G Krishnan, CEO, Aaj Tak

FICCI Frames has become an annual calendar event for media professionals. It is very important for an event like this to ensure it is able to increase its scale every year and attract participation from the best professionals in the industry.

View Point:

Industry veterans and former FICCI Frames attendees spill the beans on Media and Entertainment’s most anticipated event.

FICCI Frames has become an annual calendar event for media professionals. It is very important for an event like this to ensure it is able to increase its scale every year and attract participation from the best professionals in the industry. I am a speaker this time and I look forward to discuss and debate various pertinent issues.

Raj Nayak, CEO, NDTV Media
I have been a speaker as well as a panellist at FICCI Frames. I think it is a great place to network. Infact, we’ve even had the experience of winning a great business deal there in the past. Any place where people from across the media and globe are brought together provides a great opportunity. You may not have an agenda before you go there, but something positive always comes through. In terms of the lectures, there have always been some which are good and some boring, depending on the speakers. But most people don’t come there for the gyaan, but for the benefit of networking. I have seen it happening for more than five years, and feel there is too much focus on film and little on television. It still has too much of Bollywood in it. I hope they strike a better balance in the future.

Neeraj Roy, MD and CEO, Hungama
With each passing year, the significance and orientation towards digital entertainment has been increasing. This year, the industry at large should benefit from the opportunity to mingle and share experiences with experts. From our perspective, there are two to three crucial policies that ought to be discussed this year. The key ones include the 3G licensing policy for mobile phones and the issue about obtaining speedier implementation of broadband, which can facilitate the growth of IPTV.

Rajesh Sawhney, President, Reliance Entertainment
‘Frames’ is one of the most important events for the business of entertainment in the country, but it has not yet received international status. If the industry works collectively, we can make it big internationally too. I think the important issues that need to be discussed at the forum this year include: A] the emergence of digital entertainment mediums like DTH and IPTV; B] the animation and gaming industry – an area where India can enjoy recognition globally and most importantly, C] the development of skilled people in the industry – this has been a great constraint in the entertainment industry, because many media houses have been facing a shortage of good people.

Piyush Pandey, Chairman and NCD, O&M
There are various forums where we get to learn about advertising, but this is a forum where we can learn about other people’s experiences as well. And in a world which is converging, it is important to hear everyone’s point of view.

I think people will share what is happening in the digital space because it is an on-going process. We will also get to know more about the world of entertainment, which is also going through a process where lots of different films are being attempted. That is the reason why entertainment is becoming more refreshing, and I think that is something to look forward to.

Monica Tata, VP, Ad Sales & Networks, India and South Asia, Turner International India
I am looking forward to another year of exciting topics, great speakers and enjoyable debates at the forthcoming FICCI Frames 2007. FICCI Frames is one of the definitive platforms that focuses on the Indian Entertainment Industry and provides a superb forum for networking and get up - to speed with developments across the entertainment and broadcast sectors, the new trends and highlights, and what can be expected in the year ahead.

Amit Jain, MD, MTV Networks India & EVP, MTV Networks Asia
FICCI-Frames is one of the most relevant forums for India’s booming entertainment industry and provides a meaningful platform for interaction between all the industry stake-holders, including the Government. In exciting times like these when the industry paradigms are changing faster than ever before, I am looking forward to interesting perspectives on the “CAS-cading” impact of these changes, on key constituents of this industry. I am sure that FICCI Frames this year will turn out to be a melting pot of ideas, innovations and issues.

Paritosh Joshi, Head, Sales & Revenue, STAR India
FICCI Frames has been a very important event for the industry for a long time now. This year is special, more so because FICCI has made significant changes in the event’s programme for a more robust TV Track. We have worked very closely with Amrita Sarkar in the last few months, and FICCI bought our argument that today, TV is a bigger business than films and that it deserves that place at a forum like Frames. We are looking forward to some crucial issues being addressed at the event.

In its eighth year, Frames, has once again put together some of the best E&M minds to discuss the way forward for the industry. In the last few years, Frames has been one platform where industry heavyweights and government officials have chosen to speak on some crucial industry trends and developments.

It’s that time of the year again. Top professionals in the entertainment and media (E&M) industry are often careful on the appointments they have to make in the months of March or April. The reason: the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has chosen this period to organise Frames, the global convention in Asia on the business of entertainment. For seven years now, the event has brought burning issues of the E&M industry under the scanner that domain leaders and professionals -- national or international -- don’t want to miss.

