In a few short years, Anil Ambani’s Reliance MediaWorks has emerged as one of the biggest players in Bollywood backend as well as frontend services.
With the company offering world-class, end-to-end film and media services to production houses, studios and broadcasters, it has had a hand in almost every hit film that has been produced in Bollywood — and more than a few in Hollywood — in recent years like Dabangg, The Dirty Picture, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Don 2, Men in Black 3, Avatar (3D Alignment), Lincoln, Mission Impossible, The Social Network (VFX), Lootera, Student of the Year and even TV shows like Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, and Kaun Banega Crorepati to name a few.
We speak to Venkatesh Roddam, CEO of Reliance MediaWorks, about the company’s journey so far and its plans for the future.
With production services including studio, equipment rentals, set design, etc. that comprise almost 75-80 per cent of a movie’s budget excluding star costs, Reliance MediaWorks has a finger in almost every pie in the entertainment industry. Venkatesh though, keeps his options open regarding the segment that will contribute to the company’s future growth.
“It is difficult to say which segment would be a ‘single contributor’ to the company’s future growth. As long as films are being made with the quality benchmarks being raised consistently, the requirement for our services across service lines would only go up.”
Some service lines are large contributors while some are small in terms of the top line but they are all our cornerstones for reaching and engaging with the market.
“Over the immediate future, we would like to be acknowledged among international and domestic studios and filmmakers as not just a service provider but a company that offers world class production solutions from origination to playout,” he says.
The company has also emerged as one of the leaders in converting 2D films into 3D and a lot of the company’s worldwide conversion and related services are outsourced to its Indian unit. And Venkatesh thinks that the recent anti-outsourcing measures in the West should not affect the company.
He adds, “The boom in 3D is expected to grow beyond cinemas as movies would be available across platforms. Now 3D is becoming available in living rooms as, a) there will be a 3D Blu-Ray standard, b) Global electronics manufacturers will be launching their new 3D flat screen TVs and c) Several manufacturers are developing ‘Free-View 3D’ monitors that do not require the viewer to wear glasses, and some of these are remarkably effective for medium range viewing.”
RMW’s image processing technology won an Oscar in 2012 (Lowry Process) and a proud Venkatesh says that the company’s world-class film restoration facility for digital restoration and content processing services will become a mammoth player in the industry.
“We have a unique blend of the best-in-class restoration tools and proprietary technologies, coupled with an organically created talent pool that enables us to offer the optimum combination of scale, skills and solutions for all restoration needs. This business we feel will grow by leaps and bounds. The scope of digitisation extends to broadcasters, filmmakers and also library preservation. Digitisation is undergoing a metamorphosis as there is rapid change happening which is driven by consumer demands, technology and economics.”
RMW is constructing Hollywood-benchmarked studios in Mumbai. Is it aimed at attracting Indian filmmakers or also Hollywood production houses? “Our studios are a one-stop solution for all production needs for feature films, television, commercials, music videos, new media, special effects and special events. The studios have been the shooting venue of choice for various major events such as films like Singham, Agneepath and TV shows like Indian Idol, MTV Coke Studio and numerous commercials.”
Venkatesh also says that India has the ideal talent pool to become a global hub for film production services. “I am seeing the transition with ‘Media & Entertainment’ being looked upon as a career of choice for people.”
Reliance has also entered into many joint ventures with bigwigs like Steven Spielberg. Talking about the benefits of such tie-ups, he says, “These are helping us build upon our competitive strengths and create a market entry positioning and distinctive brand for ourselves in the market place.”
RMW’s Big Cinemas has around 258 screens across India. Is preference given to a film produced by Reliance in case there’s a clash? “We do the scheduling taking into consideration the merit of the film.”
India’s entertainment industry here is famous for being difficult to work with. How does he handle the big egos? “Whichever business one is in, difficult situations crop up and it is the handling of such situations and experience and maturity with the end goal in mind that matters.”
After two decades as a banker, Venkatesh took over as the director of Annapurna Studios. Talking about what made him take the plunge into movie-making, he says “I have been associated with some of the most prestigious names in the banking industry, including almost a decade with Deutsche Bank, last serving as managing director responsible for the business operations of the Corporate Trust and Securities Services business globally, based in Frankfurt. This coupled with the experience at Nipuna (Mahindra Satyam BPO) gave me the distinctive flavour of being on both the sides of a business, i.e. client and vendor management. This made me pursue my passion in media and entertainment business with a clear focus of building a corporate framework around this business which was such a necessity,” ends the CEO who now shuttles between Hyderabad, Mumbai, LA and New York.