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Out of the box Sunil Doshi, producer of Bheja Fry, which was inspired by a French film, has already acquired rights of Azur et Asmar

But beyond the ‘emotions have a universal appeal’ argument, does this genre make business sense? “It does, because of the rise in the number of multiplexes. Secondly, our estimates show that 300,000 people in India are learning French. Out of these, 30,000 are learning the language in Alliance Francaise centres alone. ,” says Mohamed. He feels the market is ripe, as channels like UTV’s World Movies are in the offing. “Middle class incomes are increasing and it is exploring new avenues of entertainment.” As for the content, Mohamed says as far as he knows, Indians like comedy, action and romance, and French films provide all three. In fact, the film’s producer Sunil Doshi has already acquired rights of film like “Azur et Asmar” and “Roman de Gare”, which are on show at the festival. “I feel there is a sizeable space between the five percent Hollywood films and 95 percent Bollywood films that get released in this country. And this could be filled if we bring European, Latin American and Asian cinema.”

Together with NDTV Imagine and Manhoman Shetty, he is launching a new channel NDTV Lumiere, after the Lumiere brothers, who invented cinema. Already 300 films have been acquired. “Today international cinema means Hollywood. We remember the Kurosawas and Fellinis but forget that there are many more masters in the making. We want to change this perception through multiple platforms from theatrical release to Internet downloads, says Sameer Nair of NDTV Imagine. Sameer, who has given two years to the venture to break even, feels India has a great cinematic tradition and understanding of the medium. “Language won’t be a bar. For now it is a niche segment but two years down the line it won’t be.”

There is a cynical approach as well. “For those who ‘really’ wanted to watch world cinema, pirated versions of every movie made anywhere in the world were already available in good prints. It is just that now common man would also be able to watch them,” says Rajat Kapoor, who was, ironically, closely associated with the production of “Bheja Fry”. So an opportunity for a lot more inspirations!

Sunil agrees that it will require sustained effort to create space for world cinema in the present environment. “A once-in-six-month approach won’t work. Negotiations are on with multiplex chains.” He is right, for we remember the box office fate of “Chocolat”.

Meantime, Shemaroo is working on a similar strategy. “We have bought some classic and contemporary titles from Spain, France, Brazil, Argentina, China, Korea and Japan and will release them in the home video format.

Today imported DVDs of such films cost around Rs.1,500. We will give value for money to the customer at the same time creating awareness about the genre,” says Hiren Gadda, Vice President, Shemaroo. Shemaroo has acquired rights of Monica Belluci’s “Le Concile de Pierre” (The Stone Council). “We will dub it in English and are planning a theatrical release as our second plan is to buy titles which have a prominent star cast, have done well internationally or have subjects which suit Indian taste and release them first in English and later go the subtitle way. ‘The Stone Council’ which has a mystical touch will appeal to the Indian audience,” adds Gadda

Meanwhile, Shantanu Aditya, CEO of World Movies channel, starting by the end of this month, is planning to use UTV’s emerging clout at the international level to make the genre a success in the country.

He wants to take out the tag of ‘boring intellectual films’ associated with the festival circuit. “We have acquired only contemporary popular titles. The criterion is the films must have done well at the box office of their respective countries. UTV has theatre and home video rights of the films that the channel is going to show. We are also planning ground activities to popularise the actors and directors, many may not know.”

“Azur et Asmar” (Azur & Asmar on February 1, 8 p.m.) “Chrysalis” (Avatar, on February 2, 9 p.m.) “Le Concile de Pierre” (The Stone Council, February 3, 6 p.m.) “IIs” (Them, February 4, 9 p.m.) “La Science des Reves,” (The Science of Sleep, February 3, 8 p.m.), “Caramel” (February 2, 6 p.m.), “Roman de Gare” (Crossed Tracks, February 4, 6 p.m.) at Fun Cinema, Sigma Mall, Cunningham Road.

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