In its eighth year, Frames kicks off on March 26, 2007, in Mumbai. The three-day event has once again put together some of the best E&M minds to discuss the way forward for the industry. In the last few years, Frames has been one platform where industry heavyweights and government officials have chosen to speak on some crucial industry trends and developments -- whether it was I&B officials first speaking about the revenue-sharing policy for radio in 2005 or visionaries like Subhash Chandra speaking on the take-off of DTH and CAS and their aftermath in India -- all of which are realities that the industry is dealing with today.

Continuing with its objective to bring government officials on the same platform as broadcasters, the convention would be inaugurated by Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi, Minister for Information & Broadcasting (I&B). I&B Secretary S K Arora will also address audiences at the event. He would give a special keynote address on ‘Regulatory Framework for entertainment industry’.

Some of the issues expected to be raised at the event range from the government’s decision to make mandatory the sharing of live feed by private broadcasters with pubcaster Doordarshan of events like cricket to taxation in the sector, to even the take-off of new distribution platforms like CAS and DTH.

The Italian ‘Job’

A key aspect of FICCI Frames 2007 would be the presence of Italy as a partner. HE Paolo Gentiloni Silveri, Italian Minister of Communications, is the Guest of Honour at the event and would in fact join in the inauguration of the convention.

The 80-member, high-powered film and media delegation from Italy would be led by Silveri. This also includes representatives of several Italian associations like ANICA (The Italian Film Producers Association); Filmitalia (Italian Movies Promotion Body) and Regione Lazio (The region of Rome which is located in the film industry cluster of Cinecitta) besides Confindustria. A special highlight will be the presence of Italian actor Giancarlo Giannini and Italian actress Anna Galiena.

Explaining why Italy is the ‘featured country’ this year, FICCI’s Amit Khanna (Chairman, Reliance Entertainment Pvt Ltd) said, “There is much that is already happening between Italy and India right now. In terms of availability of physical requirements like the locale, to favourable policies that allow the two countries to co-create, to even something like talent, Italy and India have a lot to offer to each other. Despite this, you don’t really see much on Italy and we think that this is a good time to change that.”

“With the kind of delegation that would be here, people can interact and you can already get the right contacts to look at Italy as a potential partner for JVs, co-productions and other such options,” added Khanna.

Frames as usual

The FICCI-PricewaterhouseCoopers Annual Report on Indian Entertainment & Media Industry is now a tradition with the two organisations releasing the report at Frames every year. Tradition continues this year as well and if the highlights of the report ‘Growth Story Unfolds’ is anything to go by, the M&E professionals have some more good numbers to look forward to.

The FICCI-Amarchand Mangaldas Entertainment Law Book will also be released at the inaugural session on March 26. A draft framework of Optical Disk Law formulated by a high-power committee under the aegis of FICCI will also be presented to the I&B Minister.

Sony Entertainment Television India is back as the Convention Partner of Frames this year too. The co-sponsor of the event is IBM and Moser Baer Entertainment will be the FICCI Living Legend Award Nite Sponsor. Other sponsors comprise Geo as co-sponsor for the TV Track; the BAF Awards sponsor is Autodesk; lunch hosts include Star Network, Zee Network and Radio Mirchi; plenary session sponsor is Radio City and co-sponsors are Media Flo and Rhythm & Hues studio; the delegate bag sponsor is Adlabs, Networking Cafeteria would be organised by INOX, Gala Nite is co-sponsor Reed Midem and Media lounge sponsor is Yahoo!.

In addition to this, the film track co-sponsor is Cinemax; session sponsor is XBOX 360; session co-sponsor is Nokia N-Series; session co-sponsors include IMAX, DLP Cinema, Graffiti, Sathyam Cinemas; and the supporting sponsors are E-CITY Ventures, Canada. The knowledge partners are PriceWaterHouseCoopers and Amarchand Mangaldas.

The Indian media and entertainment industry, in particular the film entertainment sector, is evolving. There is no denying that. But growth today faces a two-way problem – roadblocks in growth and the problems that growth brings along. Producer-Director Shekhar Kapur, given his experience in India and evolved markets like the US, cautioned on these problems while Producer-Director Farhan Akhtar presented the Indian standpoint.

