UK is multi-million pound market for Indian films

     London, Oct 27: The United Kingdom has emerged as a major market for Indian films, thanks to the presence of over two million people of south Asian origin who ensure that at least one Bollywood film figures in the UK top ten chart regularly.

     Indian film producers have woven into story lines themes that touch upon the life and times of the Indian diaspora here. Thus, films such as "Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge" have proved hits not only in India but also in the UK. On any given day, Indian films are being shot on several locations across the country.

     Five Indian films figure in the ongoing 51st London Film Festival (Oct 17 to Nov 1). They are, "Four Women" directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan, "Frozen" directed by Shivajee Chandrabhushan, "The Last Lear" by Rituparno Ghosh, "Mahek" directed by K Kanade, and "The Voyeurs" directed by Budhadev Dasgupta.

During the last year, Indian films generated 16 million pounds (about USD33 million) at the UK box office. The strength of the UK market for Indian films has forced producers and directors to either shoot here or incorporate British Asian themes and idioms.

     This month, two Indian films - "Bhool Bhulaiya" and "Laga Chunari Mein Daag" - entered the UK Top Ten Chart. The situation has reached such a pass that it is considered normal for an Indian film to collect a million pounds from the box office.

     Pervaiz Alam, editor of India-EU Film Initiative, said, "Now Indian film distributors have also become conscious of the fact that that they have to join the mainstream of the film distribution network in the UK.

     "India`s giant entertainment company, Adlabs, became the 21st member of the Film Distributors Association (FDA) in October 2007 - only the second Indian company to do so after Eros."

     Three major film companies from India - Eros, Film India Company and UTV - are listed on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange.

     Mark Batey, chief executive of FDA, said, "The strength of our association is reflected by the fact that 97 percent of the 800 million pounds box office collections in the UK last year came from the FDA members. Two percent of this amount, 16 million pounds, was generated by the Indian films.

     "The year 2006 saw 500 film releases from 33 countries in the UK, including 200 films from the US. The UK was next with about 65 productions, followed by India and France with 53 and 30 films, respectively.

     "It is a regular feature now to see Indian films featuring in the weekly top ten chart of the UK. In a year, the top 20 films tend to be UK or US films with very wide, cross-market appeal whereas Bollywood is inevitably a niche market in the UK, albeit an important and growing one."

     There have been instances when more Indian than local films were released in the UK. A record 74 Indian films were released here in 2005, compared to 61 UK productions.

     Upbeat about India`s presence in the UK film sphere, Batey said, "The Indian film market is huge and offers amazing opportunities to all. This is the reason more and more international companies are looking for partners in India to take advantage of the developing situation."

     Earlier this year, the India International Film Awards (IIFA) were staged in Yorkshire. Several regional developments agencies in the UK have been sending teams to Mumbai to court Indian film producers and offer incentives to shoot films in their region. Tourism figures suggest that tourist traffic from India is higher to places in UK that figure in films. Tourist officials have also brought out a `Bollywood map` of Britain.

     However, as in India, UK film authorities have also had to grapple with piracy. According to the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT), piracy is a business that generates over 270 million pounds a year for criminals.

     In 2006, FACT seized over 1.5 million pirated DVDs and its in-house forensic services team assisted the police, trading standards, and revenue and customs in examining close to one million DVDs.

     Batey said, "From the seized products we understand that Indian films are equally affected by piracy. FDA is constantly working with distributors to evolve ways and means to stop piracy."

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