TOPIC

BRAND VALUE OF DIRECTORS IN INDIAN CINEMA

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the award of the

Degree of Master of Business Administration in

_________________ (relevant subject (M&E / MAC)

By

_____________________________________

(Full Name)(Bold, All caps, Font, Time Roman, 16)

Manipal University Bangalore Campus Bangalore

December 2011

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this dissertation

titled_________________________________________,

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Master of Business

Administration in ___________________ of Manipal University Bangalore Campus, has

been written by me under the guidance and supervision of ________________________.

This Dissertation or any part thereof has not been submitted for any purpose to any other

University.

Bangalore Signature and Name of Scholar

Date

Endorsement of Guide Endorsement of Dean

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that this Dissertation

titled_________________________________________,

Submittedby _______________________ in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the

Degree of Master of Business Administration in ___________________ of Manipal

University Bangalore Campus, is based on the results of the research work carried out under

my guidance and supervision. This Dissertation or any part thereof has not been submitted for

any purpose to any other University.

Bangalore Signature and Name of Guide

Date

ContentsEXECUTIVE SUMMARY...................................................................................................................5

1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................6

1.1 INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY..........................................................................................6

1.2 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY............................................................................................6

2. INTRODUCTION TO THE PROBLEM...........................................................................................7

2.1 TITLE OF THE STUDY.............................................................................................................7

2.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM...........................................................................................7

2.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY.................................................................................................7

2.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY............................................................................................................7

2.5 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY...............................................................................................7

3. INDUSTRY PROFILE......................................................................................................................8

4. REVIEW OF LITERATURE..........................................................................................................10

4.1 OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS..............................................................................................10

4.2 LITERATURE REVIEW..........................................................................................................10

4.2.1 Emergence of Star Power in the country.............................................................................10

4.2.2 Top 10 Directors of Bollywood (Current Generation)........................................................12

4.2.3 Some of the Famous Directors of South.............................................................................15

4.2.4 Changing Trends.................................................................................................................16

5. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.....................................................................................................19

5.1 Research Design........................................................................................................................19

5.2 Sampling....................................................................................................................................19

5.3 Tools for Data collection...........................................................................................................19

5.4 Field Work.................................................................................................................................19

5.5 Methods of Data Analysis..........................................................................................................19

6. DATA ANALYSIS.........................................................................................................................20

7. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS...........................................................................................................24

8. RECOMMENDATIONS.................................................................................................................26

9. CONCLUSION...............................................................................................................................27

10. WEBLIOGRAPHY.......................................................................................................................28

ANNEXURE.......................................................................................................................................29

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYFilms in India have always been a culture, the Indian cinema is more than 75 years old.

Superstars of Indian cinema have always been treated very special. But cinema is not only

about the stars, it is also about the person who holds the megaphone and also known as the

“Captain of the Ship”. He is DIRECTOR.

People watch a movie to watch their favourite stars and this is a well-known fact from the

ages. The purpose of this research is to find out how many people watch the movies without a

superstar when it is been directed by the renowned director. Do the directors have the Brand

of their own in Indian Cinema? Will they be successful in pulling the crowd to the theatres

without any superstar in their movie only by their brand name!

If yes, then how many of the directors have been successful in this exercise, what really

makes them to stand apart in the star dominated industry and is the trend changing in the

recent scenario? Or is it the same. Would people wait like a crazy fan for their favourite

director’s movie without any superstar in the movie!

In Hollywood it is usually the Director who is been given a more star value and people watch

movies when the renowned director makes a film no matter who is acting in it. Of course yes,

if the star is acting its an added bonus. Is Indian audience slowly catching this type of

approach? How important is the Director’s name for them to wait for the movie?

1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.1 INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY

I have always been an admirer of directors of the movies. I have always seen and heard

people worshipping Superstars in India and stars making a movie hit with their star power. If

stars can do it, then why can’t the directors. This curiosity triggered me to take this topic to

find out and learn whether the renowned directors can pull the crowd to the theatres by their

brand image without any superstar in the movie. Are the people still rushing to the theatres

looking at the stars? How important is a director’s name for the audience to watch a movie

with or without a superstar in the movie?

1.2 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

A detailed secondary data research was carried out before taking up this project as I was very

curious to know about the audience perception towards the directors. Articles relating to the

directors of Indian cinema on different websites were taken as the secondary data. Not many

articles spoke about the brand value of the directors but most of the articles gave a very good

information about the directors who changed the trends of Indian cinema and made some path

breaking and successful movies and created the brand of their own and also the fan following.

The articles and case studies on the websites helped a lot in carrying out the project.

