Hollywood and Bollywood, two of the largest film industries in the world, agreed to strengthen their cooperation Wednesday with the signing of a historic agreement.
As part of the pact signed Wednesday, Hollywood and Bollywood have agreed to “develop and strengthen motion picture production, distribution, technology, content protection and commercial cooperation.” The two industries also supported the creation of a Los Angeles-India Film Council to encourage Indian film production in Los Angeles.
This is the second major step towards economic development and cooperation this year. In March, the two industries came together in Mumbai to launch the Alliance Against Copyright Theft, a Bollywood-Hollywood content protection coalition in India. Bollywood, as the Hindi film industry is informally called, has been notorious for remaking Hollywood films
The Indian film industry as a whole is one of the largest in the world. Last year, as many as 1,288 films in 24 languages were produced.
"This declaration reinforces our city's commitment to attracting international production. In the past year, we have already seen Hindi movies such as My Name Is Khan and Kites filmed in Los Angeles, and we enthusiastically welcome further Indian production in Los Angeles," Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said in a statement.
Rajiv Dalal, India managing director of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), said, "More than 2.4 million people in America and 1.8 million people in India work in the motion picture and television industry. We look forward to continued commercial cooperation with the US film industry on joint investment and co-productions, which will only increase economic development and job growth in both nations.
The Indian delegation was led by producer Bobby Bedi and Tamil producer and Film Federation of India President L Suresh, along with other representatives from Reliance Big Entertainment and UTV Motion Pictures. Also present at the event were California Film Commissioner Amy Lemisch, Paramount Pictures Chief Executive Officer Brad Grey and Motion Picture Association Asia Pacific President Mike Ellis.
"India has always held a fascination for Hollywood, and this agreement pulls us closer together with the aim of sharing ideas and best practices on domestic and international film production. We look forward to working with the City of Los Angeles to increase Indian production here," Bedi remarked.
Some of the recent joint ventures and co-productions between individual Hollywood studios and Indian production include Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge (2010), Lahore (2010), Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hain (2010), Khichdi (2010), We Are Family (2010), Do Dooni Chaar (2010), Raaz the Mystery Continues (2009), Roadside Romeo (2008) and Saawariya (2007). Upcoming joint ventures include titles like Zokkomon and Dum Maro Dum.