The big change today, according to Kapur, is that Asia is no longer a hub for ideas but a huge market. He cited that for many international releases today, where 80 per cent of revenues was coming from US box office, today it is only a third. “Two-thirds are coming from outside US markets. And in future, this would reduce to just 10 percent,” said Kapur. “European economy today is middle-aged and it is India and China that bring in the young audience. This balance of 90 per cent will come from the young markets and people understand that,” he added.

Kapur pointed out that India is important for quite a few big names of the global M&E sector. However, conglomerates coming to India come with their drawback. “I don’t think ‘conglomerate-isation’ is a really good thing to happen. They have rules and regulations that really just lead to standardisation. They are like these huge dragons that have to be fed and when you make anything for them, it really is a product, not art.”

Akhtar brought in the downside of working in a co-production arrangement. He elaborated, “When we were working with UTV for ‘Lakshya’, it really was more of tying down experience. For movies, you really have to be flexible sometimes and not everything can go as per an agreement. UTV didn’t have that flexibility and somewhere that affects the movie. After that, we really decided not to get into any co-production deals.”

Speaking on producers, Akhtar pointed out that the likes of Kapur have been luckier than most where they have had access to international players for financing, which is not what many Indian writers can afford. “There is a dearth of producers here. Somewhere you are working on creating something that would be successful and in the process, even as great original content is waiting to happen in India, it is not happening.” The gentlemen also discussed whether or not there was a need to look out of the country for any Indian filmmaker. Admitting that one reason why India did not leverage its global presence, as seen in the Raj Kapoor era, was because the domestic market was large enough and needed too much attention. Both producers opined that there really was no need to actively seek international markets. Akhtar said, “It really has to work in India first before it will work in any other market anyways. And you cannot make anything Indian for a non-Indian audience – so there is a drawback in that but really, there is no need to look out.”

“You have to also understand that the Asian culture is far too individualistic in comparison to western culture, which is more about organisations -- there is a misfit there. Conglomerates can expand business but then you have to ensure that they do at least that, otherwise what do they bring to the table? It is not very comforting to see 25 per cent of your pay check go to people you don’t even know and that happens in western markets,” said Kapur.

Technology and its emotional front – entertainment:

One aspect that Kapur emphasised on, and Akhtar has been seen doing with his movies like ‘Don’, was the comprehension of technology’s role and what it can do for a movie. Kapur stated, “Technology and entertainment are really the same thing today – entertainment is the emotional front for technology. Taking the discussion to another level, he said, “Today it is obsolete to not include the changes in the digital space – something like YouTube can really wake you up. What did Lilly Allen do – she put her song on MySpace, it became the number one there and then Sony BMG came to her, she didn’t go to them!”

The move very clearly hinted aspects of co-creation, consumer creation and multiple revenue streams. “There is not just a shift in consumption but in the pattern of media consumption. From being back office boys or doing ‘second hand’ work, Mumbai and Singapore are really the next hubs. We have the market here, a large talent base here and a lot going for us – it has to happen that way,” said Kapur.

Another point that Kapur made was that “Hollywood is on the decline”. He said, “The industry is going down -- partly because other markets like Asia are really picking up and partly because with all this conglomerat-isation, there is no flexibility. It is only a matter of time before a small movie, made well, takes over. New media is democratic and there are revenues there.”

Citing another example, he said, “If Steven Spielberg had to make Jurassic Park 6 today, and he said that tonight for 15 minutes you can download something from the movie for 10 USD, I bet you anything that he would have earned 3 billion USD in 15 minutes and despite that he still would have the theatrical release and other revenues waiting to happen!”

“The spread of technology is so far and wide today that a maker is going to soon beg: ‘please protect my copyright for a day’. “After that, he knows, everyone would’ve have access to it,” added Kapur.

The whole idea is to use this technological growth for the movie. And Akhtar did that for ‘Don’ with the release of the music on iTunes and releasing a Don game as well. Both experts deliberated on the point further. Said Kapur, “What really works is the ‘modular’ in which you can enjoy the movie or the music. Look at what Manmohan Shetty did. There were many little things in his movies that were entertainment pieces in themselves. So you create modular content and then if you want you can weave it together. Then we called his movie ‘Variety Show’ and now we realise that it was much ahead of its time.”

Akhtar expressed the opinion that a filmmaker can adapt to technology. “It is not long before movies and content is made in a big way for mobile or the Internet -- these just are things in the offing,” he said.

“The move is already to nano-technology,” stated Kapur, “digital technology is soon a thing of the past.”

