| MUMBAI: More than
just a Q& A session, it turned out to be a live session of Koffee with Karan
at the Ficci Frames. Except that, this time around there were no Bollywood stars
on the show. Karan Johar, one of the most successful Bollywood Producers had his
frothy Koffee with Ashok Amritraj, the most successful Indian producer to have
made a mark in Hollywood.
To begin with Johar got
Amritraj talking about his initial struggle days in Hollywood. Taking the audience
through his early days, this tennis star and now a Hollywood tycoon said, "In
the early 1980s, I had gone to the U.S., to play tennis but I had always wanted
to make movies. I soon realized that it was a very white world out there, and
it wasn't really multicultural as it is today." And, with time Amritraj
managed to break into the Hollywood circuit and has produced more than 80 films
in the past 20 years. Currently, he is the chairman and CEO of Hyde Park entertainment
and some of his best known films are Bandits, Bringing down the House and
Raising Helen.
Talking of how Hollywood
perceives Bollwood, the film tycoon said, "There is a lot of hype being generated
in the US about India as the country is slowly being recognized as a global economy.
Also, there is a lot of curiosity about our culture and tradition, but, somehow
that does not mean that Indian films are getting more eyeballs in America."
The discussion got more interesting as Johar queried Amritraj on how Indian
film makers can penetrate the global markets and on the making of crossover films.
"I think the European market is now more receptive to Indian movies, especially
countries like Germany and France, but films like Parineeta , Kuch Kuch Hota
could have been distributed better globally." said Amritraj. "But, somehow
for Hollywood, Bollywood films still don't really exist. Americans are still not
able to understand the ethos, emotions and drama which is the core of our movies."
On whether filmmakers need to make different kind of films for the international
audience, Amritraj said, ""There is always a risk of losing out on the
audiences back home. So, it is a clear choice which filmmakers have to make. One
of solutions was maybe Indian producers need to have co-production treaties with
the international studios for better distribution of Indian films globally." The
discussion turned to be not just informative, but, also brought home lessons for
Indian filmmakers wanting to carve a niche in the international market. | 
