The script of success

He is the face of United Television (UTV) whose channels of business span a spectrum of communication — film production and distribution, TV content and programing, broadcasting, animation and special effects, dubbing, airtime sales and marketing…

Within the good, the bad and the ugly of media world, UTV has grown steadily in reach, recognition and respect over the last 16 years. For Ronnie Screwvala, UTV’s founder and chief executive officer (CEO), the picture has been particularly buoyant throughout 2006. In September, Rang De Basanti, produced under the UTV Motion Pictures banner, was selected by the Film Federation of India as India’s official entry to the Oscars scheduled for February 2007. In August, UTV had announced a slew of co-productions with leading Hollywood studios involving a project value of US $ 37 million! It is reportedly the largest such commitment by any media company in South Asia.

Screwvala created UTV in 1990 with theater personalities Zarina Mehta and Deven Khote as co-founders. "It’s been a very exciting journey with its sets of highs and lows. Every two years we pretty much innovate the full company. It keeps us on our toes, forces a fresh outlook,” Screwvala responded to a Parsiana e-mail questionnaire. "Ours is a very dynamic industry. ‘Now’ is an essential, not an exception. A company that does not pioneer and innovate is history,” says the man who gave Indian TV viewers their initial taste of channels of choice when he set up Network, India’s first cable TV company way back in 1981 when the national broadcaster Doordarshan had virtual monopoly of the airwaves.

UTV went public last year, with the Initial Public Offering of UTV Software Communications Limited oversubscribed 26 times, as per their website www.utvnet.com The company has offices in Bombay, Delhi, Madras, New York, Harrow in UK and Port Louis in Mauritius.

Few know that the media mogul is also into manufacturing! "A little known secret about Ronnie is that the entrepreneurial bug in him has led him into diverse activities. He owns India’s largest toothbrush manufacturing company that produces over six million brushes a month for most of the best known brands in India,” the website notes.

Also not commonly known is the fact that Screwvala is the founder of SHARE, a public service and charitable trust. SHARE, according to company sources, was one of the first to help with rehabilitation after the devastating Gujarat earthquake. SHARE today has multiple projects in water harvesting in villages, women’s empowerment, prison intervention and sheltered workshops to train the mentally challenged.

It’s been many a hard day’s work scripting success in an entertainment industry where stakes and stress levels are high. "We are very eager to be partnering with UTV, a dynamic force in South Asian media. Ronnie’s innovative vision parallels Searchlight’s (Fox Searchlight Pictures which produces and acquires motion pictures and whose films are distributed internationally by 20th Century Fox),” said Fox Searchlight CEO Peter Rice in Los Angeles on August 20 when UTV and Searchlight announced the co-production of the film I Think I Love My Wife starring Chris Rock. This is UTV’s second venture with Fox after Mira Nair’s The Namesake which premiered at the inaugural Rome Film Festival in mid-October.

Posters of films from UTV’s stable

Subsequent to coffee, conversation and creativity during the visit to India in early 2006 by Hollywood actor/producer Will Smith, UTV inked a deal with Smith’s production company called Overbrook Entertainment and Sony Pictures Entertainment for the production and distribution of two films with global appeal — a live action film valued at US $ 10 million and an animated picture at US $ 20 million. "We are particularly excited to have an animated project as part of this agreement, since India is emerging as the next big destination for animation content and UTV is on the cutting edge of animation development,” stated James Lassiter, Smith’s partner at Overbrook. "For UTV, these projects are a big step in reaching key North American markets and expanding our presence globally,” Screwvala asserted. UTV Toons, the animation division of UTV with a large canvas of skilled artists, animators and compositors, has clicked strongly in all forms of animation and computer graphics and is one of the industry’s "largest and most prolific 3D studios” with a substantial order book, according to their website.

In Bollywood, where the name of the game is big spending and big earning, UTV Motion Pictures has emerged a force to reckon with. In October, UTV announced the opening of its second post-production studio — a 6,000 sq ft set-up at Andheri in Bombay with state of the art technology to handle the entire post-production chain with its focus on feature films. The company has contributed greatly to the studio model (where all rights are retained and not sold). In many ways its blockbuster Rang De Basanti epitomized the UTV brand — unconventional and breaking the mold.

The movie-with-a-message, with its resonances of rebellion and strong storyline, inspired Indian youth to try to reform the ills in Indian society and politics. "I’m delighted that Rang De Basanti has been chosen as India’s official entry to the Academy Awards (in the best foreign language film category). Such movies come along once in a generation and we shall make every effort to ensure it is seen by as wide an audience as possible internationally too,” Screwvala told presspersons. "Following the rousing reception the film received at the Golden Globes jury screening, we are confident it stands a strong chance with the Academy.”

Screwvala also announced in early October that they would be entering Rang De Basanti in nine categories such as best film, direction, cinematography, screenplay, editing, art direction, sound, etc. "We decided on entering the mainline because we felt that in these categories our production values are world class,” Screwvala said. Although India has been sending films to the Oscars for over 50 years, only three [Mother India (1957), Salaam Bombay (1988) and Lagaan (2002)] have actually been nominated for Best Foreign Picture. Ironically, this time there is one more film in Hindi competing in the same group — Deepa Mehta’s Water which is Canada’s official entry in the foreign film category!