Surely moviemakers have a lot going for themselves and there is so much more in the folds that they can still toy with. As for movie making itself, as Kapur puts it: ‘Film banaate nahin hai, ban jaati hai…’

Piracy is a growing global epidemic and the proportion of the menace has reached such a critical point that the very existence of the global entertainment industry is at stake. This is the one point which all the speakers of a session on ‘Defending Intellectual Property: How Far Have We Succeeded?’ have subscribed to.

Expressing concern over this menace, which has left the very livelihood of the creative people at stake, a panel of speakers discussed various ways and means to safeguard intellectual property and stressed on synergy between various stakeholders in fighting piracy across the world.

Moderated by Indian Music Industry Association president Vijay John Lazarus, the session started in right earnest with a short video presentation by the moderator himself which. This threw light on the several measures the music industry has been taking to curb piracy and its zero tolerance approach towards this growing menace.

This session had an eminent panel of speakers who included Time Warner Hong Kong’s senior vice-president for international relations and public policy, Hugh L Stephens, DLA Piper China managing partner Jingzhou Tao, Motion Picture of America executive vice-president and director for worldwide anti-piracy operations John G Malcolm, WIPO Switzerland director of the copyright law division Jorgen Savy Blomqvist, T Sengupta Associates chief executive Tamali Sengupta, Stonebridge International senior advisor Raymond E Vickery, Government of India registrar of copyrights Rohit Kansal, and Isan International Agency Geneva chief executive Patrick Atallah.

Giving an international perspective on the piracy issue, Motion Picture of America’s Malcolm said that in 2005, the piracy had cost $18.2 billion to the worldwide motion pictures industry and added that this was not a problem confronting the US alone. He continued say that piracy was committed in a variety of ways including, "the Internet piracy, copying, distribution of discs, broadcasts and even public performance’’. This is a highly profitable business with very little investment, he added. “In terms of film piracy, as much as 90 percent of them are camcordered and distributed all over the world in a matter of days, Malcolm said, adding: “The problem is a massive one.”

On online piracy, Malcolm said there were millions of people online at any given time around the world downloading filmed entertainment and added that in terms of fighting piracy we need to be organised and creative.”

Speaking on the topic Bollywood-Hollywood, Stonebridge International’s Vickery said it was not just about revenue loss, but stated that the very existence of this industry was at stake because of this scourge. “We have to identify and measure the harm of piracy and educate the public about this,” Vickery said, adding enforcement was absolutely the key. Vickery concluded his speech by saying, “Together we can fight the scourge of piracy and thereby, increase the job and promote the welfare of all concerned within the entertainment industry.”

Giving an overview of optical disc piracy, Time Warner Hong Kong’s Stephens spoke about traditional piracy and digital piracy. While in traditional piracy analog copies of popular movies, music and books are pirated, computer programmes were always stolen in the digital format. Digital piracy, Stephens said, could be interpreted in three phases. In phase I (the early 1990s to now), optical media thieves gradually replace the analog thieves, engaging massive commercial piracy. In the second phase, the rise of online piracy has seen distribution of copyrighted materials over digital networks through hacking, CD-R burning, and in the third phase will see the rise of mobile devices, including ring tones getting pirated.

The registrar of copyrights Rohit Kansal said piracy issues remain on the top of the I&B ministry agenda. “The copyright law is so stringent in India that the offence is non-bailable and it is a cognizable offence,” Kansal said, and added: “we need to have a multi-disciplinary, multi-prong approach to fight this menace.”

Tamali Sengupta of T Sengupta Associates said different forms of piracy was possible or easier with the digital technology and added that as many as 85 percent of the cable homes viewed at least two pirated movies in a day. Attributing the insufficient outlets for legal rentals and purchase as reasons for the rise in piracy, she explained that considering the level of technology penetration in the country, the government had done reasonably well to contain piracy menace. As the economy continues to sizzle, and technology adoption goes up India is going to face a different set of challenges, she predicted.

The next speaker was Jingzhou Tao of DLA Piper China who dwelt on the piracy issue in China, which is said to be the world capital of piracy. Attributing the growing piracy issue in China to the huge production capacity, Tao blamed the Chinese government for failing to implement the Intellectual Property Rights Act effectively.

Jorgen Blomqvist of WIPO Switzerland and Patrick Atallah of Isan International Agency spoke about how their organisations and have been helping in fighting piracy effectively.

