'This year, every penny earned will count'

Q&A: Karan Johar, Co-chairman of Ficci-Frames' entertainment committee and eminent film maker

Last year, leading industry chamber Ficci appointed eminent film maker Karan Johar as the co-chairman of its entertainment committee. The 38-year-old director tells Priyanka Joshi how he is changing the face of industry events like Ficci-Frames, the global convention on the business of entertainment. Edited excerpts:

With you at the helm of things, will we see something different at this year’s edition of the Ficci-Frames 2010 event?
For starters, you will see meaningful discussions by industry stalwarts this year. By this, I mean we have endeavoured to bring speakers who can detail topics that concern the industry and its growth and have a healthy discussion with media and business delegates alike. I have been personally involved in all the practical details of hosting the largest convention on the business of entertainment — Ficci-Frames 2010.

As an industry, we have always been very fragmented. But with 2009’s economic meltdown, there has been some consensus on how our films need a helping hand from bigger international studios and how critical it is to exploit our content in markets outside India. A case in point was my recent movie My Name Is Khan that got a shot in the arm with Fox Entertainment distributing the movie in 20 new markets outside India. This is the year where every penny earned will count.

What, according to you, does the Indian film industry need to have a successful run in 2010?
The industry has to reorganise itself. We cannot afford to pay escalating star prices, manage production costs and yet make a profit selling the film. No wonder there has been a rush to have films co-produced. We are already seeing a rise in films that are co-produced, distributed and marketed by international studios that have the muscle to take Indian films to global audiences.

My own home company, Dharma Productions, entered into several co-production deals with larger studios for recent movies. It’s primarily to ‘de-risk’ your bottom line. In simple words, co-productions are the need of the hour.

Is there any particular agenda that you hope to achieve during your tenure with Ficci?
Lately, there have been controversies over copyright issues pertaining to film scripts and screenplays. While I believe that a writer must be given his dues, without which a film cannot be made, they occasionally end up being sidelined.

I would like to initiate a writer’s platform as I continue my work with Ficci, which would give them a forum to voice their opinion. This may not happen immediately, but I am working towards it. That’s one reason why we think it will be right to include a workshop on film screenplay during Ficci-Frames 2010.

Your career revenues make you one of the most successful film producers in the industry. Any plans to step into producing TV content like Yash Raj Productions?
I do have plans to foray into TV programmes, but unlike the bold dive of Yash Raj Productions. I probably don’t have that kind of creative bandwidth to spawn off TV productions. Still, Dharma Productions has its eye on the emerging sector and will be looking for the right channel partnership to launch our programmes.