By Gaurav Gandhi,
Group Chief Operating Officer, IndiaCast Media Distribution
In the ‘70s or ‘80s, a Westerner typically had clichéd images of India: elephants, snake charmers, the Taj Mahal, chaotic traffic, and possibly Hindi movies in which the lead pair broke into song and dance (usually around trees) every few minutes. 30 years on, a lot has changed. The list now begins with our growing economy and swiftly moves to our IT industry and Silicon Valley techies, Indian food (the hot curries!), yoga and ayurveda, Rajasthan and Kerala as global tourist hotspots, the big fat Indian weddings, and last but not the least – a very colourful view of our bustling entertainment industry, especially films.
Our entertainment industry has a huge role to play in exporting our culture and lifestyle. While the $25 billion Indian media and entertainment sector still earns less than 3% of its overall revenues from the overseas markets, I find its socio-cultural impact phenomenal. Whether it is the Bollywood themed party I recently attended in the heart of New York; or exotic Indian style wedding celebrations in European countryside; or the ubiquitous Bollywood dance schools in every major city in the world; I even spotted an Indian saree in the wardrobe of a Venezuelan friend who shows it off as a matter of pride – all of these are a testimony of the growing reach and impact of our movies and television.
Indian broadcasters make close to $300 million and growing, exporting channels and content to overseas markets. Much of it currently focuses on the 30 million strong Indian diaspora. The channels are showcased in over 100 countries. For Indians away from home, the content is more than just entertainment. It tells them, home isn’t too far away.
While one would chuckle at the prospect, Indian drama series (along with Turkish and South Korean dramas) are actually hot properties for broadcasters from around the world. Drama, family and the song and dance thrown in for good measure, is a universal favourite! Today Central and Eastern Europe as well as CIS countries consume Indian dramas as their daily dose of prime time entertainment. Over the years, markets such as Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Croatia, Slovakia, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Azerbaijan have become huge fans of Indian dramas. Unexpected for the lay person, but Afghanistan, Indonesia, Vietnam, the middle-east region and sub-Saharan Africa lap up Indian TV like hot cake.
These shows speak languages such as Dari, Pashto, Japanese, Vietnamese, Hebrew, Russian, Bhasa, Arabic, Kurdish Sorani, Serbian, Bosnian, Macedonian, Albanian, Croatian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Azari, Georgian, Kazahk, French, Swaheli and Spanish – through dubbing or subtitles. Markets such as Azerbaijan, Vietnam and Kazakhstan even have Indian fiction artist visits (the likes of Avika Gor and Siddharth Shukla of Balika Vadhu) to interact with the hordes of local followers.
Our television content has truly put India on the global map of entertainment exports. And it won’t be long before India is known as much for its world class TV content as it is known for its delicious curries.
Feedback: Gaurav.Gandhi@indiacast.com