Piracy is a growing global epidemic and the proportion of the menace has reached such a critical point that the very existence of the global entertainment industry is at stake. This is the one point which all the speakers of a session on ‘Defending Intellectual Property: How Far Have We Succeeded?’ have subscribed. One speaker after another opined that piracy was a major issue confronting the global entertainment industry and had to be tackled on a war-footing by every segment of the industry.

Expressing concern over this menace, which has left the very livelihood of the creative people at stake, a panel of speakers discussed the various ways and means to safeguard intellectual property and stressed on the synergy between various stakeholders in fighting piracy across the world.

Moderated by Indian Music Industry Association president Vijay John Lazarus, the session started in the right earnest with a short video presentation by the moderator himself which threw light on the several measures the music industry has been taking to curb piracy and its zero tolerance approach towards this growing menace.

This session had an eminent panel of speakers who included Time Warner Hong Kong senior vice-president for international relations & public policy Hugh L Stephens, DLA Piper China managing partner Jingzhou Tao, Motion Picture of America executive vice-president and director for worldwide anti-piracy operations John G Malcolm, WIPO Switzerland director of the copyright law division Jorgen Savy Blomqvist, T Sengupta Associates chief executive Tamali Sengupta, Stonebridge International senior advisor Raymond E Vickery, Government of India registrar of copyrights Rohit Kansal, and Isan International Agency Geneva chief executive Patrick Atallah.

Giving an international perspective on the piracy issue, Motion Picture of America’s Malcolm said in 2005, the piracy had cost $18.2 billion to the worldwide motion pictures industry and added that this was not a problem confronting the US alone. He continued say that piracy was committed in a variety of ways including,"the Internet piracy, copying, distribution of discs, broadcasts and even public performance’’. This is a highly profitable business with very little investment, he added. “In terms of film piracy, as much as 90 percent of them are camcordered and distributed all over the world in a matter of days, Malcolm said, adding, “The problem is a massive one.”

On online piracy, Malcolm said there were millions of people online at any given time around the world downloading filmed entertainment and added that in terms of fighting piracy we need to be organised and creative.”

Speaking on the topic Bollywood-Hollywood, Stonebridge International’s Vickery said it was not just about revenue loss; but the very existence of this industry was at stake because of this scourge. “We have to identify and measure the harm of piracy and educate the public about this,” Vickery said, adding enforcement was absolutely the key. Vickery concluded his speech by saying, “Together we can fight the scourge of piracy and thereby, increase the job and promote the welfare of all concerned within the entertainment industry.” Giving an overview of optical disc piracy, Time Warner Hong Kong’s Stephens spoke about traditional piracy and digital piracy. While in traditional piracy analog copies of popular movies, music and books are pirated, computer programmes were always stolen in the digital format. Digital piracy, Stephens said, could be interpreted in three phases. In phase I (the early 1990s to now), optical media thieves gradually replace the analog thieves, engaging massive commercial piracy. In the second phase, the rise of online piracy has seen distribution of copyrighted materials over digital networks through hacking, CD-R burning, and in the third phase will see the rise of mobile devices, including ringtones getting pirated.

The registrar of copyrights Rohit Kansal said piracy issues remain on the top of the I&B ministry agenda. “The copyright law is so stringent in India that the offence is non-bailable and it is a cognizable offence,” Kansal said and added “we need to have a multi-disciplinary, multi-prong approach to fight this menace.”

Tamali Sengupta of T Sengupta Associates said different forms of piracy was possible or easier with the digital technology and added that as many as 85 percent of the cable homes viewed at least two pirated movies in a day. Attributing the insufficient outlets for legal rentals and purchase as reasons for the rise in piracy, she said considering the level of technology penetration in the country, the government had done reasonably well to contain piracy menace. As the economy continues to sizzle, and technology adoption goes up India is going to face a different set of challenges, she predicted.

The next speaker was Jingzhou Tao of DLA Piper China who dwelt on the piracy issue in China, which is said to be the world capital of piracy. Attributing the growing piracy issue in China to the huge production capacity, Tao blamed the Chinese government for failing to implement the Intellectual Property Rights Act effectively.

Jorgen Blomqvist of WIPO Switzerland and Patrick Atallah of Isan International Agency spoke about how their organisations and have been helping in fighting piracy effectively.

