Best things, small packages

Brand bifurcation seems to work as big baddies float production units to nurture multiplex-friendly small films.

Producer Pooja Shetty Deora and director Abhishek Sharma.

Small is beautiful, which is being proven each year when a bunch of small budget films steal the thunder from the big daddies. After Dev D, A Wednesday, Mumbai Meri Jaan and the likes walked away with all the attention in the last couple of years, small films made their point again in 2010 with LSD ( Love, Sex Aur Dhoka ), Tere Bin Laden and Udaan .

Seeing great potential in smaller films, even the deep-pocketed producers with an eye on the box office have jumped into the fray. Young directors brimming with radical ideas stand to benefit, as they are being backed by strong marketing muscle and yet guaranteed their way of film-making (read minimum interference).

Soap queen Ekta Kapoor discovered that she needed to change with the times to deliver a hit. So, out went her k-titled horror-comedy-love stories and in came Dibakar Banerjee's

LSD , produced under ALT Entertainment. Dibakar, the man behind

Khosla ka Ghosla and

Oye Lucky Lucky Oye didn't disappoint. Thrilled by its success, she plans to roll out more offbeat movies through ALT Entertainment while keeping her mainstream focus intact through her Balaji banner. The recent big-budget

Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai came under the Balaji umbrella. Next to roll out is

Shor .

She isn't the first producer to keep the brand identities for smaller and mainstream movies different. Corporates introduced the art. UTV Motion Pictures that produced big-budget flicks including

Rang De Basanti and Jodhaa Akbar floated UTV Spotboy Films to identify and promote multiplex-friendly, smaller films. Vikas Bahl, chief creative officer, says it was a passionate rather than a commercial call that prompted them to float Spotboy three years ago. “To stop experimenting is to meet your end. The brand extension gave us the momentum to open a window to genres unexplored in mainstream films,” he says. Under Spotboy came a number of endearing hits including Dev D, Amir, A Wednesday and Vikramaditya Motwane's Udaan . Coming up are Paan Singh Tomar , No One Killed Jessica and Chillar Party .

Small films are no longer left to struggle for their survival. A shrewd marketing plan is in place. If Udaan 's teasers culled out statistics of youth spending power and pre-marital sex, the satirical promos of Peepli Live have a different ‘news' to tell. Produced by Aamir Khan, Peepli Live will release in 700 screens worldwide. Coming up next is his wife Kiran Rao's directorial debut Dhobi Ghat , premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival. Peepli Live, Ishqiya and LSD featured in the Melbourne International Film Festival in the Not Quite Bollywood section.

Yash Raj Productions, Karan Johar, the Barjatyas and Subhash Ghai are also willing to change, albeit within commerce-driven models. So, on and off you are treated to

Chak De, Iqbal, Rocket Singh, Kabul Express and

Wake up Sid . Here, the big guns stick to their brand of cinema while younger directors usher in the change. Ayan Mukherjee calls himself lucky to be given a chance to direct

Wake Up Sid . “I wanted to tell an urban story of youth and quarter-life crisis, something that I could identify with, and the platform sure helped,” he says.

Most often, directors need to abide by a three or five film contract with the production houses. “It varies from case to case,” says Vikas Bahl, citing how Anurag Kashyap has been associated with UTV since Dev D and has partnered with the production house for Udaan and his next film. For movie magnet Manmohan Shetty, Reliance buying his Adlabs made the job of ushering in change easier. His daughters Pooja and Aarti Shetty started Walkwater Films with a small bunch of trusted and spirited people who understood their idea of cinema. Walkwater is now a known name with Tere Bin Laden .

So, is small beautiful? Indeed, and it's beginning to get its due.