Big names from Hollywood like Walt Disney, Fox Star, and Viacom18 are no longer knocking at the door of the Indian film market – they are going all the way in. Fox Star Studios studio has already invested directly in its first regional language movie venture in India, called Engaeyum Eppothum (which means “everywhere, all the time” in Tamil). This is not the first Indian venture for Fox. Last year, it distributed Shah Rukh Khan’s My Name is Khan and achieved blockbuster success. However, Engaeyum Eppothum is a more involved effort, and its fate will influence other movie-makers from Hollywood waiting in the wings.As CSA’s research on pricing shows, simply dubbing or subtitling costs very little (see “Translation and Localization Pricing,” Jul10). Producing an entire movie in another language is far more expensive, but venturing into the production of regional Indian movies still makes good business sense for Hollywood. Why?
- It’s a large and fast-growing market. Regional language films account for 65% of India’s nearly $2 billion movie market and are growing at a rate of 10 to 20% annually. South India, home to Tamil and Telugu cinema, has the largest number of multiplex screens.
- Culturally appropriate content is less risky. When the movie is essentially home-grown, film studios avoid the risks posed by imported storylines. With fresh content, the audience doesn’t feel like it’s being served leftovers.
- Local market conditions facilitate collaboration with foreigners. The South Indian movie industry is said to be more organized than Bollywood, thus making it easy for people from abroad to work with local film crews, casting agencies, and production partners.
- Hollywood can address a gap in the market. Indian movie audiences could benefit from the technical superiority that characterizes many Hollywood films.
This globalization of the Indian movie market is not just happening in a West-to-East direction. Indian companies, too, are setting their sights on Hollywood. Anil Ambani’s Reliance Big Pictures invested US$325 million for a 50% stake in Steven Spielberg’s Dreamworks. It remains to be seen who will make more money — Indian entertainment companies going abroad or Hollywood studios with their dollars invested in regional Indian movies.
For language service providers, the growing collaboration between the two markets represents business opportunities – especially when it comes to scouting out filming locations, interpreting and negotiating with local businesses and cast members, and drafting the many legal contracts required to make movie magic. Read more.
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