2. INTRODUCTION TO THE PROBLEM

2.1 TITLE OF THE STUDYThe tittle of my study is “Brand value of Directors in Indian Cinema”. This study is to learn

whether the directors in Indian film industry have that star value among the audience.

2.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMTo analyse the “Brand value of Directors in Indian Cinema”, as this study is regarding the

directors of Indian film industry, Hindi film industry and the regional film industries like

Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam have been considered primarily for the study with

the appropriate concentration.

2.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDYThe objective of this study is to examine the answers for the following questions

Whether directors have the ability to pull crowds to the theatres on the strengths of

their names alone?

Is it necessary for the movie to have a Star or should the movie have good content?

Does the name that comes in the end on the title card (director) matters for the

audience? To find out whether the audience waits for the movies made by the big

directors without a star in it

2.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDYThis study includes the observation made on the directors of all the major industries of the

country like Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam, not restricting it to only

Bollywood.

2.5 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDYAs this study required me to meet some of the industry experts and professionals, but there

weren’t opportunities for me to meet them and seek their guidelines. This study is also very

niche, so it demanded some of the very genuine responses or samples. The other limitations

would be the lack of secondary data available, it was a little hard task in finding out the

articles relating to this study.

3. INDUSTRY PROFILEIndian cinema is a different beast to Hollywood. In India it’s the star power of the superstar

or the fan base of the star matters, the actors or the stars have a demi-god status and the fans

wait for their star’s movie to release. But off late it is been a different scenario altogether and

times have changed from the earlier as Directors are getting recognised and it is the captain of

the ship also matters to some extent to the movie goers. In India, all producers were

independent, big or little, until the government granted Indian cinema "industry" status in

2001. This ushered in the era of corporate studios such as Reliance, Eros and UTV, which

finance, produce, distribute and market films. (One result of the change was that film-makers

no longer depended on the underworld for finance.). This gave birth to the many new creative

minds (directors) to come out and make a movie of their own taste and find out their audience

who can watch their movies. The last decade has seen some emerging talents in Farhan

Akthar, Madhur Bandarkar, Prakash Jha, Vishal Bharadwaj, Ashutosh Gowarikar, Raj Kumar

Hirani and many others.

Although being the largest film producing country making over 1100 films every year

(Hollywood makes 700!), with a film making tradition of a century, film making was

recognized as an industry only as recently as 2000!! The Indian film industry constitutes

films made in India in a variety of languages. Most films are made in Hindi (350) followed

by Telugu (300) and the remaining in other languages. The industry size is estimated at INR

20,000 Crores (around USD 4 Billion)

Today each of the directors are expected to have their own audience which looked little

impossible one or two decades ago. For an example, Sanjay Leela Bansali’s directorial

“Black” was seen as a Mr. Bansali’s movie even though it had stars like Amitabh Bachan and

Rani Mukharji in it.

The scene is not too different down South. Southern industries like Tamil, Telugu, Kannada

and Malayalam also said to be having the same tendency. In Tamil, K. Balachandar, Shankar,

Bala are some among the many names who have their own audience, In Telugu, S.S.

Rajamouli, Puri Jagannadh, Shekhar Kammula and many others. In Kannada, it was Puttanna

Kanagal who actually bought the star value for the directors four decades back. The best part

was he introduced many talents to the industry and working with the new commers and

making some path breaking movies. Shankar Nag was the maverick who followed by making

some brave and bold attempts and made a huge impact as a director. Upendra is another

director who followed the same race of Puttana Kanagal and Shankar Nag, he is listed in the

dynamic directors of the industry. Prakash, Yogaraj Bhat and Soori are the most famous,

popular and renowned directors of this generation who have their own audience.

It has been a common tendency of audience to expect a lot when a superstar is working with

the renowned director or a star director as the combination is said to be top notch. But its still

not clear whether the director can make a movie success and pull the crowds to the theatres

only by his name without a superstar and with a fair content and does he able to get a good

opening like a superstar movies.

4. REVIEW OF LITERATURE

4.1 OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONSStar Power: Star power is something where the superstar is backed in the form of fans,

business his movie does. It is seen when a star does an ordinary movie and still movie

becomes hit purely because of his fan base.

Reputation of the Director: Reputation means the Brand that the director carries to his

name. It clearly shows the popularity of the Director.

Fan Tendency: Fan Tendency is something where the fans of a particular Superstar or a

Director behaves or the eagerness to watch his idol’s movie.

Hype: To create an interest among the people by any dramatic methods.

Promotion: Promotion of the film has been a common practice in the film industry.

Producers invest money to promote their movies in any which ways to get the recognition for

the movie.

Genres: Genres is likely to classify depending on the mood of the film like Action,

adventure, romance, thriller, drama, horror, fantasy etc.

