Chinese takeaway unhealthy for Bollywood

THE Indian film industry, particularly Hindi film producers are in many cases unaware of the dangers lurking at their doorstep.  The new danger looming is a possible takeover of the main production centres in India by the Chinese.

Around 1920, the British film industry was at war with the US film industry for control of the Indian market. Fearing losses for the British films, the then government issued orders banning the import of films from the US. At the same time, the new Cinematograph Act of 1918 put severe restrictions on the exhibition of Indian films. The market dried up.

A group of film exhibitors from Gujarat formed a collective and sent an urgent telegram to the authorities of the US film industry, seeking intervention to get the restrictions on film import and exhibition removed. The British government did not relax the curbs on films from the US but relaxed the restrictions on locally made films. Thus, Indian silent cinema survived.

The next time restrictions on Indian cinema were put in 1941, when the government put curbs on the length of films and fixed it at a maximum 12,000 ft.  Indian film producers protested but the government pleaded war restrictions and ignored the requests for a review. Indian films, in the meanwhile, had to lose out on songs and dances and add story narrative to remain in business.

As Indian cinema spreads its business worldwide and garners better revenue intake, the show of money by Indians has led the Chinese to consider negotiating with the Indian film business. Inspiration was how India had already entered into bilateral agreements on film productions with Switzerland, Norway, Italy, Spain, Australia, Singapore, Brazil, UK, Mexico, Russia and New Zealand. Under these agreements, Indian film companies would be extended assistance on a priority basis to undertake film shootings, get tax relief from local cess and also have separate agreements in funding projects and sharing of profits as the case may be. There was no similar agreement with China, despite the fact that China was generating good profits for showing Indian films.

Till now, the Chinese government had kept a strong grip to keep Indian films out of circulation on Mainland China. In the import policy for foreign films, China allowed annually 50 new releases from North America, and only two films per year from India. Earlier this year, these restrictions were reviewed when the Indian Prime Minister received the Chinese President Xi Jinping in India. The two leaders signed six new agreements, and one of them was related to a new policy of cooperation in film productions and assistance. A side-effect of this agreement was that China will relax restrictions  on the screening of Indian films in that country. 

That was fair practice. Or was it?More than a decade ago, China had entered a similar agreement with the US government, extending a hand of cooperation to the US film industry.  Thereafter, it could collect gate receipts and create enough revenue to begin buying the shares of the failing entertainment industry in the US. It purchased the shares of Warner Brothers, then Sony Entertainment, which controlled Paramount and moved in to acquire the MGM film library. Ten years later, China controls the giants of the US entertainment industry. In India, many of the new business corporate companies dealing in films have shares by the millions in the market. The Ambanis have also listed their shares in New York exchange as they have a tie-up with Steven Spielberg to collaborate in film making. The less rich have film companies listed on Mumbai and Chennai stock exchanges.  The Chinese have only to step in with front companies and buy off all the loss-making shares and take over the majority market. Thereafter Indian film directors will work for the Chinese.

The Chinese government is already at work. Last year, in the International Film Festival of India in Goa, the Chinese government wanted a special section for their films in the Festival, so a country focus on China  was provided. This section had  nine films from China, after selection from an initial package of 22 films on offer. The Chinese funds will ensure that the Indian government also works for them. After all, the new Prime Minister is keen that foreigners come to India to make branded goods which will say “Made in India” but their contents could be such as not to have any relation to local reality. The Chinese could therefore also influence the entertainment industry and the visual media.

If any Indian business is contemplating controlling Chinese funds in future, then it is a wrong assumption. India does not enjoy any strong money power in the world. Indigenous film makers in the country are making films for the Indian diaspora and not for a world audience. Indian film makers are at least 10 years behind world trends in film making. We are still living in the world of "chors and smugglers" when world audiences have shifted to science fiction and mechanical giant toys. We have yet to make a successful Godzilla.

We must continue to make good films as well as continue to make senseless films like Dhoom3 and Sultan. The financial market must be reconstructed so that company shares of film companies are not acquired by alien raiders in the market. In marketing films, it must be ensured the revenue collection is repatriated into India or deposited abroad into holding companies which have Indian directorships. Fellow countrymen should not be cheated to allow the failure of such companies. This may attract takeovers by alien businesses.

Indian film businesses should now have a foreign policy of their own in the best strategies to market films. Presently, each film producer is working independently and exposing his funds from all fronts. It would be good if Indian film makers compete for eyeballs in the African and South-Asian markets. It would be safer if  they only keep a  small presence in China. In the game of reciprocity, the Indians may have to open their own markets for Chinese influences. The whole of North-East in the country is endangered territory. Indian cinema should have policy to re-enter this area or in future films from China and South Korea will fill up this market. Even a successful film like Mary Kom failed to reopen the doors for Hindi cinema in the North-East, and that is telling a lot.

Wang Jianlin, China's richest man, has topped the Forbes' China Rich List for the third time in the past four years. The 62-year-old magnate is now worth $32.9 billion. He is the founder-CEO of Dalian Wanda, a Chinese multinational conglomerate and the world's biggest private property developer and owner. It is also the world's largest cinema chain operator, owning Wanda Cinemas. In his youth, Wang was part of the People's Liberation Army, where he served for 16 years. From a border guard, he eventually became a colonel. In the late 1980s, Wang shifted his interests into real estate. Now he is all set to conquer the entertainment world. The multi-billionaire intended to bring Hollywood to China through aggressive acquisitions and expressed interest in investing in all of the top six Hollywood studios, including Paramount Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox, Warner Brothers, Walt Disney, Universal Pictures and Columbia.

The writer is a veteran film historian.