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| Vanita Kohli-Khandekar: Films, TV, ads and the art of storytelling | | Why do film companies make poor TV producers and vice versa? |
| Vanita Kohli-Khandekar / New Delhi Aug 03, 2010, 00:24 IST |
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Vikram Malhotra was the head of marketing for Kingfisher Airlines for about five years before he joined Balaji Motion Pictures as COO in September 2009. One of the first few films that he was involved in, Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai, released last week to rave reviews. The biopic is loosely based on the rivalry between underworld dons Haji Mastan and Dawood Ibrahim.
Malhotra’s newness (and, therefore, neutrality) to the area is what prompted me to ask him, why don’t TV companies succeed as film producers and vice versa?
Yashraj Films created a slew of exclusive shows for Sony, which got neither the channel nor the production house anywhere. For a hot production house with a library full of blockbusters that is a poor show. Balaji’s own foray into film production has been, to put it kindly, average. Some of its films such as Shootout at Lokhandwala and Love, Sex aur Dhoka did get critical acclaim. Again for a production house which changed the rules of the game on TV with one hit after another, it has been a less-than-spectacular show.
There are two exceptions. Rajshri Films managed to have a great debut on TV with Woh Rehne Wali Mahlon Ki, a hit on Sahara TV. UTV started life as a TV production company, before branching out into films, rather successfully.
However, generally the migration from one format to the other has not created the kind of content powerhouses you would have expected — with the exception of UTV.
So, why do film companies make poor TV producers and vice versa? Malhotra quotes Balaji’s creative chief in response, “Ektaa (Kapoor) says that you cannot wear the same hat to talk to both audiences.” He goes on to add his own take. He reckons that entertainment on celluloid has to have mass appeal and on TV it has to be aspirational.
When you use a film to tell a story, you do it in a dark room, with hundreds of other people, where the audience is cut off from the outside world. You can’t use your mobile phone, can’t talk, it is what Malhotra calls, “a warp zone”. So for a film, “the delight or disappointment will always be exaggerated. Nobody says ‘I hate that TV show’”, says he.
Alright, so there is a difference in the mindset with which an audience sees a film versus a TV show. It still doesn’t explain why both can’t do the other’s job as well. Is it the format? Do people from TV find it difficult to tell a story over two hours instead of stretching it over 52 weeks? On the other hand, do film-makers who tell a story over two hours find it difficult to tell it over half hour episodes?
That doesn’t make sense. If that was the case, why do ad guys, who make 30-second ad films, make good film-makers and storytellers. R Balki, chairman and chief creative officer, Lowe Lintas India, has proved his mettle with Cheeni Kum and Paa. Rensil D’Silva, a former copywriter, wrote Rang De Basanti and recently directed Kurbaan. Jaideep Sahni is usually used as a shining example of an ad guy doing well with film-writing. Prasoon Joshi, chairman and chief creative officer of McCann Erickson, doubles as an award-winning lyricist.
My guess is that both format and audience mindset combine to make storytellers shape up. If people are merely distracted and multitasking while watching TV, they are downright put off the moment an ad comes on. So, ad guys have to tell a story that no one is even willing to hear, forget paying for it. They have to tell it quickly, engage the audience and yet create a brand. Have a look at some of the better commercials on air currently; Happydent chewing gum, Perfetti, Asian Paints. Most have the look and feel of a feature film. The singers, musicians, lyricists could all be from the film world. The look, feel and narrative of the commercials are pure 35-mm cinema.
Maybe that is where TV and film companies wanting to grow into other media should look for inspiration.
Vanitakohli@hotmail.com
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