Driving Factor: It states the reason that provokes us to watch a film on the basis of star cast,

director, technicians etc.

Box-office: The collection that a film gets in an opening weekend.

Wider Release: It means releasing the movie in more centres, it depends upon the

expectation of the movie.

4.2 LITERATURE REVIEW

4.2.1 Emergence of Star Power in the countryThe star system is here to stay, and it’s almost hurricane growth appears to be demolishing

just about everything on its path. The once great studios and film banners, such as Prabhat,

New Theatres, RK, Gemini, AVM, Navketan and Guru Dutt among a host of others, may not

have exactly perished, but their glory has faded, sometimes beyond recognition. Once,

audiences thronged theatres because of a studio or banner: they knew what to expect from an

RK or a Gemini. Today, it is no longer so.

In India, the studio/banner system gave way to what I would call the Director’s Chair. The

helmer became larger than the studio or the banner. Guru Dutt or Raj Kapoor or Vasan began

to dwarf the system they had created in the first place. However, things changed. Dutt’s

Kaagaz Ke Phool traced the decline of not only the studio system in India, but also the

director. We saw how Dutt’s (who plays a helmer in the movie) fans got besotted by his

heroine, essayed by Waheeda Rehman. Kaagaz Ke Phoolî clearly signalled the demise of the

director as it did the beginning of star value.

Dev Anand became mightier than Navketan, Raj Kapoor eclipsed RK and institutions like

Gemini, Vijaya and AVM fell by the wayside, forced to play second fiddle to colossus like

Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan and M.G. Ramachandran. In Mumbai, Rajesh Khanna and

Amitabh Bachchan rose to tower over the men who directed them. In Kolkata, Ritwick

Ghatak, Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen seemed to come under the shadow of matinee idols like

Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen.

Today, people walk into a hall to watch an Aishwarya Rai or a Kamal or a Rajnikanth. They

bother little about who could have directed them. How many, for instance, would have

bought a ticket to watch Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s work in Black? I am certain they spent the

money to look at Amitabh Bachchan in it, and maybe Rani Mukherjee.

What is common between Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor, Rajesh Khanna, Rajinikanth,

Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Shahrukh Khan? They are all not just individual superstars

but first a HERO.

Amrish Shah of Indiafm quotes,The other day I offered my watchman a couple of spare

tickets for a newly released hindi film. First thing he asked me before accepting the offer

'bhaiya hero kauuun hain'. The following week I was sitting besides a pretty middle-aged lady

executive en route to Goa. As we chatted, I introduced myself as a screenwriter and

mentioned a latest Bollywood flick that had hit the screens. Before I could narrate the plot

she questioned me 'Who is the hero of the film'.

Hero today is synonymous with stars or rather superstars. But do we know the reason why?

Actors don't become Stars overnight. What's makes a star out of an actor is his ability to play

the Hero meticulously and consistently. The secret of superstars or rather Heroes is that they

qualify and deliver to certain expectations from the audience.

4.2.2 Top 10 Directors of Bollywood (Current Generation)1. Mani Ratnam: Mani Ratnam became one of the most respected filmmakers of Bollywood

after he went into making Hindi films. Each of his films has its own unique style with

beautifully photographed songs and extraordinary back lighting. His films have substance as

well as style. It was Roja (1992) that made Mani Ratnam a well known name all over India.

A patriotic love story set against the backdrop of Kashmir terrorism, the film was dubbed in

Hindi and became a huge national success. The movie was also famous for its hit music

composed by the debut music director A. R. Rehman. Dil Se (1996) was Mani Ratnam's first

Hindi movie which starred Shah Rukh Khan and introduced Preity Zinta. The film has

beautifully crafted scenes and most of all, one of A. R. Rehman's greatest tunes. Mani

Ratnam's other highly acclaimed films include Bombay (1995), Yuva (2004) and Guru

(2007), which was one of the biggest block busters of the year. In 2002, Mani Ratnam was

awarded Padma Shri. His movie Nayakan was included in Time Magazine's All Time 100

Movies.

2. Sanjay Leela Bhansali: A highly acclaimed director, Sanjay Leela Bhansali is an

aluminus of the Film and Television Institute of India. His debut filn Khamoshi, a critically

acclaime musical, won several awards. and he emerged as a director to watch. His next

movie, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, was a great success and won many awards, including Best

Film award. Devdas, his next film, was well received at Cannes, where it was premiered.

Besides being a blockbuster, the film also won many major awards and was chosen as India's

official entry for Oscar awards. Then came Black, his most praised film to date. Time

Magazine (Europe) named the film as one of the Ten Best Movies of the year 2005,

positioned at number five. Bhansali has won the Filmfare Best Director Award three times

for Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Devdas and Black, which broke a record at the 2006 Film

Awards winning 11 awards. Bhansali also won National Awards twice – Devdas for

Providing Wholesome Entertainment (2003) and Black for being Best Feature Film in Hindi.

