THE WORLD’S two leading movie makers, Bollywood and Hollywood, have signed a deal to strengthen production, distribution and commercial ties in another indication of India’s global outreach.
The pact, signed on Wednesday at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles by the Californian city that is the headquarters of Hollywood and the Indian film industry, also aims at joint productions and encouraging filmmakers from the sub-continent to shoot films in the US.
The agreement, which followed a two-day summit of Bollywood film representatives, Hollywood studios and other cinematic companies, also plans to crack down on movie piracy.
Bollywood has a long history of remaking Hollywood films unashamedly with virtually identical plots and musical scores.
But with Bollywood films now being released overseas and Hollywood studios signing tie-ups with their Indian counterparts, there have been a raft of legal cases over plagiarism and breach of copyright.
In March, Hollywood and Bollywood film-makers collaborated to create the Alliance Against Copyright Theft, a content-protection coalition based in India.
“India has always held a fascination for Hollywood and this agreement pulls us closer together with the aim of sharing ideas and best practices on domestic and international film production,” producer Bobby Bedi, who led the Indian delegation to Los Angeles, said.
Hollywood and Bollywood are two economically robust industries and represent significant economic and cultural interests of their respective countries, Mr Bedi said. Indian film-makers were looking forward to “working with the city of Los Angeles”.
Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who was at the signing ceremony, said seven Bollywood movies were filmed in the city last year and he hoped that more would be made.
“Our vibrant film communities share many of the same goals and concerns,” Bob Pisano, head of the Motion Picture Association of America, said. “The numerous co- productions with Indian studios over the past several years are evidence of a growing bond between our two industries. Today’s action is an important step towards furthering that growth.”
The Indian film and television industry generated $7.7 billion (€5.6 billion) in revenue in 2008, an amount expected to double by 2015.
By comparison, Hollywood studio’s annual revenue generated was about $40 billion (€30 billion) but film audiences in India significantly dwarfed those in America.
Last year about three billion cinema tickets were sold in India compared with half that number sold in the US.