Page 204 - From Bombay to Bollywoord The Making of a Global Media Industri

Appendix 1

Profiles of Key Bollywood Companies

I provide profiles of the following companies because taken together, they
represent the range of models and practices prevalent in Bollywood—small-
scale family-owned production companies (Dharma Productions), small-
scale star-owned companies (Aamir Khan Productions, Shahrukh Khan’s
Red Chillies Entertainment), vertically integrated family-owned studios
(Yash Raj Films, Rajshri Productions), vertically and horizontally integrated
media corporations (UTV, Reliance Entertainment, Studio 18, Eros Enter-
tainment), and newer corporate entrants (Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision,
Percept Pictures). Needless to say, there are several other production, distri-
bution, and exhibition companies that could have been featured here.

1. Aamir Khan Productions Private Limited

Aamir Khan Productions Pvt. Ltd. is a privately held “star studio” established
in 1999 by actor Aamir Khan. A member of a prominent film family (his
cousin is director Mansoor Khan, and his uncle is Nasir Hussain, a promi-
nent producer, director, and screenwriter), Khan established himself as a star
as the lead in Mansoor Khan’s Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988). Beginning
as a child actor and later a teen heartthrob, Khan has recently chosen proj-
ects that have cultivated his reputation as a serious, “thinking actor,” includ-
ing Lagaan (2001), Mangal Pandey: The Rising (2005), and Rang de Basanti
(2006).
Khan’s production credits reflect his carefully constructed persona as an
actor. Aamir Khan Productions’ first film was Lagaan (2001), a film whose
script was reportedly passed over by a number of producers and production
houses. Directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, and starring Aamir Khan in a lead-
ing role, the film tells the story of a group of villagers suffering under British
rule who accept a challenge to play a cricket match against the local Brit-
ish administration. Critically acclaimed, the film also received an Academy
Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film in 2002. Since Lagaan,
Khan has produced only a handful of films, including Taare Zameen Par
(2007), Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na (2008), Peepli Live (2010), Dhobighat (2010),
and Delhi Belly (2011)—all of which have achieved a measure of critical and
commercial success. For example, Taare Zameen Par, Khan’s directorial

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