English language Indian feature to emulate Slumdog success
Shot mainly in India, Bombay Boulevard, the latest international production to jump on the India bandwagon, promises to be different.
Tweet-- Mumbai, April 2010: Kauzala Motion Pictures, a production firm based between London and Mumbai, is soon to commence production of the English language feature film, Bombay Boulevard. The film's producers have recently been in India to scout for talent, locations and to meet local support teams, and have come away a little overwhelmed with the challenge of shooting in India's city of dreams.
'We came here to tie up some loose ends, including IP matters and registrations, and of course preparing for production' said a project executive. 'It will be a big task shooting here, especially in Mumbai, so we will need to prepare very thoroughly and get the best local support possible.'
Since the positive international reception of Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire - the highest grossing Indocentric film of all time - a number of Hollywood studios have made a beeline to India either to produce their own movies set in India, or to join hands with Indian filmmakers for co-productions.
'Some of the studios have come to India to target the Indian box office. Others are keen on taking an Indian setting, an Indian story, to a global audience - as with Slumdog', added Abhaey Singh, an investor and Hollywood-trained filmmaker involved in the project. 'India is in vogue and will continue to be so - but you still need to get the basics right, and produce a very good, universally appealing film for it to have a chance of doing well at the US box office. So the screenplay, progression, characterisation, editing and of course the acting really have to do the trick. Slumdog has been a mighty success by any standards, and so that has got to be our commercial benchmark'.
According to Singh, Bombay Boulevard's biggest attribute will be its ability to relate to its targeted audiences. 'We had a nice, simple story, and have developed that into very solid screenplay. The few industry colleagues whom we've shown it to in Mumbai and especially LA and London genuinely liked the final draft. We didn't cut any corners on that front - once we knew our own vision and story, we made a lot of effort to develop it from the point of view of our audience. It is a beautiful, meaningful film, but at the end of the day it is a commercial product designed for mass consumption, and we need to ensure that it works at the box office first and foremost. If it works there, it means people can relate to it in some way. We are actually quite confident that it will be a good, honest film; what we need to ensure we get right is the commercial viability - the film needs to captivate and win over large and disparate audiences, and the US box office will be our first litmus test'.
Reluctant to disclose the names of any actors and crew involved in the project, Singh adds 'We'll be in London and LA again soon. After that, all going well, we can announce who we believe but cannot yet confirm is to be involved. Until then, all else is conjecture, and doesn't count for anything'.