3. Rakesh Roshan: Rakesh Roshan started his career as an actor in the 1970s and has acted

in over 70 films. He then set up his own production company in 1980 with his first

production Aap Ke Deewane. He made his directorial debut with Khudgarz (1987) and went

on to direct several box office hits including Khoon Bhari Maang (1988), Kishan Kanhaiya

(1990), Karan Arjun (1995) and Koila (1997). He launched his son Hrithik's career as an

actor with Kaho Na Pyar Hai (200o). This film entered the Limca Book od Records for the

most number of awards won by a Bollywood film and was also the highest grosser of 2001.

He directed his son again in the science fiction film Koi Mil Gaya (2003) and its sequel the

super hero film Krish (2006), both of which were very successful at the box office. He is set

to make sequel to Krish.

4. Raj Kumar Santoshi: Earstwhile assistant to filmmaker Givind Nihalini, Raj Kumar

Santoshi made a smashing debut with Ghayal (1990). The film won five Filmfare Awards for

Best Film, Best Director, Best Story, Best Cinematography, Best Actor and also won

National Award for Best Popular Film. One of the most critically acclaimed directors, he is

widely regarded as one of the best Bollywood directors. His movies are often characterized

by their inherent realism and fine direction of actors – Ghayal (1990), Damini (1993), Andaz

Apna Apna (1994), Barsaat (1995), Ghatak (1996), China Gate (1996), Pukar (2000), Lajja

(2001), The Legend of Bhagat Singh (2002), Khakee (2004), Family (2006) and Halla Bol

(2008). Versatility is Raj Kumar's middle name.

5. Ram Gopal Verma: RGV began his film career in Telgu Cinema. He made a huge mark

with his debut film Shiva, which became a landmark for the Telgu industry. His next film

Kshanan Kshanan was another blockbuster. His first huge success in Bollywood started with

the commercial blockbuster Rangeela, a stylish romantic drama with Amir Khan and Urmila

Mantondkar. Verma followed up with the ground breaking gangster saga Satya, a violent

crime epic set in Mumbai underworld. Brutally realistic, Satya was widely considered

Verma's true masterwork, which won him award for the Best Film. Mainly known for

creating the 'Mumbai noir', Verma again showed his skill with the corporate crime

masterpiece Company. The film was lauded by critics and audiences alike. His next big hits

were Bhoot and Sarkar. His next hits include Sarkarraj, Rann and Raktacharitra.

6. Farhan Akthar: Farhan made his directorial debut in Hindi cinema with the 2001 hit, Dil

Chahta Hai (2001), which starred Aamir Khan. It was a big success, especially popular

among the younger generation. Many rate it as one of the greatest movies ever made in

Bollywood. The movie earned quite a few nominations for different awards, and won the

Filmfare best screenplay award. His next project was Lakshya (2004) with Hrithik Roshan,

which was released in 2004. Though the movie did not do as well at the box office, it won

him much critical acclaim. The script of the movie was written by his father Javed Akhtar.

He then directed a remake of the 1978 cult classic Amitabh Bachchan film, Don (1978) called

Don (2006/I) which starred Shah Rukh Khan in the title role. The film released on 20 October

2006 and was a huge success at the box office. He produced the film Honeymoon Travels

Pvt. Ltd. (2007) which also did well at the box office.

7. Vishal Bharadwaj: His interest in film direction kindled after watching the retrospective

of Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski during a film festival in Kerala. His first directorial

debut was children's film Makdee which was critically acclaimed. He then made the first of

his Shakespearean adaptation, Maqbool, based on Macbeth. This was followed up by another

children's film, The Blue Umbrella based on Ruskin Bond's story of the same name. This film

also met with critical acclaim throughout. Omkara marked the second of Bhardwaj's

Shakespearan endeavours, this time an adaptation of Othello. Omkara was a great success

internationally and a musical hit, affirming his status as a music director as wel

His next directorial release was Blood Brothers, a 11-minute short film, which is part of Mira

Nair's series of HIV-AIDS awareness films. Guillermo Navarro is the cinematographer on

this film. He has also done music direction in the film No Smoking Kaminey, starring Shahid

Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra, released on 14 August 2009, met with early commercial

success and critical acclaim.

8. Raj Kumar Hirani: Rajkumar Hirani's first directorial venture was Munnabhai MBBS

(2003) which is considered a cult classic.Munnabhai MBBS not only broke all formulaic

conventions associated with Bollywood films but also became a trend setter. Made on a

budget of Rs. 10 crores, it was a huge hit worldwide and took a distributor share of Rs. 25

crores from the Indian market. His second directorial effort was Lage Raho Munnabhai which

had a strong cultural impact in India, popularising Gandhism under Munna Bhai's notion of

Gandhigiri. The film was generally well-received by both critics and the mass audience and

was a huge box office success.