The Indian media and entertainment industry, in particular the film entertainment sector, is evolving and there is no denying the development. But growth today faces a two-way problem -- restrains in growth and the problems that growth brings along. Noted producer-director Shekhar Kapur, given his experience in India and evolved markets like the US, cautioned on these problems while Producer-Director Farhan Akhtar presented the India standpoint on the issue.

The big change today, according to Kapur, is that Asia is no longer a hub for ideas but a huge market. He cited that for many international releases today, where 80 percent of revenues were coming in from US box office, today it is only a third. “Two-thirds are coming from outside US markets and in future, this would reduce to just 10 percent,” said Kapur. “European economy today is middle-aged and it is India and China that bring in the young audience. This balance of 90 per cent will come from the young markets and people understand that,” he said.

Kapur pointed out that India is important for quite a few big names of the global M&E sector. However, conglomerates coming to India come with their drawback. “I don’t think ‘conglomerate-isation’ is really good thing to happen. They have rules and regulations that really just lead to standardisation. They are like these huge dragons that have to be fed and when you make anything for them, it really is a product, not art.”

Akhtar brought in the downside of working in a co-production arrangement. He elaborated, “When we were working with UTV for ‘Lakshya’, it really was more of tying down experience. For movies, you really have to be flexible sometimes and not everything can go as per an agreement. UTV didn’t have that flexibility and somewhere that affects the movie. After that, we really decided not to get into any co-production deals.” Speaking on producers, Akhtar pointed out that the likes of Kapur have been luckier than most where they have had access to international players for financing, which is not what many Indian writers can afford. “There is a dearth of producers here. Somewhere you are working on creating something that would be successful and in the process, even as a great original content is waiting to happen in India, it is not happening.” The gentlemen also discussed whether or not there was a need to look out of the country for any Indian filmmaker. Admitting that one reason why India did not leverage its global presence, as seen in the Raj Kapoor era, was because the domestic market was large enough and needed too much attention. Both producers opined that there really was no need to actively sought international markets. Akhtar said, “It really has to work in India first before it will work in any other market anyways. And you cannot make anything Indian for a non-Indian audience – so there is a drawback in that but really, there is no need to look out.”

“You have to also understand that the Asian culture is far too individualistic in comparison to western culture, which is more about organisations -- there is a misfit there. Conglomerates can expand business but then you have to ensure that they do at least that, otherwise what do they bring to the table? It is not very comforting to see 25 per cent of your pay check go to people you don’t even know and that happens in western markets,” said Kapur.

Technology and its emotional front – entertainment:

One aspect that Kapur emphasised on, and Akhtar has been seen doing with his movies like ‘Don’, was the comprehension of technology’s role and what it can do for a movie. Kapur stated, “Technology and entertainment are really the same thing today – entertainment is the emotional front for technology. Taking the discussion to another level, he said, “Today it is obsolete to not include the changes in the digital space – something like YouTube can really wake you up. What did Lilly Allen do – she put her song on MySpace, it became the number one there and then Sony BMG came to her, she didn’t go to them!”

The move very clearly hinted aspects of co-creation, consumer creation and multiple revenue streams. “There is not just a shift in consumption but in the pattern of media consumption. From being back office boys or doing ‘second hand’ work, Mumbai and Singapore are really the next hubs. We have the market here, a large talent base here and a lot going for us – it has to happen that way,” said Kapur.

Another point that Kapur made was that “Hollywood is on the decline”. He said, “The industry is going down -- partly because other markets like Asia are really picking up and partly because with all this conglomerat-isation, there is no flexibility. It is only a matter of time before a small movie, made well, takes over. New media is democratic and there are revenues there.”

Citing another example here he said, “If Steven Spielberg had to make Jurassic Park 6 today, and he said that tonight for 15 minutes you can download something from the movie for 10 USD, I bet you anything that he would have earned 3 billion USD in 15 minutes and despite that he still would have the theatrical release and other revenues waiting to happen!”

“The spread of technology is so far and wide today that a maker is going to soon beg that ‘please protect my copyright for a day’. After that, he knows, everyone would’ve have access to it,” added Kapur.

The whole idea is to use this technological growth for the movie. And Akhtar did that for ‘Don’ with the release of the music on iTunes and releasing a Don game as well. Both experts deliberated on the point further. Said Kapur, “What really works is the ‘modular’ in which you can enjoy the movie or the music. Look at what Manmohan Shetty did. There were many little things in his movies that were entertainment pieces in itself. So you create modular content and then if you want you can weave it together. Then we called his movie ‘Variety Show’ and now we realise that it was much ahead of its time.”

