Quantcast
Channel: Box Office India : India’s premier film trade magazine » Tum Bin
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 2

T Series In Conversation With Team Box Office India

0
0

BOI: T-Series has always been a major music label but it became a very active film production house a couple of years ago. How did this change come about?

Bhushan Kumar (BK): We have been making movies ever since my father’s time and started our production business with Lal Dupatta Malmal Ka. Then we went on to make films like Aashiqui, Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin and many more. But, earlier, we were making movies while keeping music in mind as my father believed that instead of going to a producer, he should produce movies and keep the music rights with himself.

I followed the same concept and made movies like Tum Bin, Aapko Pehle Bhi Kahin Dekha Hai and Muskaan. Then we entered into joint ventures for Lucky featuring Salman Khan, Humko Deewana Kar Gaye, Bhool Bhulaiyaa and Patiala House, all of them featuring Akshay Kumar. Again, our idea was to recover a major chunk of our investment through music.

We never really got creatively involved in the filmmaking process, and that only started with Salman Khan’s Ready in 2011.

Vinod Bhanushali (VB): Doing a Salman Khan film, thinking up innovative marketing and promoting it made us confident of film production. It was a big film and we handled it all by ourselves.

BK: Our own team handled the production and we promoted the film ourselves. There was no studio attached to the film and it fetched Rs 138 crore. Again, the music was a big success.

VB: The best thing about Ready was we finished the film in just six months. That was due to Salman Khan’s relationship with Bhushanji.

BOI: So Ready was a turning point for T-Series, in terms of film production?

BK: Ready gave us the confidence but the actual turning point was Aashiqui 2. Even the distribution of Aashiqui 2 was handled by us. We did everything, right from the inception of the concept, to making the film, to the marketing strategy, to the distribution model. Ready was a Salman Khan movie, so it was not difficult to promote or sell. But the actual challenge came with Aashiqui 2.

Aashiqui 2 originated in the T-Series office and I went to meet Bhatt saab (Mahesh Bhatt). We were involved with the film as producers from day one. And we fetched ` 80 crore from the film. Then we decided to get into film production in a big way.

Today, we can confidently say that we are capable of judging music that will work and music that won’t. But for films, it will take some time. Now we have 10-12 films on board and intend to produce four to five every year.

I am signing directors but that doesn’t mean these films will go on the floors immediately. We are also expanding our core team in production and marketing. Music will always be our core business but we are also looking at films independently.

BOI: What criteria do you use while choosing a project?

BK: As I told you that now we are improving our judgment on films, so we take a joint call among the three of us. Before green lighting a project we think from the audiences’ point of view, what kind of film the audience will like; we are open for all kind of genres.

BOI: In terms of deal structure, what do you prefer – acquisition, co-production or in-house production?

BK: We are not interested in acquisitions at all. We are interested in producing and co-producing films. Our major upcoming productions are largely joint productions like Bhoothnath 2 with Ravi Chopra, a film with Milan Luthria, and Creature with Vikram Bhatt. Roy and Umesh Shukla’s untitled film is our own film. Also, we are not looking to team up with corporate houses. We will market and distributor our film on our own.

BOI: When the three of you look at a script, do you analyse it for marketing potential, from a production point of view or is it purely a creative call?

BK: We first take a creative call.

VB: I ask myself whether I would spend Rs 250 on a ticket to watch this film or not.

BK: First, we look at it as the audience would and then work on the numbers, like analysing the return on investment. How much the music of the film can make. Also, if a particular genre has worked in the past, it is easy to work on it again because you are aware of the market for that genre. Many films don’t sound all that great during their first narration but they turn out to be really good. So, it is also about instinct.

VB: Sometimes, we are in awe of a script but it doesn’t turn out very well on celluloid. This doesn’t mean you didn’t understand the subject or the script. There are many reasons a film works or fails. So a good script plus good acting, a good director and then the final product… and the final product has to have a great marketing push.

