Bollywood Boss Makes Hollywood Movie Deal
21st May 2008
Reliance Big Entertainment, which is owned by Anil Ambani - the world's sixth richest man – has announced that it will be making 10 Hollywood movies at a cost of one billion dollars.
Reliance has signed deals with the production firms of Nicolas Cage, Jim Carrey, George Clooney, Tom Hanks and Brad Pitt in order to make these films. However, the media company was keen to state that these films would probably not be Bollywood ones. Rajesh Sawhney, the president of Reliance, said: “We want to make Hollywood movies that have a global audience. We are not inserting Bollywood into Hollywood just yet.”
Although Mr Sawhney is not against making Bollywood films, he believes that “good content” is more important than the genre. He said: “I think Indian movies get stereotyped as all singing and dancing in the same way as Hollywood gets stereotyped for sex and violence. We are looking for good content regardless of genre.”
The Reliance deal has come at a great time for Hollywood bosses, who have been struggling to find financers due to the bleak American economy. Mr Sawhney announced that the deal with Hollywood signified the beginning of a long-term working relationship. He said: “The aim is to look at 30 film scripts under this deal over the next two years, out of which 10 will go to screen. This is just the beginning of our relationship with Hollywood.”
The massive deal is also great news for Indian directors that are keen to work in Hollywood. In addition to funding these Hollywood films, Reliance has just announced that it will also produce ‘Broken Horses’, a multimillion dollar American gangster movie that will be directed by Indian filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra.
Film experts see the Reliance deal as a marriage between two very different cultures. Komal Nahta, editor of the Film Street Journal, said: “Reliance is making a major move in putting Hollywood and Bollywood together. The key will be whether you can make Indian movies that sell abroad and at the same time sell foreign stars in India.”
Source:
Guardian