Bollywood eyes a box office beyond the Great Wall

Indian producers customising films, tying up with local distributors to tap the $4.9-bn Chinese market

The Chinese box office, projected to be worth $4.9 billion this calendar year, is attracting a bevy of Indian producers, especially the Bollywood ones. While this year's Diwali release Happy New Year is set to get a grand release on at least 2,500 screens in that country in the January-March quarter of next year, Eros International is scouting for a Chinese partner to set up a production & distribution joint venture to crack the restricted market there.

According to the Chinese Film Producers' Association, box-office collections have been growing at a 37 per cent annual rate in that market. By contrast, the Indian film industry is projected to be worth $2.2 billion in 2014, according to the Ficci-KMPG Report on media & entertainment in 2013-14.

The Chinese government, which regulates the film industry there, has predicted that the country's box-office collections will exceed those of the US (estimated at $10 billion in 2014) in three years. And the target appears set to be achieved, with annual screen and revenue growth rates stable at around 30 per cent.

Eros International Group CEO Jyoti Deshpande says: "The scale of the Chinese box office is huge. Imagine the possibilities if one could tap both Indian and Chinese markets together. The opportunity that China provides is lucrative. If the Eros (equivalent) of China and we were to join hands, it would open a lot of global avenues." Deshpande believes the Indo-Chinese content will have appeal in the two countries, as well as globally.

So far, Indian films have made sporadic entries into China. In the 1950s, Indian content went past the Great Wall with films like Awaara. But in the years to follow, there was long dry spell that broke only in the early 2000s, when Aamir Khan's Lagaan was released in China. After that, a few other Bollywood films like 3 Idiots, My Name is Khan, Chennai Express, Krrish 3 and Dhoom 3 hit Chinese screens.

One reason for few Indian films getting released in China is that country's strict regulation. The China State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, the body that governs the entertainment industry, has capped the number of foreign releases there at 34 a year, to encourage local films. Almost 90 per cent of the 24 foreign films released in China are usually the Hollywood ones; Indian movies have traditionally found it difficult to tap the market there.

In the first nine months of this calendar year, local Chinese films have dominated the market with a share of 51.4 per cent by collections, show media reports.

However, India film makers now seem to have found a way to get there. For instance, when Yash Raj Films (YRF) took Aamir Khan-starrer Dhoom 3 to China earlier this year, it tied up with HGC Entertainment, a Chinese company that specialises in bringing and distributing foreign film content. It brings two to three foreign films to China every year.

According to Indian film makers, getting into joint ventures with Chinese companies and jointly producing Indo-Chinese films will enable them to get past the foreign content restrictions.

YRF, the distribution partner for Happy New Year, is planning to partner with another Chinese company for the launch of the Shah Rukh Khan-, Deepika Padukone-starrer. Avtar Panesar, the company's head of international distribution, says:

"These non-traditional markets allow a film only when you convince your local partner that it could be mutually worthwhile." So, Bollywood films undergo customisation to better suit the Chinese market. For example, Happy New year will be dubbed in Mandarin and its run time will be reduced.

The movie, which is currently a little under three hours long, will be edited and shortened.