The Assam-born actor Adil Hussain says that filmmakers from the north-east region of India don’t have the kind of budget Bollywood has to market their movies; neither do they have enough cinemas to recover the costs.
Hussain, who has acted in Bollywood movies such as this year’s Lootera and last year’s English Vinglish, points out that regional films get acceptance from international audiences, but only after aggressive campaigning.
“Films that are region-specific, but made well, have a universal appeal,” Hussain said in an interview. “For instance, if a film set in a village in Japan has a well-crafted script, it will get acceptance from the audience worldwide. But marketing plays the most important role in that.”
He said that it is imperative for Indian filmmakers today to have good personal relationships with distributors. “The film has to be good in the first place. Then you need to know someone who can take the responsibility to distribute the film across the country. It needs a lot of money,” said the 50-year-old actor.
“Filmmakers in Mumbai, as well as in southern India, spend a lot of money on advertising. Sometimes the money is more than the production cost of the film. This is money I feel the producers of the north-eastern region don’t have.”
And with the limited number of screens in the region, it is hard for producers to recover their investment.
The actor was speaking to the press after being appointed as ambassador of a two-day film festival in Assam called North East, set for November 8 to 10.
artslife@thenational.ae
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
Size: 50 employees
Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
Dates for the diary
To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:
- September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
- October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
- October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
- November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
- December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
- February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
