India's thriving film industry

MANILA, Philippines - Mention the word Bollywood and images of Indian moviestars in song-and-dance numbers usually come to mind. A recent trip to India afforded a glimpse of a thriving movie scene and clarified some misimpressions about the so-called Bollywood.

The term actually pertains to the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai and Bollywood is a misnomer to refer to the all of Indian cinema.The subcontinent, after all, has thousands of languages and its frenetic movie industry encompasses ten major languages, not just Hindi.

Close to 1,500 titles are produced every year, making it one of the world’s most prolific, second only to Hollywood. The Philippines’ output of less than 100 local films a year is but a fraction to that of India’s whose population of over 1 billion represent a vast potential market. Even Sony Pictures has branched out to Bombay of late, with the aim to release Indian movies and distribute Hollywood flicks.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs recently invited a group of journalists for a tour of some of its facilities in Hyderabad and Mumbai to show the range of their production know-how and training expertise.

Ramoji Film City lies 16 miles away from the historic city of Hyderabad, an international IT hub located in south-west India. Its modern airport gives one the impression of being somewhere in Amercia, belying the fact that several multinational corporations have set up shop in this bustling city of the Andra Pradesh state.

With an area of 800 hectares, it is said to be one of the world’s largest film production complex. RFC is a sprawling film production facilty offering extensive production services for film and television productions. Various studio mock-ups are available - whether it is an airport, a Hindu temple, a European street scene, a medieval castle or whatever it is a production may want customized.

Key to RFC’s current stature is its enigmatic founder, Ramoji Rao, whose vision it is to provide a one-stop film destination to serve the region of Andra Pradesh. Churning out an average of 200 titles a year, most of the films shot in its facilities cater to the market of India’s Tegulu-speaking population.

The whole gamut of locations encompass the entire range of settings required for film shoots from sound stages, ready locations, and other sets. RFC is also a theme park that surrounds the studio’s manmade woods, fountains and lakes in addition to its various gardens, hotel and office buildings.

Mumbai was the next stop where the group visited Whistling Woods International, one of India’s newer film schools offering world-class education in filmmaking.

Founded in 2006, WWI was founded by reknowned filmmaker Subhash Ghai together with Mukta Arts Ltd and Filmcity Mumbai. Within such span of time, WWI has established itself as a hub in quality film education offering intensive courses in cinematography, directing, producing, editing, screenwriting and sound recording and design.

Its 8-hectare campus lies in the outskirts of what was formerly Bombay. The impressive facilities and studios make it a suitable training ground for would-be filmmakers. Professionals from varying fields in production comprise its faculty where students get the chance to become future practitioners for their high-stakes movie industry. In addition to filmmaking, WWI also offers programs in broadcasting, acting, animation and media management studies.

The visit to those two Indian film destinations shows how the country gives top priority to its media and entertainment industry, something that the Philippines can certainly emulate. As examples of world-class training and production facilities, both destinations show their potential as an emerging hub for international film production.