Uday Singh, Managing Director, Columbia TriStar India (CTI)

“The key to success in the filmmaking business is to get as close as possible to the viewer or consumer. Hitherto, the film marketing and distribution business in India has been fragmented, disjointed and quite haphazard. We entered with a belief that no consumer, no market, no opportunity is beyond reach.”

Uday Singh, Managing Director, Columbia TriStar India (CTI), heads the Indian operations of a company that believes in ‘lighting up screens across the world’. He completed his initial education in Hyderabad and joined Philips as a management trainee in 1984. He earned accolades as a ‘turnaround specialist’ after giving the ‘billionaire tag’ to the Indian operations of Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) comprising Columbia TriStar Films of India Limited (distributors for products from Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group in India) and SPE Films India Limited (distributors for products from Buena Vista International and from Local Indian Producers). This typical Virgo enjoys sightseeing, Kerala and Europe being his favourites. He reads a lot – anything from fiction to non-fiction to scripts. He has an innate desire to direct a film and hopes to realise his dream. Ashwin Kotian caught up with Singh for a tête-à-tête on the film business in India. Excerpts:

Q. And what about the pan-India infrastructure that you have built?

small pipipaydayloans.com

Widespread geographical presence enables the marketing and distribution teams to be closer to consumers across regions and cities that helps the regional offices to incorporate local thought processes, flavours and insights in their marketing strategies and thereby connect better with the local audiences.

Q. What is the average advertising spends on Hollywood films?

small pipipaydayloans.com

Producers normally spend Rs 10 to 20 lakh on advertising films, medium spenders would be around Rs 20 to 40 lakh, and high spenders around Rs 40 lakh to Rs 1 crore. Typically, big ticket films such as ‘Spiderman’ would encompass spends of around Rs 1.5 crore and with astute promotional tie-ups and brand endorsements, the value of ad spends would be around Rs 4 to 5 crore.

Q. What is the kind of relationship you maintain with distributors and exhibitors?

small pipipaydayloans.com

Since CTI uses 40 out of 52 weeks, it controls a large content pipeline in India. Strong relationships with exhibitors help in booking best theatres for its films and thus aiding in revenue maximisation.

Q. How important are the Indian operations from your parent organisation’s point of view?

small pipipaydayloans.com

There is a great paradigm shift in the way in which the parent organisation views the Indian operations of Columbia TriStar and its affiliates. From being 40-50 in the top performing branches, the Indian wing has established itself firmly in the Top 15 position. The parent organisation’s involvement and understanding has increased phenomenally. We have established sophisticated data tracking mechanisms and the Hollywood studios are tracking India on a daily basis for the first time in decades. Also, the Indian team has been acknowledged as one of the best Columbia TriStar teams in the world.

Q. Tell us about the system you have developed for running Indian operations.

small pipipaydayloans.com

The company offers fast and transparent account settlement, ‘24×7’ box office reporting system, and print tracking system through its operations and logistics departments.

Q. What efforts has CTI made to encourage Indian filmmakers?

small pipipaydayloans.com

We have always believed in being a catalyst in promoting Indian cinema and helping it find its place in the global scenario. In several cases, we have provided our expertise without getting anything in return. We are not into the bidding game. We believe in hedging the results equally and sharing risks. In the past, there have been cases where we have given better realisations for established filmmakers from one territory than what they used to get earlier through their previous contacts. We have systems to evaluate the worthiness and potential of a project. There are times when we speculate and back a project that others might not find feasible. The script and story has to work at various levels before eventually touching global audiences. In a business which has traditionally been characterised by agreements and payments on the basis of MGs (‘minimum guarantees’) to producers in lieu of distribution rights, CTI has introduced the concept of ‘pure distribution’ without offering production financing in India.

Q. Tell us about the FMCG model adopted by CTI for the film business?

small pipipaydayloans.com

CTI revolutionised the way films are distributed in India by pioneering a grass-root distribution model as a result of which we are able to offer a one-stop-solution for a pan-India distribution requirement. This has ensured that each of its products plays out to its potential and in doing so maximises revenues.

Q. What do you feel about the India International Film Festival to be held in Goa in November 2004?

small pipipaydayloans.com

Goa is a great tourist location and comparable to the best in the world. However, it is debatable whether it has the requisite film culture that one associates with other global venues of film festivals. It is under-screened, doesn’t have many multiplexes and infrastructure is seemingly poor. Global filmmakers shouldn’t be left wondering about the pathetic or decrepit conditions in which their films were screened. There is a need to build a strong platform including state-of-the-art convention centres. I always believe that if you build it, they will come.

