Three years ago,I had met a producer from regional cinema, he had produced a commercial film with "an award winning film maker". I was pitching my film to the same producer. When he heard my script he loved it a lot, but flatly refused to produce it, even though a star was attached to it. I respect his decision on not to produce, but I was curious to know what made him produce the film with the award winning film maker? The answer gave me an insight into the film industry, that cut through like a disease among all film makers and producers. Everyone here has personal gains from a film, I would be lying if I said I did not have. His concern was promises made by a film maker before a film and eventually what the film becomes when it is ready for release. 
Because this Award winning film maker was so famous, the producer was excited when this particular film maker had come to him with a commercial idea. The film maker boasted of the most novel concept, inspired by a Spielberg idea, film had fights, actions, visuals, songs and everything under the sun a great film should have. The film maker also made promises, because of his name, multiple festivals around the world will pick up his film very easily, also they might even find a foreign distributor who could give them a release in mainstream American and International markets. What more the producer was also offered a role to act with the star who they will later approach.All big promises by a very well known film maker. So the producer thinks why not, after all he too wanted a share of international recognition and the big money. Among all this discussion, there was no script or story discussed, it was always about the film maker and how much will his name sell. Ask them today how the film fared or ask them about each other, they hate each other.
Film makers in the Indian film industry, barring very few, definitely does not beleive in cultivating relationships with the producer. Most Indian film makers have never worked under one producer for long. If you look West, a Nolan or a Tarantino, or other film makers have mostly worked with the same producer right from their first film. Producers and film makers here think they both are from a different race. They hate each others guts, most film makers are immediately willing to bitch about the producer and same goes for th
e producer. The common goal about together achieving a great film is absent in most productions here. Most of the associations end with one film, the producer never goes on to repeat the film maker, the film maker never goes back to the producer. A producer is seen as an enemy among film makers, they are idiots with lots of money and will put money in any film, other than the film you just pitched. The new film maker just wonders why his second project was rejected.The key problem is they have damaged a working relationship on the basis of promises made and what is delivered is nowhere close to what is promised. The problem is largely communication gaps or (gas), hype that follows a film maker and the contacts he can pull. Also, the big names he has relations with. Notice, how every film maker in Bollywood, has a great working relationship with everyone from the cast and crew, he'll repeat them for every project maybe, but never the producer. Same goes for the producer, he does not want to work with the same film maker again. He has his own set of belief systems and personal interests vested in the film. His goal is different in the film he is producing
The standard process for most film makers is simple, fix rounds of meetings with a producer or a production house, and make all the biggest promises under the sun about your film. The script is the last discussed factor here, while every producer knows, without content all these don't mean anything. The producer does not bother about script developement, for him writing is just someone who is hired to type words, because they can't find a typist to type 120 pages with words. Most producers do not want to work a professional way, starting from a story thread, and working with the writer and director in fleshing out of the concept. They want ready made blockbusters like Sholay from a hungry writer, who is thinking about paying his next cell phone bill, and all the writer cares is somehow finish the screenplay. Why give his best, when his function or contribution is fully ignored.The writer too has needs and personal gains in the film, his goal is different with the film that is going to be made, somehow it should be on floors. There exists no working relationships, or mutual respect among the producers with writers, they are the most detached with the writer. The concept of script development is non existent in Bollywood for most producers. Most directors pay from their pockets for script developement with the writer, I have the utmost respect for such directors who value this process and understand the importance of feeding your writer, so his imagination is in your film and not on the cell phone bill. All the producer is interested is when the director will lock the script. He will rarely read the script. He has also locked his finances, his interest rates are soaring. Get the script done, somehow.
Then comes the crucial question during the meetings with the producers, "Why should the producer invest in this film?". Some standard answer given by directors , because it has so and so star or it has known faces and music by blah. That answer is enough, cause the game does not end here. The producer all he cares about is selling his film, like a vegetable vendor he wants to make sure he gets out his stock before it begins to rot. Eventually who is bearing the loses, the distributors. Their revenue stream is popcorn, samosas and movie tickets sold. This cycle has been abused so bad, new film makers are not given a fair chance in the process. So content repetition is bo
und to happen, we will be seeing the same recycled love stories and crappy stories featuring stars, because that's play safe. The distributors will buy if they have a star, and for the distributors having a star means more sale in their samosas and pop corns . Most productions manage to make just about money to break even. Everyone is covered. It was the case till Kites and Raavan happened. Now I am interested in hearing from the producers who think this model is safe. So getting to basics again, even the Producer does not care beyond his personal gains.
For most film makers they think their job ends with making the final cut. The rest of the release, promotional activity etc is the producers headache. They'll give interviews because they are supposed to do it. Most new film makers don't care about a release, as long as they have a film to their credit, but it's lying in the cans. They think the producer is not doing anything for the film, there is definitely no concept of working together in the same boat and making it to land. Once the film is made the producer is in a different boat. Post the film release, the director moves on with other producers, for his own personal gains. He has made his film, don't care what happened to his film, it's now the next producer to axe. As for the producer, he is looking for the next film maker who can give him a killer deal to axe the next set of distributors. Eventually in the whole axes that are grinded the audience are the biggest losers, where is the great film that was so talked about and promised? It's just random stars, songs, half hearted plot and a convulted ending. They go back cribbing another weekend money is wasted on samosas, popcorns, parking, movie tickets for a pointless film.