His third film was the comedy 3 Idiots starring Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan, Sharman Joshi,

Kareena Kapoor, Omi Vaidya, Parikshit Sahni and Boman Irani. The film was also very well

received by the critics. 3 idiots became the highest grosser in Indian cinema shattering all

records across Indian and overseas markets

9. Madhur Bhandarka: Madhur Bhandarkar ran a video library before he made his

directorial debut with Trishakhi in 1999. After two years he directed Chandni Bar starring

Tabu. The film was a critically acclaimed success and he won his first National Award for the

film.This was followed by another critically acclaimed film Satta (2003). His next film Page

3 (2005) did very good business at the box office, was highly acclaimed by critics and won

him another National Award. His films Corporate (2006) and Traffic Signal (2007) were also

appreciated by the critics and audiences. His next hit was Fashion (2008) starring Priyanka

chopra. Bhandarkar is always known for his socially relevant and hard hitting films.

10. Ashutosh Gowariker: Starting his career as an actor in director Ketan Mehta's Holi,

Ashutosh directed his first movie Pehla Nasha in 1993. His second directorial movie Baazi

(1995) starred Amir Khan. In 2001, Ashutosh directed the period epic Lagaan. The film

received critical acclaim and was ranked third among 2001 Bollywood movies in terms of

gross revenue. Lagaan was also nominated for an Oscar Academy Award for the Best

Foreign Language Film. In 2004 Ashutosh made Swades starring Shah Rukh Khan. Swades

received high critical acclaim. Ashutosh's latest directorial work Jodha Akbar, a period movie

starring Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai, released in 2008, has received much popular and

critical acclaim. Ashutosh is known as an'actor's director'. This for all of his male actors have

won the Filmfare or the Critics' Best Actor Award. Ashutosh Gowariker is one of those rare

directors who take the path less taken and he is now one of India's elite directors.

4.2.3 Some of the Famous Directors of South1. Gautam Vasudev Menon

2. Bala

3. Selva Raghavan

4. S.S. Rajamouli

5. Teja

6. Shekhar Kammula

7. Upendra

8. Yogaraj Bhat

9. Soori

10. Siddiqqi

4.2.4 Changing TrendsSometime in the mid-1970s when Shashi Kapoor announced four films — 36 Chowringhee

Lane (Aparna Sen), Junoon (Shyam Benegal), Vijeyta (Govind Nihalani) and Utsav (Girish

Karnad) — to be made under his banner ‘Filmwala’, all that the media wanted to know was

whether these films were going to be art house films or mainstream movies. “There is nothing

like an art or a commercial film. It is either a good film or a bad film,” said an exasperated

Kapoor.

Today, with the success of Rajneeti, My Name is Khan, Paa, Kaminey and Ishqiya — and

despite the failure of Mani Ratnam’s Raavan — it seems Kapoor’s message has finally

reached the audience and the credit for this goes to our present filmmakers. But the wheel, in

my opinion, turned with Farhan Akhtar’s Dil Chahta Hai (2001) — a new-age film about

three friends in pursuit of their dreams. Producer Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan just out of

college combined force to launch ‘Excel Films’ and present a real world of make-believe

characters. Dil Chahta Hai was as much about the new-age parents as the youngsters in the

film and, therefore, loved by all generations.

Looking back, it was an extraordinary year with a number of new directors ushering a new

sensibility. Madhur Bhandarkar, who started as an assistant with Ram Gopal Varma, after

many years of struggle, found his niche in Chandani Bar — a heart-breaking story of a bar

girl doomed to despair. Ashutosh Gowariker, learning from his previous mistake (Baazi),

toiled over a near perfect period script rejected by everybody and finally accepted by Aamir

Khan Productions. Aamir believed in the spirit of Lagaan and systematically worked towards

a universal appeal. Ashutosh combined cricket, colonialism and drought to tell the story of a

courageous farmer. The duo painstakingly worked on the preproduction, held auditions and

workshops in India and the UK. The cast and crew were booked for six months and lived like

a family on location in Bhuj.

Veteran filmmaker Yash Johar’s son Karan Johar made his debut with Kuch Kuch Hota Hai

with two-and-half superstars (Rani Mukherjee was still on the rise). For his second film, he

had to take a step higher and sign six superstars. Living to his showman image, his film

portrayed sprawling mansions, helicopters, designer clothes and extravagant naach-gaana.

