Page 146 - From Bombay to Bollywoord The Making of a Global Media Industri

Dot-Coms and the Making of an Overseas Territory >> 133

and value in Bombay’s media world by convincing the film industry of their
unique capabilities. These tactics, however, would have had little effect were
it not for a major structural change in another domain of the industry: over-
seas distribution and exhibition.

ANew Map

Until recently, the distribution of Hindi films has been largely fragmented
and controlled by a few powerful independent distributors. Within India
film distribution is mapped into five major territories. These territories are
divided into fourteen subterritories, which are further divided into smaller
areas. The “overseas territory,” which constitutes the sixth distribution terri-
tory, is typically divided into two categories: traditional and nontraditional.
The U.S. and U.K. markets, with a large movie-going population of Indian
origin, are referred to as traditional markets, while continental Europe,
African countries, and the Gulf states are referred to as nontraditional mar-
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kets. Until the late 1990s, the most common distribution arrangement for
the overseas territories was what is known as an “outright sale.” An “outright
sale” refers to a transaction whereby a distributor buys a film on an outright
basis, paying the producer for the rights to distribute the film overseas over
a period of time. In this arrangement, the distributor takes on all the costs
associated with marketing and exhibiting the film, and is under no obligation
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to share revenues with the producer. To a dot-com company like indiafm,
this method of distribution offered no advantages and in fact posed a major
obstacle. Recalling the many meetings he had with producers and directors
who saw no good reason to invest in online marketing, Mobhani explained:

Outside India, the market was completely controlled by players who would
buy interests outright. And it was in their interests to be nontransparent.
Producers never showed any interest in doing any marketing outside.
“Why should I spend any more?” was the logic at work there. Whatever
money is to be made, the distributor has taken that.

This situation began to change during the late 1990s and early 2000s as
established production companies like Yash Raj Films and newer entrants
like UTV recognized the need to control overseas distribution. Yash Raj
Films’ experience with Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge ( DDLJ, Aditya Chopra,
1995), in many ways the film that established the importance of the overseas
territory, sparked a trade story around distribution as well. Narrated by mar-
keting and public relations professionals and circulated through newspaper