As for the regional producer, he said his film had miserably bombed, leaving no money for his own acting fees, that he had to do it free in his own film. Some random
festival in Korea had picked it and 5 people turned to see it. The film maker thinks it was a super duper hit in one part of the state, it failed in the other because it had religious undertones. In the whole process of getting the film made, it was about money,stars, numbers, relationships, marketing, contacts, PR, all the associated blah blah and never about the actual film. The common goal about a good film was lost. Who had it in the first place ?
Because this Award winning film maker was so famous, the producer was excited when this particular film maker had come to him with a commercial idea. The film maker boasted of the most novel concept, inspired by a Spielberg idea, film had fights, actions, visuals, songs and everything under the sun a great film should have. The film maker also made promises, because of his name, multiple festivals around the world will pick up his film very easily, also they might even find a foreign distributor who could give them a release in mainstream American and International markets. What more the producer was also offered a role to act with the star who they will later approach.All big promises by a very well known film maker. So the producer thinks why not, after all he too wanted a share of international recognition and the big money. Among all this discussion, there was no script or story discussed, it was always about the film maker and how much will his name sell. Ask them today how the film fared or ask them about each other, they hate each other.Film makers in the Indian film industry, barring very few, definitely does not beleive in cultivating relationships with the producer. Most Indian film makers have never worked under one producer for long. If you look West, a Nolan or a Tarantino, or other film makers have mostly worked with the same producer right from their first film. Producers and film makers here think they both are from a different race. They hate each others guts, most film makers are immediately willing to bitch about the producer and same goes for th
e producer. The common goal about together achieving a great film is absent in most productions here. Most of the associations end with one film, the producer never goes on to repeat the film maker, the film maker never goes back to the producer. A producer is seen as an enemy among film makers, they are idiots with lots of money and will put money in any film, other than the film you just pitched. The new film maker just wonders why his second project was rejected.The key problem is they have damaged a working relationship on the basis of promises made and what is delivered is nowhere close to what is promised. The problem is largely communication gaps or (gas), hype that follows a film maker and the contacts he can pull. Also, the big names he has relations with. Notice, how every film maker in Bollywood, has a great working relationship with everyone from the cast and crew, he'll repeat them for every project maybe, but never the producer. Same goes for the producer, he does not want to work with the same film maker again. He has his own set of belief systems and personal interests vested in the film. His goal is different in the film he is producingThe standard process for most film makers is simple, fix rounds of meetings with a producer or a production house, and make all the biggest promises under the sun about your film. The script is the last discussed factor here, while every producer knows, without content all these don't mean anything. The producer does not bother about script developement, for him writing is just someone who is hired to type words, because they can't find a typist to type 120 pages with words. Most producers do not want to work a professional way, starting from a story thread, and working with the writer and director in fleshing out of the concept. They want ready made blockbusters like Sholay from a hungry writer, who is thinking about paying his next cell phone bill, and all the writer cares is somehow finish the screenplay. Why give his best, when his function or contribution is fully ignored.The writer too has needs and personal gains in the film, his goal is different with the film that is going to be made, somehow it should be on floors. There exists no working relationships, or mutual respect among the producers with writers, they are the most detached with the writer. The concept of script development is non existent in Bollywood for most producers. Most directors pay from their pockets for script developement with the writer, I have the utmost respect for such directors who value this process and understand the importance of feeding your writer, so his imagination is in your film and not on the cell phone bill. All the producer is interested is when the director will lock the script. He will rarely read the script. He has also locked his finances, his interest rates are soaring. Get the script done, somehow.
Then comes the crucial question during the meetings with the producers, "Why should the producer invest in this film?". Some standard answer given by directors , because it has so and so star or it has known faces and music by blah. That answer is enough, cause the game does not end here. The producer all he cares about is selling his film, like a vegetable vendor he wants to make sure he gets out his stock before it begins to rot. Eventually who is bearing the loses, the distributors. Their revenue stream is popcorn, samosas and movie tickets sold. This cycle has been abused so bad, new film makers are not given a fair chance in the process. So content repetition is bo
und to happen, we will be seeing the same recycled love stories and crappy stories featuring stars, because that's play safe. The distributors will buy if they have a star, and for the distributors having a star means more sale in their samosas and pop corns . Most productions manage to make just about money to break even. Everyone is covered. It was the case till Kites and Raavan happened. Now I am interested in hearing from the producers who think this model is safe. So getting to basics again, even the Producer does not care beyond his personal gains.For most film makers they think their job ends with making the final cut. The rest of the release, promotional activity etc is the producers headache. They'll give interviews because they are supposed to do it. Most new film makers don't care about a release, as long as they have a film to their credit, but it's lying in the cans. They think the producer is not doing anything for the film, there is definitely no concept of working together in the same boat and making it to land. Once the film is made the producer is in a different boat. Post the film release, the director moves on with other producers, for his own personal gains. He has made his film, don't care what happened to his film, it's now the next producer to axe. As for the producer, he is looking for the next film maker who can give him a killer deal to axe the next set of distributors. Eventually in the whole axes that are grinded the audience are the biggest losers, where is the great film that was so talked about and promised? It's just random stars, songs, half hearted plot and a convulted ending. They go back cribbing another weekend money is wasted on samosas, popcorns, parking, movie tickets for a pointless film.
As for the regional producer, he said his film had miserably bombed, leaving no money for his own acting fees, that he had to do it free in his own film. Some random
festival in Korea had picked it and 5 people turned to see it. The film maker thinks it was a super duper hit in one part of the state, it failed in the other because it had religious undertones. In the whole process of getting the film made, it was about money,stars, numbers, relationships, marketing, contacts, PR, all the associated blah blah and never about the actual film. The common goal about a good film was lost. Who had it in the first place ?
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I love this game :)
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