Q. What are the marketing challenges in the film business?

small pipipaydayloans.com

In the film business, we have to become adept at building seven-eight great brands singularly in less than a year, so as to increase footfalls to the theatres and ticket sales. When the brand becomes successful, the challenge is to create extensions and maintain consistency. Recently, entertainment brand custodians have ploughed in a lot of effort to ensure measurability and research capabilities. Also, in order to tap the brand placement market, we have to deal with a wide cross-section of categories – from colas to pharma to mobiles to financial products and services. Then, there are the entire spin-around contests and promotions during the multiplex era. Also, educating these mainstream advertisers and film industry constituents about the opportunities.

Q. What has been the mantra behind the success of Columbia TriStar in India?

small pipipaydayloans.com

The key to success in the filmmaking business is to get as close as possible to the viewer or consumer. Hitherto, the film marketing and distribution business in India has been fragmented, disjointed and quite haphazard. We entered with a belief that ‘no consumer, no market, no opportunity is beyond reach’. We developed scientific methods and ensured grassroot level distribution. The emphasis was on measurability and accountability. Today, we have 15 branch offices and four regional profit centres. No wonder, we have been the numero uno Hollywood studio in India for four consecutive years with around 50 per cent market share. ‘Spiderman 1’ grossed around Rs 29 crore and is placed second on the all-time top grossing Hollywood films in India (‘Titanic’ grossed Rs 50 crore). In fact, we have other films such ‘Godzilla’, ‘Terminator’ and ‘Anaconda’ in the Top 10 list for top all time grossing Hollywood films in India as well as Top weekend openings for Hollywood films in India. Today, the film business has moved from weeks to weekends to the opening day. We claim credit for creating success stories in three different genres – crossover, animation and romantic comedies (‘My Best Friend’s Wedding’). We have expertise in distributing more than 255 films over the eight-year period. We release around 30 Hollywood films per year in 20 different genres and multiple languages (Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and English). We believe that in India there exists a ‘Bharat’ – true of metropolitan cities too where there is a lot of diversity within the same city. There is a well-oiled research-backed model and machinery in place for catering to the individual requirements of all these diverse languages in terms of marketing, distributing, dubbing and communication.

Q. What are your marketing strengths?

small pipipaydayloans.com

CTI helps the producer develop strategy and positioning by defining the potential target audience for a film internally and externally through research and focussed group screenings, and positions the film accordingly to the trade, products/brands (for promotion campaigns), exhibitors and viewers in its marketing campaign. The objective of the positioning strategy varies from increasing awareness of the film to building ‘urgency’ and ‘curiosity’ for watching the film to creating word-of-mouth publicity through good reviews. We also coordinate the trailers across the country, undertake visual merchandising, leverage public relations to create early 'buzz' and awareness amongst the trade and the target audience. The 'want to see factor' / 'interest' factor is created through a well-crafted advertising plan which incorporates all the media available to the producer to promote the film. A plan which incorporates the media vehicles to be used along with the corresponding budget breakdowns is submitted to the producer for his approval.

Q. How is Budget 2004-05 proving to be for the film business?

small pipipaydayloans.com

Budget 2004-05 has ignored the key issues faced by film distributors including requisite infrastructure and rationalisation of entertainment tax or other benefits. The Government doesn’t have any co-production treaties with other countries. Also, the Government doesn’t have a strong online presence or a single window to enable foreign filmmakers to get an understanding of how to shoot in India. For instance, the New Zealand Government’s website gives everything at a glance in terms of where to get permissions, how to do so and other formalities. There is rampant piracy and the Government’s legal machinery is incapable of tackling this menace. There is no understanding of subsidies available to filmmakers. Organised funding has still not taken off despite the hype that has been created since the last two-three years. The Government should offer incentives to financial instruments conceived by foreign or Indian fund managers/venture capitalists who are willing to offer funds to filmmakers.

Q. Are Indian advertisers and marketers realising the importance of associating with entertainment brands?

small pipipaydayloans.com

Youth marketers cannot stay from associating with entertainment brands. The days when they could get away by entering into some relationships with local distributors or exhibitors are gone. Films like ‘Spiderman’ start with 300-odd screens and roll on to 3,000 screens eventually over their lifetime. There is a need to leverage the benefits of association and extending it over a period of time by ensuring visibility. However, simultaneously, corporate entities have to make sure that they have the systems -- distribution networks, sales and production capabilities -- in place to reap the benefits of the customer ‘push’ given by association with such films.

Q. What are your operating strengths in India?

small pipipaydayloans.com

Filmmakers can benefit from the well-established global parent company network, and our experience of distributing different genres of films and of varying scales from niche to blockbusters.