood. Many people in India are aware, but not many in America know,
that Snoop Dogg is all up in India. “I really dig how much music is infused
with the movies” in Bollywood, Snoop Dogg said in an e-mailed response to
questions from The New York Times. “Lots of hip-hop tracks sample Indian
music, and a lot of their music sounds like it was influenced by hip-hop,” he
said. “We’re putting together something real big” in India, that will include col-
laborations, live shows and “more movies with some of my Bollywood homies.”
The magic of hip hop is that it is an ever evolving art form that openly em-
braces different cultures. But regardless of where Snoop is in the world, his
fans, even in India, seem to simply want him to represent Long Beach. That
said, true to hip-hop culture, Snoop continues to lead, expand and innovate.
Akshay Kumar looks real comfy doing the same.
Innovation activate.
In April, The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles will step outside the box and
present the first HipHopDraft in India contest. The HipHopDraft is a television
show (in development) that features the hottest new rappers in every country
in the world. Rappers in India and America will have a chance to record their
hottest verse on a Los Da Mystro produced song. The winner will be featured
in a Bollywood style music video and get a chance to perform at the Indian
Film Festival of Los Angeles (April 20th-25th 2010).
The song will be sold as a ringtone, ringback tone and download to cell phone
subscribers and a portion of the proceeds will go to benefit the Pathway Cen-
tres for Education and Rehabilitation for Children in India.
Helly Luv is the featured singer on the song being recorded for the HipHop-
Draft in India contest. She was born in Tehran and grew up in Finland. She
told me an incredible story about how as a little girl she only watched Bol-
lywood movies. She said that her mother played Bollywood movies for her
because those were the only movies that the government of Iran would allow
her people to watch.
Bollywood movies inspired Helly all the way in Tehran, to become a dancer
and singer just like how the combination of “Beat Street,” the break dancing
movie, and the business book “Digital Nervous System” by Bill Gates inspired
me. And yes, I can still rock a dance floor and my business moves on the
mobile front are something special. Yep, bring it.
Hip hop culture has inspired rappers in India like Bollywood movies inspired a
little girl in Tehran. That is a beautiful thing.
At the end of the day, all inspiration calls us to innovate. We are better off
when we embrace it. Never look at any circumstance as the end. Doubt the
conventional. Create the exceptional. I’m going fishing with a cell phone.
by John Huffman iv
The views in this article do not express the opinions of the editorial staff. 
49
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