A Variety magazine report suggested that in recent times,traditional markets for Hollywood filmsnamely France,Italy,Japan etc. are being left behind by new consumers,namely the BRIC countrie-Brazil,Russia,India and China. The Chinese are top of the list with a 64 per cent growth in 2010. India is not doing too badly either what with an estimated $2 billion business over 2010. But obviously the growth has encouraged Hollywood studios to try their luck in new territories with a variety of films. While superhero films like Spiderman and Ironman have done exceedingly well,so have different formats such as Avatar in both 3D and 2D. And while such films will continue being tentpole projects,efforts are underway to generate local content with global flavour. Fox Studios My Name Is Khan was one such venture. What .Khan did not manage in India,it did worldwidemanage to rake in $39 million. It is pertinent to note that Fox now has Dum Maaro Dum with Abhishek Bachchan and yet another titled Force,toplining John Abraham,in the pipeline. Others have tried too with different degrees of success. Warner Bros. threw its hat in the ring with Chandni Chowk To China and Saas Bahu Aur Sensex till it finally got a hit in Atithi.Tum Kab Jaoge?. Viacom 18 after a little floundering has landed a hit in Tanu Weds Manu with others like Gangs Of Wasseypur,Buddah (starring Big B),Chashme Buddoor and Players in the pipeline. The good news is that the rising fortunes of foreign studios are not riding pillion on the misfortunes of the desi filmmakers. Not yet. Homegrown studios like Balaji,Reliance Big Pictures,Yash Raj and UTV have also been recording robust growth with a combination of box- office collections,telecast rights and music among others. The challenge for Hindi cinema,the most prolific industry in India,in all of this is to keep alive its original style. Already,filmmakers lament the loss of Hindi songs as we know them. The naach-gaana no longer occupies the pride of place it once used to what with songs now in the background as opposed to music being an integral part of the narrative technique with the hero and heroine singing them to express their emotions. Globalisation,many in the industry fear,is likely to encumber us with homogenisation,at the cost of individuality. In addition to the musical template,the larger-than-life Hindi film hero and heroine have been casualties too. This new homogenous version,while it joins the NRI and the urban audiences on different sides of the border (Asia,UK,USA and small pockets in Europe) has a strong disconnect with the desi audience hitherto described in filmi parlance as the masses. The challenge for Hindi film industry now is to work out a new formula,inclusive not just of the newfound western taste but of its very own audiences.
