.....................................................................................................Media

 The Business of Entertainment  

The Indian entertainment industry is valued at approximately $ 3.5 billion and generates employment for roughly 6 million people and export earnings of $ 800 million. The total turnover of the industry is slated to go up to $ 20 billion by 2005. Concurrently, the employment of this sector will be 11 million with export revenues of $ 4 billion.

Today, India has a strong legacy of entertainment industry and holds the record for producing maximum number of films, large volume sales in music titles and is fast emerging as a global hub for production of television and radio content.

The FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) Entertainment Committee set up 2 years ago made significant progress in giving a shape and vision to the nascent entertainment industry in the country. It has been able to bring in its fold all segments of the industry - television, radio, films, music, cable, content and event management, projecting a united face of the industry.

To take the entertainment industry a step forward, FICCI organised 'Frames 2001,' a global convention on the business of entertainment. FRAMES was coined with Films, Radio, Audio-Visual, Music, Events, Show. The objective of FRAMES was to showcase the best in the Indian entertainment industry and its expanding linkages with the global economy, to bring the Indian entertainment industry at par with Hollywood - in quality, content and professional management.

The convention witnessed the largest ever conglomeration in India of the some of the best national and international minds in the business - stars, producers, directors, broadcasters, musicians, studio bosses and leaders in the business of film finance and insurance. "The industry status granted to the entertainment under the IDBA Act has enabled films to seek insurance cover and obtain institutional finance. Entertainment tax should be realistic and uniform and I advice producers to go in for corporatisation," said Sushma Swaraj, Minister for Information and Broadcasting. She also assured the gathering that she would revive the export promotion forum since Indian films had the potential to cross Asian barriers. The granting of the industry status thus puts the entertainment segment at par with other industries having access to bank finance.

The Government of India has also recognised this sector as one of the thrust areas for the new economy. It is offering the industry all the benefits and privileges, which puts it at par with the IT sector. The FICCI Entertainment Committee is leading this effort from the front.

During the convention, Amitabh Bachchan openly discussed his failed ABCL experience and said, "In our country, majority of films are made on the strength of its cast, music value and money coming from distributors. I brought in handsome foreign exchange and corporatised ABCL in 1980. We felt that one time finance would help in smooth film making management. Things went awry because sizeable time was lost in making the management personnel comprehend the nitty gritty of film making, which left little time for creativity. The management and creative units were totally at variance." He concluded saying that, "I think corporatisation can facilitate better film production."

One gathers from the convention that the entertainment industry is out to make the best of its newly acquired 'industry' status and is poised to become India's largest industry sectors.

By: Anupama Vinayak

Photographer: Vinayak Prabhu

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