Live
- GMR Airports Unveils AI-Powered Digital Twin Platform to Transform Airport Operations
- India poised to become leading maritime player: PM Modi
- Top Causes of Kidney Stones and How to Recognize Silent Symptoms
- India’s renewable energy capacity logs 14.2 pc growth at 213.7 GW
- Winter Session of Odisha Assembly adjourned sine die
- Biden calls Trump's tariff approach 'major mistake'
- After Drama Over Eknath Shinde’s Chief Minister Race, Maharashtra Cabinet Formation Faces New Tensions
- Egyptian FM, Blinken discuss recent developments in Syria
- Iran's supreme leader says Syria's developments result of US-Israeli 'plot'
- Elon Musk to Purchase $100 Million Luxury Mansion Next to Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago, Report Reveals
Disney to brand its mark on India
The Indian film business -- pegged at Rs.126.4 billion in 2014 as per a Ficci-KPMG report -- is an important market to participate in, says Andy Bird, chairman of Walt Disney International, adding that there is \"strategy and plan\" to establish the global entertainment conglomerate as a \"brand\" in the country.
Los Angeles: The Indian film business -- pegged at Rs.126.4 billion in 2014 as per a Ficci-KPMG report -- is an important market to participate in, says Andy Bird, chairman of Walt Disney International, adding that there is "strategy and plan" to establish the global entertainment conglomerate as a "brand" in the country.
“India is about three things -- movies, TV and cricket. So, if we want to create an Indian Walt Disney company, we need to participate in the Indian movie business. In India, about 94 to 96 percent of box office comprises local movies or Bollywood. It is very important for us as a company to participate in Indian movie business,” Bird said at the Walt Disney Studio Lot in Burbank on Thursday.
The path to enter the Indian entertainment industry first began when Disney acquired production company UTV in 2012. Elaborating on the future plans to expand the business in the nation, he added: “Few years ago we acquired a company, UTV (production house), and have also started developing projects under the brand name.
We have about 10 to 12 films on the slate that will be branded by Disney. "The idea is to get an Indian mother to say to her children - 'Let's go and watch a Disney film'. Just as Disney has established in Hollywood, we want Disney as a brand to establish itself in Indian film industry.”
The company has already found prominence by backing films like Sonam Kapoor and Fawad Khan starrer “Khoobsurat” and "ABCD 2", which is the second film in the dance-based film franchise “ABCD”. The future slate is also promising -- Aamir Khan starrer “Dangal”, Ranbir Kapoor's “Jagga Jasoos” and Hrithik Roshan's “Mohenjo Daro”.
With different genres and actors as talented as these, hopes are high from the banner. Setting foot in the Indian market is a long-term process, and Bird acknowledges the fact by saying “it is going to take some time" "We are patient, have strategy and a plan to get to where we want to," he said.
Bird, who joined The Walt Disney Company -- known for creating a mystical world full of fairies and cartoon characters -- in 2004 was also gripped by the “Bollywood fever”. He shared his admiration for Bollywood's young heartthrob Ranbir.
By:Sugandha Rawal