Akhtar also is of the opinion that a film-maker can adapt to technology. “It is not long before movies and content is made in a big way for mobile or the Internet -- these just are things in the offing.”

“The move is already to nano-technology,” stated Kapur, “digital technology is soon a thing of the past.”

Surely movie makers have a lot going for themselves and there is so much more in the folds that they can still toy with. As for movie making itself, as Kapur puts it ‘Film banaate nahin hai, ban jaati hai…’

One aspect that really takes Ficci-Frames 2007 to an evolved stage is the decision to invite a partner country and in the debut year, the chosen one is Italy. The participation of the country was seen in the presence of Italian stars like Giancarlo Giannini, Anna Galiena and the Oscar winner Nicola Piovani, 40 stalls and a business delegation led by Italian Minister of Communications Paolo Gentiloni Silveri and Anica (Italian Film Producers Association) president Paolo Ferrari.

The Italian pavilion, set up by the Italian trade commission is hosting Italian companies and institutions such as Festa del Cinema Roma, Cinecitta Holding, Filmitalia, and the regional film commission for Lazio, Umbria and Piemonte. Bilateral business meetings are also organised by both the trade commission and Ficci.

The first day, soon after the inaugural session, saw a reserved meeting between the Italian communications minister Gentiloni and his host Priyaranjan Dasmunsi, signifying the importance both the partners give to the budding bilateral relations.

Italy is the first country to have signed a co-production agreement with India for producing films. The purpose of this agreement is to increasingly use Italian locations for Indian movies, to increase collaboration in animation and post-production and to foster transfer of know-how in the field of old film restoration.

“This is the very first time that a foreign country has the possibility to be a ‘partner country’ at Ficci-Frames. Thanks to the many countries involved and the very interesting programme Frames represents an open window on the Indian entertainment industry and a very useful business opportunity for the companies in this domain. This is the most relevant event for the movie and audiovisual industry in the whole of Asia, promoted by Ficci and by the Indian government,” observed Gentiloni.

He continued to note that “the choice of Italy as the partner country was the result of the collaboration between Confindustria and Ficci, which in the past have jointly developed many initiatives in other sectors such as fashion and design.”

The increasing international success of the Indian movies, the largest in the world with more than 800 flicks being rolled out annually, may find an extraordinary opportunity in collaborating with the Italian excellence in this sector. Suffice to say that the Rome-based Cinecitta’ Studios is the most important one in entire Europe.

Italy can offer to the Indian movie industry historic sites and countryside, on top of which interesting fiscal incentives are available.

Renewing a Relationship

It was also officially announced that India will be the guest of honour for the forthcoming edition of Rome Film Fest (October 2007). The region of Lazio has officially sponsored the concert of Maestro Nicola Piovani (Oscar winner for the soundtrack of ‘La vita e’ bella’) that will enrich Frames 2007 with an intense emotional side.

In a show of confidence for a long-term partnership between the two countries, Ficci, represented by its secretary general Amit Mitra, and its entertainment committee chairman Yash Chopra and Filas (financial investment agency of the region of Lazio) represented by its director-general Stefano Turi and Lazio region councillor for vulture, entertainment and sport Giulia Rodano signed an MoU that promises to set new benchmarks in the Indo-Italian entertainment trade.

The MoU covers sectors such as digital technologies and applications, multimedia, cinema production and post-production, animation, photography, music, and publishing among others. The activities foreseen in it includes identify and promote opportunities for joint projects and co-production arrangements in the cinematographic, audiovisual and media sectors through industry co-production and networking meetings. It also promotes and reinforces the joint participation to the EU framework programmes and other relevant EU and international financing schemes.

This agreement will investigate and identify financial resources both in the public and private domains in both the countries, able to support joint innovations and industry projects and facilitate audiovisual co-production agreements amongst audiovisual production companies from the two countries to help develop cinematographic and audiovisual industries in the two markets. It will also facilitate participation in key media festivals, trade events and conferences in each other's countries.

Among other important announcements, major events in Italy, including the presentation of the Rome Film Festival, shall be exhibited at Frames. The Italian gala night is being sponsored by the Italian trade commission and the region of Lazio, where the Oscar winning pianist Maestro Nicola Piovani will perform, promises to be a highpoint of Frames. He will perform renditions from his popular film soundtracks, and images from the movies will be screened, while he plays.