Johar was a great storyteller and a master at pushing all the right buttons to make his

audience laugh and cry alternatively.

The year also introduced us to two diaspora films made by two women filmmakers — Mira

Nair’s Monsoon Wedding and Gurinder Chadha’s Bend It Like Beckham — and both were

box-office runaways that spoke volumes about the changing taste of the audience. But there

was another reason as well. Hindi films were looking and sounding better because people

behind the scenes were changing.

Affluent, educated youngsters with a global perspective were entering the medium and

defining new guidelines of professionalism. Unlike the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s when producers

first announced projects and then went hunting for scripts, the current bunch of filmmakers

vigorously brainstormed ideas and diligently worked on scripts. They stayed away from

announcements and disapproved of visitors on the sets.

There was greater discipline and higher ambitions at stake. Everybody aspired for quality

cinema endorsed by the box-office and it reflected in their varied choice of subjects. Ram

Gopal Varma wasn’t satisfied with the laurels he received for Satya and strived to better his

craft in Company, a story of two underworld kings Dawood and Chhota Rajan. Sanjay Leela

Bhansali, whose Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam was seductively colourful, went a step further in

Devdas, portraying the magnificent and melancholic world of Sarat Babu’s hero.

Interestingly, while the big budget films were aspiring to become realistic, the smaller budget

films refrained from becoming pedantic. Aparna Sen, through a bus journey of Rahul Bose

and Konkana Sen Sharma, told an engaging story of two strangers trapped in vulnerable

circumstances (Mr & Mrs Iyer). Similarly, Shaad Ali, who assisted Mani Ratnam in the

Tamil version, remade the story as Saathiyaan in Hindi. What set the film apart was the

treatment of the film. Ali’s contemporary love story redefined the careers of his lead pair —

Rani Mukherjee and Vivek Oberoi. Not all filmmakers were as alert to adapt to changing

trends. Mahesh Manjarekar’s Astitva and Jagmohan Mundhra’s Bawandar, though rich in

content, fell into the ’80s parallel films and appealed to a niche audience. Rajkumar Santoshi

tried to combine the artistic with commercial in Pukaar and failed miserably. Anil Kapoor

was heart-broken when the film bombed, but there was some consolation when he won the

National Award for his performance.

Ravi Chopra took a chance when he launched Baghban, a recycled story about the dignity of

the old. In the original, the old couple is poor and helpless and ill-treated by their children,

while in Baghban Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini look prosperous and glamorous. In

fact, what worked for the film was the star quotient. Director Prakash Jha, whose Mrityudand

exposed the feudal lords of Madhya Pradesh, went this time closer into politics with

Gangajal. Baghban tapped our conscience and Gangajal touched a raw nerve.

Come 2006 and our competitive spirits soared even higher. The formula films became better

packaged and the smaller films focused on quicker recovery. The audience smelled their

intentions from the posters and juggled choices between a Dor and a Don, Golmaal and

Corporate, Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna and Khosla Ka Ghosla, Lage Raho Munnabhai and

Omkara, and Rang De Basanti and Om Shanti Om. The lines between the artistic and the

commercial were diminishing, so was the distinction between the traditional and the radical.

If Don was gripping, Dor was moving. If Munnabhai was delightful and thought-provoking,

Om Shanti Om was reflective and entertaining.

5. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

5.1 Research DesignQuestionnaire was designed to enable getting good, intricate responses from the target audience. So, this was a descriptive research design.

The mode of research was entirely online - mainly through social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and also through email. Such a mode got many responses due to the sheer vastness of the social networks.

5.2 SamplingThe samples were chosen in quite a structured manner. It was sent to people in my social network who were capable of responding to my questions. The age group targeted was between the late teens and the early thirties. The questionnaire requires a basic understanding of how the film industry in India functions and also the knowledge about the Directors and their Brand value. So, only proper film buffs were considered as samples. It was a mixture of random and systematic sampling.

5.3 Tools for Data collectionData was collected through social networking sites like Facebook, Orkut and micro blogging sites like Twitter and also through email. I didn’t resort to direct field data collection.

5.4 Field WorkDue to the limited time available and also due to the sheer vastness and ease of online data collection, I didn’t resort to any field work.

5.5 Methods of Data AnalysisMS Excel and the data analysis that was available in Google Forms where the survey was done, were used for data analysis.

6. DATA ANALYSISTOTAL RESPONDENTS – 82

In the Indian film industry, who do you think is important for a film to make it a success

Majority of the people felt that the entire team is responsible for the film’s success, followed

by the reputation of the director and the star cast.

Would you still be interested if a reputed director does a remake of a movie which you have already

watched?

I’ll watch it, come what may

15%

No, He should se-lect original scripts

34%

It depends on the value of the orig-

inal41%

Other10%

Your favorite director doing remakes?

