Ronnie Screwvala

UTV has just signed up with two international production companies for three Hollywood movies. How important is this for Indian cinema?

There are two schools of thought on this. Lots of companies will tell you that there is still a huge scope in India as far as film production goes. And I am fine with that local thought. But for us at UTV, going international is part of our strategy. We always wanted to have an international brand and these projects are in line with that thought process. As they say, to each his own.

But it does put India on a global platform…

Yes, for Brand India, UTV’s signing up with Will Smith’s Overbrook Productions and Fox Searchlight for making mainstream Hollywood films is very important. It is the step in the right direction. Entertainment is one of the biggest brands for our country and co-productions such as these will promote Indian tourism and Indian intellect to the world outside.

You have a co-producer’s tag in the Chris Rock film and the live action and animation projects of Will Smith. But what will your exact role be?

We will be involved in all aspects of production. Right from script selection to casting calls to creative decisions to marketing and distribution, UTV will have a say in everything. Also, for the animation film, we have decided to get all the animation work done here in India, so that the market here can prosper too.

Chris Rock and Will Smith will feature in the two Hollywood co-productions of UTV

But your presence as co-producer does not necessarily mean the presence of Bollywood stars in these Hollywood films...

Not at all. It will entirely depend on the script we are working on. There is no compulsion to take Indian stars in our films. Among these three films that have been finalised, in the animation movie with Will Smith there is definitely a scope for an Indian actress for one of the voices.

Of all projects that are on in Hollywood, why did you decide on these particular films?

See, this is a very slow relationship-building process that we are into. Last year, we collaborated with Fox Searchlight (a 100 per cent subsidiary of 20th Century Fox) for Mira Nair’s The Namesake. The film is ready and it will release in March 2007 after travelling the international festivals. Fox and we have been exchanging scripts all the time and we have zeroed in on this Chris Rock film called I Think I Love My Wife.

We have to attach a sense of credibility to our company abroad. Who will allow an Indian company to just come on board? When Will Smith had come to Mumbai earlier this year, we got in touch and the relationship with Fox helped in sealing that deal which also involves Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Irrfan and Tabu in The Namesake

Do such foreign collaborations mean that you will eventually stop producing Indian films?

Not at all. Indian films form a very strong stable for UTV and that will keep rolling. As of now we are producing Anurag Basu’s Metro (Shilpa Shetty, Shiney Ahuja, Konkona Sen Sharma, Irrfan, Kay Kay Menon, Kangana Ranaut), Milan Luthria’s Hat Trick (Nana Patekar, Naseeruddin Shah, Paresh Rawal, Hema Malini and Kunal Kapoor), Vivek Agnihotri’s Goal (John Abraham) and Ashutosh Gowariker’s Jodha Akbar (Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai). Hindi films are a huge focus area for UTV which we will continue to develop.

After Swades and Rang De Basanti, is there an extra effort to produce Indian films with an international market in mind?

Definitely, the international market is always kept in mind. The entire Hindi slate for 2007, with directors like Ashutosh, Rakeysh (Mehra), Vishal (Bhardwaj) is aimed at a global audience. The market has become different. Today, the biggest challenge is to grow the audience. And you don’t need a hit film to do that. It is no longer about the theatrical release. Audiences now choose to watch movies at their own pace and at their own convenience. So an Indian film can make a breakthrough in the international market much after its release date.

Any other international projects in the offing?

At the moment, I think the UTV plate is more than full. But with us tying up with Disney for TV software, I am sure something will come up from that front.