“Audiences never change preferences. The appetite for good cinema is always alive” - Arindham Chaudhari 
By IndiaFM News Bureau, December 7, 2004 - 05:20 IST
Behind the power suit of a management wizard shines an intensely passionate filmmaker who brings to life 70MM fantasies in dark theatre rooms. Management maestro Arindham Chaudhari is a lethal combination of one who believes in the magic of cinema when backed by the logic of management mantras.
Come December 10th and the professional par excellence is on the threshold of his directorial career when he presents Rok Sako To Rok Lo, a youthfare of friendship, romance, fun and frolic.
In a 2-part interview with IndiaFM, the director gets candid about fatcat producers, corporatisation of Bollywood, marketing in movies and tells us why Rok Sako To Rok Lo has the edge of a winner…
Here's a read for the think tanks…
From devising strategies to penning scripts, how has it been?
It's been good. I have always tried to indulge in my creative passions. Two years back I took a break to write a book. Then turned producer with a Bengali film. Followed it with yet another book. And this year, it's a movie. I have thoroughly enjoyed this creative vacation.
What makes us curious is that a management institute has plunged into filmmaking?
Like I mentioned, we had earlier diversified into movies with a Bengali film. Rok Sako To Rok Lo affirms of our belief that the film industry can be corporatised. Our conviction that films can be made the way companies make products. Unlike the corporate world where customer is king, in films, it's a director's fantasy that is king.
That's when we undertook a research, which threw up five scripts that people voted for. Rok Sako To Rok Lo was one such plot that people said hadn't happened for a long time, and that they would love to watch such a film. It's then that the storyline came about. Besides I used my experience with students to further flesh out the story. And have done a good job with it, if I may say so.
What is it about Yash & Manjiri that told you 'Yes, they are my lead pair'?
The selection was research based which told us that the young hero India would like to see is a lover boy, not more that 5'9 inches tall with expressive eyes. Yash matched this profile to the T and that's the reason he is the hero, Dev. Same with Manjiri who plays Suhana in the film. She is going to be the nation's next sweetheart.
The lead pair aren't established names, so will it dent box office results?
Not in the least. Hollywood's biggest film Titanic had rank rookies in the film. You don't need a Sylvester Stallone and Sharone Stone to sell your film. A good script with smart marketing will win you a success.
“Fickle audience reaction” is the biggest cover that filmmakers run for. Your take on it…
“Audiences change preferences every Friday. I don't know whether the film will work or not” This is the dumbest line I have hit upon. Audiences never change preferences. Everytime you offer a good film, they lap it, if it's bad, they trash it. The appetite for good cinema is always alive.
Sunny on a campus, now that is an interesting angle. How did the casting happen?
When we conceived the role of a 'larger-than-life' character on a Harley, sporting huge tattoos, dark glares and studs, Sanjay Dutt and Sunny Deol were the two names who fit the bill. We approached Sunny first and things worked out beautifully.
We have caught glimpses of Namrata, what is she doing in the film?
Well, Namrata plays a 'sutradhar' in the film. Indian cinema has never had a female narrator and in that sense, this will be a first. As regards her role, she runs a caf?pposite the two schools and has this little romance happening with Sunny.
Where do you think Rok Sako To Rok Lo has an edge over the dozens of campus capers that are churned out?
Rok Sako To Rok Lo has a story and that's where we win hands down. Kuch Kuch Hota Hai was a success because it had a plot. 200 films after that, but they have only managed to get its colors, not its spirit.
And what would you say is the spirit of Rok Sako To Rok Lo?
Rok Sako To Rok Lo shows the spirit of great friendship and intense rivalry. If you can show the spirit of winning in its best, there is nothing like it. Everybody wants to be a winner in life. Rok Sako To Rok Lo is an attitude. It's a 'Stop us if you can' attitude that is so very teenager.
Besides we have a very well researched script that was suggested and improvised by people themselves. And I am gut sure that the film will be a hit! How big a hit is the only question.
What is the marketing web that you have charted for your baby?
For starters we have distributed 1000 audiocassettes to rikshawdrivers, because we realize it's from there that the music picks up. Also if you observe, each music piece has been treated as an individual brand. A pub-crawl exercise was next in line where we traveled to 40 pubs in one night and gave away goodies to the clubbing crowd. The response has to be seen to be believed. Tremendous!
Our next hub was schools where we showed them film trailors. A good deal of push happened there too We also embarked upon a direct marketing effort, where we showed the movie to corporate head honchos, ensuring a bulk-buy of tickets. Each of the marketing initiative has been such that the money will walk back. We believe that the product has a massive market potential.
Tell us your experience of working with your digital partners IndiaFM.com?
It's been unbelievable! The only online media that the distributors circle takes seriously is IndiaFM.com. What you see there, is what they know. Today, if you go online and see a hundred stories of Rok Sako To Rok Lo, they have all been picked up from IndiaFM. Its Bollywood's No.1 portal and has the largest number of clicks worldwide and is India's No.6 popular website, which I believe is amazing.
|
