New Delhi, Nov 10: In an effort to shore up its presence in the international markets, Bollywood is now gearing up to brush up its marketing skills. In the offing are producers, distributors and marketers putting their heads together to brainstorm with international marketing experts, glean through case studies of movies successfully marketed globally such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon , My Big Fat Greek Wedding , East is East , Bend It Like Beckham and Monsoon Wedding to pick up lessons and insights, focus on the role of acquisition and sales agents in global distribution, and look at ways to use film festivals as a platform to market movies. (Can Bollywood take on Hollywood in the global market?)

“ The focus of our deliberations will be to chalk out a roadmap for Indian movies to tap the overseas markets more effectively and look beyond the Indian diaspora, ” says film maker Subhash Ghai.

CineMint, a two-day film marketing summit (November 21-22) at Mumbai, organized by CII, will see a host of international speakers like ace film maker Shekhar Kapur, Paula Silver, marketing strategists for My Big Fat Greek Wedding , Leslee Udwin, producer, East is East , Nicholas Chartier of Arclight Films, Christian Kmiotek from Strategics Film Marketing Training Institute and representatives from Los Angeles and Locarno Film Festivals, share their experiences with Indian film fraternity.
According to Shravan Shroff of Shringar Films, to make an impact on the global film arena, Indian film makers need to develop and understand the importance of marketing their movies.

“We need to capitalise on the interest that Indian movies have generated worldwide over the last couple of years, ” says film maker Aditya Bhattacharya. For that to happen Indian movies have to be tailored to the sensibilities of international audiences and marketed like-wise, feel many in Bollywood. Ghai observes that Indian cinema has till now just touched the Indian diaspora in the overseas market. “ It is time we look at making Indian movies with essentially Indian stories and background and market them to audiences who are not just Indians. Those that appeal to international audience would truly be crossover films, ” he adds.

Bhattacharya feels Indian producers are still to make effective use of international film festivals as a platform for marketing movies. “ There are over 300 film festivals held across the world every year. A film producer has to know which ones to tap to maximise their returns,” he points out. Indian film makers are just about waking up to the use of global sales agents to market their movies globally.

Most in the film trade agree that Indian film industry is still in its formative stages in terms of marketing and international sales and distribution activities. “We are yet to develop a unique brand for the Indian industry, ” says a senior CII executive. The industry is yet to bringing together a product for mass audiences both at home and abroad, creating awareness of style, genre, region and cinematic flavour, the executive adds.
Most film makers agree that this is just a beginning for Bollywood to understand the dynamics of how the international market operates. “It is just a first step by the industry to sustain the interest that Indian films have generated in the international market,” says Ghai.

The onus is clearly on the film industry to prove that the success of Laagan , Bend It Like Beckham and Monsoon Wedding in the international circuit is not a flash in the pan. Film makers like Ghai ( Krishna ), Kapur ( Paani ) and Ketan Mehta ( The Rising ) have already lined up products to hit the international screens over the next 18 months.