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MAY 2012
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Hurray for Bollywood Surrey bid to become an India film centre could prove a tough audition BY FRANK O’BRIEN, BIV
The first thing Surrey has to do to become a centre for Bollywood films is to forget about Bollywood films, according to the only Surrey resident to produce a blockbuster within India’s movie industry. “Bollywood is stagnated,” said Mike D’Souza, owner and executive producer of Silo Entertainment Ltd., a film producer with close links to India. The “big ticket” in India films is the independent filmmakers who are more interested in international, contemporary themes than Bollywood’s muscular musical genre. D’Souza, who produced the Bollywood hit Boom in 2003, added that Surrey should play to the strengths of the existing “world-class” Vancouver and Burnaby film studios if it wants to become a player in India’s $2.3 billion film industry. “Surrey has no sound stages, no real film infrastructure,” D’Souza said. Bollywood films are aimed at the India diaspora and India, he said, while the real focus should be on creating “smart, intelligent” B.C. movies that would appeal as much to a North American audience as one in Mumbai. “There is huge market for Bollywood films,” he said, “but they can only reach a certain level of market and can’t grow beyond that.” Still, Surrey, where 30% of households speak Punjabi as their primary language according to Statistics Canada, is hoping to break big into the Bollywood movie scene. In February, the Surrey Board of Trade co-hosted a Breaking Bollywood seminar with the Canada India Business Council and Simon Fraser University’s Surrey campus. The event, which drew about 40 people, featured two Indian film representatives, including top screenwriter Anjum Rajabali and Chennai-based professor Aysha Viswamohan.
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Surrey, where 30% of households speak Punjabi as their primary language, is hoping to break big into the Bollywood movie scene.
As well, B.C. is bidding for Surrey to host said Anita Huberman, CEO of the Surrey Board the 2013 International Indian Film Academy of Trade. The India film officials said that talent Awards, the “Bollywood Oscars” that were last and local expertise were as important as held in Toronto and Shanghai. But B.C. has tried before to catch the lens government incentives, she said. Paul Dhillon, a producer with Surreyof Indian filmmakers. Nine years ago, famed Bollywood producer based MMM Film Finance International and a Vidhu Vinoc Chopra looked at shooting a $20 graduate of SFU’s film school, notes, however, million thriller in the Vancouver area. But the that Surrey’s talent pool is thin. Dhillon, who sold his first India-themed idea was abandoned after Chopra failed to win movie, Sweet Amerika, government incentives co - p ro d u ce d wi th and help with red tape, Bobby Nagra, to CBC, is according to industry currently producing the sources. thriller B-Town Boyz, Today, B.C. offers about Indian youth a 33% tax credit for gangs in Surrey. He labour used in the – Mike D’Souza, is looking for a “wellfilm industry, which owner and executive producer, known” Indian actor for costs the province Silo Entertainment the lead (he is hoping approximately $200 to land Freida Pinto, million annually. Ida Chong, minister of community, sports star of India’s smash hit Slumdog Millionaire) and cultural development, estimates that the and will likely recruit other Indian actors from movie business employs 25,000 people in B.C, Toronto and the U.S. Dhillon is aiming for Telefilm Canada either directly or indirectly. “What we heard at the Breaking Bollywood backing for the $2.5 million movie and is not seminar is that it is not all about the money,” shy about where he expects the money to
“It is all about attracting the best in the business”
be repaid. “If my movie is big in Canada, it might be in 40 to 50 theatres. In India it would open on 500 screens,” he said. “Vancouver has among the best technical people in the film industry,” but it is big names on the billboard that attract backers and ticket buyers. D’Souza said Surrey is on the right track – opening dialogue and meetings with India’s film industry – to encouraging a viable local film industry. But he said success would require patience, pragmatism and a reality check. “If Surrey wants to support Bollywoodstyle Punjabi-language films, and India regional language films, why not?” he said. “But the big ticket is the independent films that are going global out of India.” Said D’Souza, who is currently producing a big-budget movie with Indian and Canadian money and talent, “There is a huge opportunity [for a Surrey film industry], but it is not just between Indians. It is all about attracting the best in the business.” • First published in Business in Vancouver; issue 1170.
Make your brand work online and off Your personal brand – online and off – can help set you apart from other job seekers
Present yourself online and in person in a way that supports and promotes who you are and what you do.
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A no-name brand might be just the ticket for a bargain-hunter at the grocery store, but it doesn’t do the job in a job search – not when your own brand may be all that sets you apart from the crowd. A personal brand “is the ‘X’ factor that differentiates a person from other job candidates,” according to consulting firm PwC Canada. It’s about knowing who you are, what you can do and presenting yourself online and in person in a way that supports and promotes that persona. “It’s important for students to accurately portray themselves online as they would in person,” said James Davidson, talent acquisitions manager for PwC. “Having a profile you wouldn’t be ashamed to show your parents on all of the major social networks – LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Google Profiles – is the first step in managing your online reputation.” It also works the other way, he added. Since the majority of millennials (people between the ages of 18 and 34) tend to be techno-proficient, companies also have to present themselves online in such a way as to attract prospective employees to
their brands. “A company website, blog, Facebook or LinkedIn page can help applicants discover more about its corporate values, work environment and corporate social responsibility practices,” Davidson explained. He cites a 2008 report on millennials that suggested the majority of people in that age group wanted to work for a company that reflected their own values. They tend to be attracted as potential employees to the same brands whose social and environmental records make them appealing to consumers. One thing hasn’t changed with the age of the workforce, however – networking is still key, and not just in the job space. “People often think about networking if they need something – a job, a reference, some advice – but they don’t think about how their relationships directly shape them as a professional,” said Davidson. “If you only pay attention to your network when it’s convenient, your relationships won’t be very strong and your personal brand and career development will suffer.” • © Postmedia News. Article appears on www.working.com.