Would you really wait for a movie like a crazy fan if your favourite director makes a movie

without a Superstar?

Of course yes. He is the captain of the ship.

Again, trailers matter.

How are the reviews of the movie??

Didn’t I tell you, Star matters.

44

24

9

5

Your favorite director without a superstar

A Superstar can salvage even an average movie’s box office status singlehandedly with his

star power (Ex- Bodyguard, Ready). In the same way, can a big director succeed with just

an average script?

13%

62%

24%

Can a big director succeed with an av-erage script?

I haven’t seen any of the directors doing thatThe chances are very less. Not impossibleHe can do it.

Do you think a big director should make a compromise while working with the Superstars?

(mainly with the script).

78%

22%

Should Directors compromise for the image of the Stars?

No, it affects their creativityYes, image of the star matters in Indian Cinema

Would you watch your favourite director’s movie with the same craze if his recent track

record is very bad?

No, his days are gone

Show me the trailers

umm.! Not sure

Of course I would. I am a die-hard fan.

4

29

27

22

Would you watch a struggling big director's movie?

Would you watch if your favourite director makes a movie out of his usual genre?

94%

6%

Would you watch if your fav director tries something new?

Yes No

If a new director works with an ordinary star cast, what will drive you to watch that movie?

I’ll check on the other technicians 14 17%

I’ll wait for the promos and songs 58 71%

How are the promotions? 12 15%

I really don’t care. 17 21%

In the following years, who do you think will play a major role in film's success?

Superstars Directors Other0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

23

40

19

7. SUMMARY OF FINDINGSFinding 1

In Indian film industry people feel that the whole team or the unit of the film is important for the film to be successful one. The trends have changed and the people started to recognise the director and appreciate his effort behind the film and learnt to give him his credits and understood that he is the major factor behind every movie but still the stars can take the movie on their shoulders as people still watch the movies to watch their favourite stars on screen.

Finding 2

When a new movie is released the people usually tend to watch the movie by the influential factors like based on reviews, word of mouth, suggestions from friends and relatives, to watch visual effects, got free tickets, people also watch a movie for the reputation of the director is another influential factor for the them equally followed by the Promos and the trailers of the film released, as people doesn’t care who directs and acts. Promos and trailers should look interesting for them.

Finding 3

When a director tries to remake a movie, he has to choose a movie which is already a blockbuster and has a very good reputation among the movie buffs, fans usually won’t mind if a renowned director remakes a blockbuster movie or a reputed movie. But most of the fans would usually want their favourite director to opt for a fresh and original script as the director’s creative substance will be at their best.

Finding 4

The trends have really changed, most of the people still opt to watch a movie when a renowned director makes a movie without a superstar in the movie. Is this the change that industry needed? Well directors can also bet on their fan following, not only the stars. But still there are people who would wait, watch the trailers and listen to the songs and then decide to watch a movie. Very less percentage of people agrees that star matters for the movie.

Finding 5

As we saw above that people saying that they wait for a renowned directors movie without a star but the question to be asked is whether a director can succeed with just an average script without a star and it is noted that the task would be very tough. It is a challenge for any director but it is not impossible. If the director has a very good reputation then there are chances of succeeding, as we see stars can salvage a box-office collection by their star power. Some also think that he will do it by his brand name irrespective of kind of script.

Finding 6

When the renowned director works with the superstar, the director most of the times changes the script according to the star’s image in the industry. But the fact is director should stick on to the script if he is confident about it and no need to change it just for the sake of the star’s image, he loses his creativity and most of the times the movie might not come out as it was intended.

Finding 7

Again trailers and songs are the driving factor to pull the audience into the theatres for the movie made by the famous, renowned director whose recent track record is not impressive. The director can pull the audience into the theatres by the good promos. But still people are not sure of watching the movie as they wait for the reviews. Directors can still breathe a sigh of relief as their fans would surely want to watch the movie and they are waiting.

Finding 8

Here’s a happy news for all the film directors out there, there is always a room for experiment and creativity, fans would always appreciate the experiment and they would come and watch a movie if a movie if their favourite director makes a movie out of his usual genre.

Finding 9

Again promos and the songs of the new film play an important role in bringing the crowds to the theatres when a new director is working with the ordinary star cast without a star in the movie. There are chances of people neglecting the movie but still if the other technicians are familiar and reputed and the promotions of the movie are interesting, then people would surely want to watch the movie.

Finding 10

In the coming years Directors are expected to rule the film industry as per the trend, stars might be successful in holding back their star power but directors will also be equally given importance or even more than the star for a film. Most of the people think that the directors will be a major force in bringing the crowd to the theatre and making a movie successful followed by the Stars and the Scripts.