Stills from Rang De Basanti (top) and an animation series Freej; (far right, from top) UTV directors Ronnie Screwvala, Zarina Mehta, Deven Khote and Ronald D’Mello

UTV’s picture gallery of successful co-productions include Swades, Fiza, Lakshya, ‘D’… With its distribution network spanning markets in the US, UK, Dubai, South Africa, Australia, Fiji and Japan, as per its website, UTV was the second largest contributor to the Bollywood box office with releases like Parineeta, Bluffmaster, Taxi 9211, Don… Coming up are Hattrick, Jodha-Akbar, Goal starring the big names of Bollywood. "However we had two dud releases… that created a significant dent on the company’s bottomline,” Screw­vala stated in his summing up of the highlights of 2005-06. "Many were sceptical of us starting a kids channel… however we made Hungama TV into the number two kids channel in just 20 months… (We moved) to exit this asset and help Disney integrate it into their bouquet… We hope to continue to be a favored program supplier to Hungama TV and the Disney family.”

Zarina Mehta, Ron­nie’s wife and chief operating officer of Hungama TV who has a passion for children’s TV and theater, has over the last 15 years been responsible for the start-up and creation of some of UTV’s major divisions and has produced over 3,500 hours of high TRP (television rating points), award-winning television programing in multiple languages. Executive director Deven Khote’s creativity has taken post production and special effects to new heights. "For us at UTV — as we scale each peak — we simply call it ‘work in progress,’” remarked Screwvala. "We have many a times chosen the path less trodden and have found great success and sometimes lost, but always found new horizons, priceless learning for the future.”

Turning the spotlight on what is to come, the CEO predicts: "I believe these are exciting times for all in the media business, but not for the faint-hearted. The scale and canvas is getting bigger. True success lies in your being at the top of the value chain. Today the opportunities both in India and overseas are aplenty, but this also calls for restraint.” Does he believe Parsis have lost their entrepreneurial spirit? we query. "No, I don’t believe that.You still find Parsis at top positions in very important businesses like steel, real estate, fast moving consumer goods, finance…” he responds. "As for UTV, there is a huge surge coming in broadcasting, new media and movies, so stay tuned for more!”

Steely resolve

It was a steel deal that stole the show! In a GBP 4.3 billion ($ 8 billion, over Rs 36,000 crore) takeover of Corus, the giant Anglo-Dutch steelmaker, Tata Steel catapulted itself in one fell swoop from no 55 in the pecking order of world steelmakers to number five on the list!

The largest ever acquisition of a foreign firm by an Indian company, the deal hogged the headlines in all the major Indian and international newspapers and news channels including BBC and CNN as well. "Tata makes steel… And now, history” stated the front page story in The Times of India, October 21, 2006. Addressing a videoconference from London, Tata chairman Ratan Tata termed it "a defining moment” for his company, "entirely consistent with our strategy of growth through international expansion.” Corus’ chief executive Philippe Varin and chairman James Leng said the deal represented "the right partner at the right time, at the right price and on the right terms.” "Corus and Tata Steel are companies with long, proud histories. Together we will be even better equipped to remain at the leading edge of the fast-changing steel industry,” the Tata chairman added. Established in 1907, Tata Steel which was earlier known as TISCO (Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited) is set to celebrate a landmark 100 years in 2007.

Quietly shopping around the world, the Tatas have spent $1.5 billion on foreign acquisitions in the recent past with, among others, Tata Tea buying for US $ 677 million in August a 30 percent stake in the US company Energy Brands which makes the Glaceau brand of nutrient enhanced bottled water. In June, the company had bought Eight O’Clock Coffee for US $ 220 million. The Corus buyover is exponentially higher than other deals by Indian companies and turns topsy-turvy the situation hitherto prevailing in India Incorporated in terms of FDI (foreign direct investment).The current fiscal could see FDI outflows from India overtaking inflows for the first time, a scenario visualized by few even five years ago!

Ratan Tata is set to chair the new Tata-Corus board. Asked whether he had plans to retire at some point, he told The New York Times in London that he has plans but his successor has not yet been identified. "I’d like to retire when I can still walk and play golf and fly and do all the things that I like to do,” the 68-year-old chairman is reported to have said.

Croma for the consumer

With the best and brightest of 21st century electronics technology on display, amidst chrome colors and flashing strobe lights, Ratan Tata, chairman, Tata Sons, and Roger Corbett, independent consultant, Woolworths, Australia, launched Croma at upmarket Juhu in Bombay on October 9, 2006. The fully glass-fronted, 20,000 sq ft store, with its bank upon bank of high-end TVs, DVDs, laptops, desktops, handycams, digital cameras, refrigerators, airconditioners, microwaves, washing machines, dishwashers, cell phones, cordless phones, as well as accessories, peripherals, gaming software, CDs, etc, is in sync with the pioneering strategy of the Tata Group.

The sprawling store located at the JVPD (Juhu Vile Parle Development) Scheme, opposite the well-known Utpal Shangvi School, is the first of a chain of Croma stores to be launched across India, retailing consumer electronics and durables of reputed national and international brands.

"We are delighted to partner the Tatas… Woolworths is one of the world’s largest retail companies. Our association with Tatas will ensure a high-end offering to consumers. We believe that the Indian consumer has a high understanding and desire for the latest in technology,” stated Corbett. "Croma will set new benchmarks…” added R. K. Krishna Kumar, director, Tata Sons.

Present at the launch were Noshir Soonawala, vice chairman, Tata Sons, Farrokh Kavarana, director, Tata Sons, Noel Tata, managing director (MD), Trent Limited and other top executives of the Group, reports DNA, October 10. Infiniti Retail (a newly formed, 100 percent subsidiary of Tata Sons, the Group’s holding company) will launch 30 Croma stores, with Woolworths providing strategic sourcing from its global network, according to company sources. Commenting on the name Croma, R. K. Krishna Kumar, Tata Sons board member, is reported to have stated that Croma captures the colors of the rainbow and is indicative of the limitless direction (infinity) in which the business is moving.