BOI: Vinod, when it comes to marketing movies instead of music, what changes do you have to make in your own strategy and way of looking at things?

VB: We have always learnt from our partners, the kind of relationship we share with the directors and production houses. While we are marketing their film, whether Chennai Express, 3 Idiots or Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai, we learn from them. So when we work on our own films, I make sure we don’t go wrong. Also, everyone associated with a film trusts us to deliver our best. That’s the kind of credibility we have earned. The T-Series brand adds value to a project and this is the perception of our partners.

The song Lungi dance came to us six days before the release of the film but we made it a huge hit. It was Bhushanji’s call and his conviction that this song would be a sureshot blockbuster. He told Shah Rukh Khan, ‘Shah Rukh bhai, we need this song to take the album to a different level.’ And SRK believed in Bhushanji.

BK: Every filmmaker we work with believes in our music sense. Recently, I went to Saif Ali Khan with a song for Bullett Raja and he said, ‘You’re the best judge, you decide what you want to do with the music. I will have a word with the director or the producer and I have full confidence in you.’

They know we are a music company and that we know how to sell a product even without a big star. With Aashiqui 2, we fetched more than many big-budget films do and this film has changed so many things around us. People know our capabilities as a production house; our marketing of films and how we make music.

The first film I did was Tum Bin. We sat on that project for six months. I was very new to the business but I made that music myself. I monitored every tune, every singer, every word of the lyrics and the mixing too. I wanted to learn also ki ek music mein kya cheeze hoti hain ki logon ko itni pasand aati hai. Even today, everyone loves the Tum Bin songs.

BOI: Bhushanji, when you wanted to make Aashiqui 2, everyone in the trade said you were doing that film because of your father, that it was sentimental. Now that Aashiqui 2 is a blockbuster, everyone is saying you’re getting into film production in a big way. What do you have to say?

BK: My father always wanted to set up a production house but he made movies for their music. From now on, we will be making films for films’ sake. Today, we buy over 50 albums a year, small or big, because we understand the market and we know how to market it. Whether we have to add a Lungi song… I was happy with the music of Bullett Raja but I thought of making some changes.

Similarly, we are gaining confidence in film production. We don’t believe in churning out films simply because one film became a hit. The kind of scripts we choose will be decided in time to come.

After the success of Aashiqui 2, so many individual producers approached us, saying they would invest in films if we invested our talent. This is exactly the reverse of what used to happen. Now they tell us they will invest in our talent if we make the film, make the music, lend our brand, market the film and distribute it.

BOI: Ajay, how much has your work load increased?

Ajay Kapoor (AK): Yes, a lot. It’s unlimited now.

BOI: Do you plan to expand your team?

AK: Yes, we already have some more people on board and we’re in touch with some others. Sooner or later, we will have a huge team working on production.

BK: I told Vinod and Ajay that we have limited hours to work and that we should increase the team so that our regular work can get done. We were in the habit of scrutinising every legal document but now we are dividing our team into different departments so that we can meet directors, attend music sittings, story narrations and etc.

BOI: Everyone in the industry speaks highly of your team’s unity. Is that the reason behind the success of T-Series?

BK: Obviously. It is very important for team members to be in sync with each other. Vinod has been with us for more than 18 years and Ajay 15. Two to three years after I joined the company, Ajay joined us. We are a tight core team.

We have not hired a single person with a corporate background. We have been successful with music and we are doing better than any other music company. With our vast background in music, we know exactly which song will work and which will not.

AK: That’s all due to Gulshanji’s blessing. Gulshanji had a great ear for music.

BK: When I listen to a song, I straightaway ask both of them for their opinions and we share the same thoughts 90 per cent of the time. We are totally in sync. Second, all of us have learnt what we know right here, whether it’s song selection, production, promotion or marketing. We are like a family.


Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 2

Latest Images

Trending Articles





Latest Images