8. RECOMMENDATIONS The trend has changed in the industry, choosing a good script for the director is more

important than banking on the star power of the star. Make use of all the promotional tools available to promote the movie, with a little

creative touch. Experimentation with the script is needed as people have watched almost all the

possible stories on screen. Script holds the key, make a movie as to what script demands not as to what the

image of the star is. People are always interested in watching a straight or a fresh script rather than the

remake, so choose the script accordingly.

9. CONCLUSIONIndian Film Industry has changed over the years. Indian films were dominated by the star value that a star has to his name. But over the years there has been a change in the trend and director is also been a recognised for his efforts. It is evident that the audience would not only go for a movie just by looking at the star but also they rush into the theatres by looking at the director. Yes, if a renowned director works with the superstar then the hype or an expectation would be higher but if a renowned director makes a movie without a star in it, then the Brand Value of the Director provokes people to come and watch the movie.

In Hollywood, director is given the major attention for the movie, Indian industry is also heading at the same direction. Technicians of the movie are recognised and the director is equally given importance compared to the star. Directors have their own market and their own following. This has to only help the directors to experiment in their movies as the audience ask for it. This should also help the Indian film industry to make best of the movies.

10. WEBLIOGRAPHY

http://indiaindustrystatistics.blogspot.com/2010/04/jai-ho-bollywood.html

http://folks.co.in/2010/07/bollywood-is-changing/

http://tilakrishi.sulekha.com/blog/post/2008/04/bollywood-s-top-ten-directors-today.htm

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/jun/23/india-independent-cinema

http://www.altiusdirectory.com/Entertainment/famous-bollywood-directors.php

ANNEXURE

MY QUESTIONNAIRE

Hey, I am Chaitanya Kumbhakonum. doing my MBA in Media & Entertainment from Manipal University Bangalore. I am doing my dissertation project as part of my MBA program. My topic is "BRAND VALUE OF DIRECTORS IN INDIAN CINEMA". This survey is required to carry out my study. It takes about 3-5 mins of your valuable time. THANKU and REGARDS

* Required

Section A

1. Are you a movie buff? *

 Of course. Yes

 No, not really

2. In the Indian film industry, who do you think is important for a film to make it a success, (Rate accordingly 1 to 5) *1 being the best.. Rank accordingly. 1,2,3,4,5. by not repeating the ranking

1 2 3 4 5

Director, he is the leader.

Actors, Star matters dude, give me a

break

Producer/Production house, ahem..

money matters

Songs, obviously, that’s how I know

that movie.

1 2 3 4 5

Whole team, don’t u think so.!

3. Which was the Indian film that you have seen recently (of any language)? *

4. The reason behind you watching that movie? *More than 1 option is possible

 I loved the trailers and songs

 It was my Superstar’s movie dude.

 Reputation of the director

 Good Production house

 Over the top promotions

 Other: 

5. Would you still be interested if a reputed director does a remake of a movie which you have already watched? *

 I’ll watch it, come what may

 No, He should select original scripts

 It depends on the value of the original

 Other: 

6. Who is your favourite director? The reason for the liking In just a few words. *

7. Would you really wait for a movie like a crazy fan if your favourite director makes a movie without a Superstar? *

 Of course yes. He is the captain of the ship.

 Again, trailers matter.

 How are the reviews of the movie??

 Didn’t I tell you, Star matters.

8. Who are the Indian directors you think, are a brand of their own? Atleast 3 names. *

9. A Superstar can salvage even an average movie’s box office status singlehandedly with his star power(Ex- Bodyguard, Ready). In the same way, can a big director succeed with just an average script? *

 I haven’t seen any of the directors doing that

 The chances are very less. Not impossible

 He can do it.

10. Do you think a big director should make a compromise while working with the Superstars?(mainly with the script). *

 No, it affects their creativity

 Yes, image of the star matters in Indian Cinema

11. Would you watch your favourite director’s movie with the same craze if his recent track record is very bad? *

 No, his days are gone

 Show me the trailers

 umm.! Not sure

 Of course I would. I am a die-hard fan.

12. Would you watch if your favourite director makes a movie out of his usual genre? *

 Yes

 No

13. If a new director works with an ordinary star cast, what will drive you to watch that movie? *

 I’ll check on the other technicians

 I’ll wait for the promos and songs

 How are the promotions?

 I really don’t care.

14. In the following years, who do you think will play a major role in film's success? *

 Superstars

 Directors

 Other: 

Section B

Name

Age *

 below 15

 16-20

 21-25

 26-30

 31-39

 40+

Gender *

 Male

 Female

Occupation

Location *

Phone Number

Email ID

Thank You....... CHEERS :)