"Movies written by WGA members must be respected"

Can you talk about Sony’s first movie in India, Saawariya?
Gareth Wiggin, my predecessor, green lit this. But yes, Sony developed it on its own and it was very accepted by audiences. In our division, the whole thrust of our mandate is that it is local language with local talent with local material and local actors. American movies are not included. We started our initiative one year ago on Diwali with the release of Saawariya. It was written by Indian director Sanjay Leela Bhensali. It was very exciting. With Saawariya, we launched the careers of two actors.

What are your specific plans for entering the Hindi film market?
Since Saawariya, we have been out there meeting with filmmakers, producers and directors. Every different project is different, depending on the configuration. Sometimes we have local partners, sometimes we share the responsibility and sometimes we do it on our own. The main thing is that it is material-driven.

How have you dealt with copyright issues in Bollywood?
We have let the community know in a very public forum that it won’t be tolerated. All the other major motion picture production houses have done this as well. I think that there is emerging a larger awareness that it is obligatory to get rights. The trend of wanting to make remakes may not go away but the understanding is there that it is not just fair game.

How big is India in your future plans?
We have identified the countries with the largest growth market and appetite for local language films. India is a significant part of our plans.

What are some of the challenges of working with Bollywood?
We tend to impose our own sensibility on an industry that’s been very functional and successful for many years. We need to learn to accept the differences. We go in with trust no matter where we are making movies. People realise we are in it for the long run, however.

We are an established, well-respected brand, so people know we are worth trusting as well. And we are open to different kinds of material. We have an on the ground office with local talent so we know what Indian audiences are attracted to. Also, in Bollywood, there are different trade union issues. For example, people shoot consecutive days for many hours, days and weeks, which Hollywood does not do.

There were reports that Sony was threatening a lawsuit against Eros and K Sera Sera for the movie Partner, which many agree is a copy of the Sony film Hitch. Can you talk about this?
All I can say is we take copyright seriously. Now, there is more of an understanding. Movies here written by WGA [Writers Guild of America] members must be respected. There wasn’t an understanding of checks and balances before. They know they need to go to the appropriate people now. We have local, on the ground people to deal with this.

Do you think Bollywood is becoming more aware of copyright? Why?
Yes, it’s a more global world and people are much more aware of what is going on now. It’s a maturing place.

Do you have plans to remake your own films in Bollywood?
Not so far. If we do that, though, they would be fully Indianised. We have only used Indian writers. We are in India for the long haul and we are very excited about it. There is tremendous talent and we look forward to collaborating in the future.