Page 43 - From Bombay to Bollywoord The Making of a Global Media Industri

30 << Media Industries and the State in an Era of Reform

and the diaspora; and second, the crisis in the Bombay film industry, partic-
ularly regarding financing, and the state’s decision to intervene. Let me turn,
then, to NRI-centric Hindi-language films and the ways in which Bombay-
based producers and directors imagined the NRI figure and represented the
“global Indian family.”

“From Bihar to Manhattan”: Bombay Cinema
and the Global Indian Family

In June 2003 I received an invitation to attend the publicity event for Rajshri
Productions’s Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon (I’m Crazy about Prem, dir. Sooraj
Barjatya, 2003) in New York City. The email invitation, extended by a friend
whose family lived next door to the Barjatyas in Bombay, explained that the
event was part of Rajshri Productions’s marketing and promotions strategy
and was designed to give journalists and film critics in the United States a
glimpse of the film before its worldwide release. Given Rajshri Produc-
tions’ reputation as having reintroduced the “family film” in India with box-
office hits such as Maine Pyar Kiya (I Fell in Love, 1989), Hum Aapke Hain
Kaun. . ! (What Do I Mean to You? 1995), and Hum Saath Saath Hain (We
Are Together, 1997), these films’ enduring popularity in India and among
diasporic audiences, and Rajshri’s position as one of the first production
companies to have developed innovative strategies to market their films, I
was excited at the opportunity to attend the event and perhaps even ask the
marketing manager, Rajat Barjatya, a few questions. 20
The event, attended by well over thirty journalists, began with a screen-
ing of the trailer of Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon and three song sequences
from the film. This was followed by a twenty-minute session during which
Rajat Barjatya fielded a range of questions about the film’s plot, the stars,
and the music. Throughout this question and answer session, he reminded
everyone about Rajshri Productions’ commitment to making “wholesome
films with melodious music that the entire family could watch.” Toward
the end, when it was clear that the journalists and other attendees had no
other questions, Barjatya announced that there was one important idea he
wished to convey. Speaking softly and affecting a solemn tone, he delivered
his marketing pitch:

Everyone knows that Rajshri has made family films that appeal to viewers
in every strata of society across India—north, south, east, and west. Today,
we wish to appeal to families all the way from Bihar to Manhattan. From
Bihar to Manhattan, Indian families everywhere (my emphasis).