From silver screen to small screen - Bollywood goes mobile

Details: Alec Barton; Category: Consumer Ecosystems; 21 February 2007; 9022 views

Bogart and Bacall? Great combinations are nothing new in films. But what about - wait for it - a Bollywood film now showing at your local mobile? Yes, 3GSM at Barcelona rolled out the red carpet as the world's largest film industry premiered the concept of Bollywood films downloaded onto a mobile device. No autographs, no Oscar but DT offers you royal box coverage...

The world's largest film industry is joining forces with the global mobile communications world today in spectacular fashion: Bollywood premiered its first feature films for mobile viewers at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona. 3GSM marks the start of the adaptation of thousands of vibrant Bollywood productions for the mobile screen - a development that could have a huge impact on the global mobile entertainment market, already worth some US$23 billion.

Bollywood today is the world's largest film industry, producing more than 1,000 films a year with an audience of more than two billion viewers across 127 countries. Formatting that content for the mobile audience and ensuring simplicity of delivery and accessibility provide staggering reach and revenue possibilities.

The Bollywood Mobile Initiative is driven by Roamware; Hungama Mobile, believed to be the world's largest aggregator, developer and publisher of Indian entertainment and Bollywood content; Sanjay Gupta, a leading Bollywood director; and the GSM Association (GSMA), the global trade association for mobile operators.

It was appropriately two of Sanjay Gupta's Bollywood short films, Zahir and Matriomony, which were premiered in Barcelona. Both are part of the feature film Dus Kahaniyaan (Ten Stories) produced by Mr Gupta's White Feather Films company and starring more than 20 leading Bollywood stars, e.g., Dia Mirza, Suneil Shetty, Sanjay Dutt, Neha Mandira Bedi, and Aftab Shivdasani. Sanjay Gupta?s hits include many hugely popular movies such as Kaante, Musafir and Zinda.

Roamware?s Media Call technology will provide the capability to integrate the cinematic content into the everyday mobile experience for film fans.

The films demonstrate the "viral" potential for Bollywood movies on the "fourth screen" - the mobile device. Set pieces with action and dialogue scenes interspersed with song and dance make the vibrant, fast-moving movies a compelling entertainment experience for the mobile viewer.

"The GSMA is delighted to welcome the stars and directors from the Bollywood world to the world's largest mobile event," said Bill Gajda, GSMA Chief Marketing Officer. "We are excited by the tremendous potential for Bollywood entertainment on mobile phones, and are delighted to support the efforts of Roamware and Hungama Mobile in their commitment to bringing a rich array of Indian film entertainment to the fourth screen for a global audience of millions."

"India," for Neeraj Roy, Managing Director & CEO, Hungama Mobile, "is the fastest growing market in the mobile world, and the world's fourth largest market. It has the potential to be the largest market globally by 2010. It is the most logical market from which to launch the mobile movie industry and present a brand new avenue of cinematic entertainment for mobile users everywhere. The potential is truly amazing."

Hungama Mobile has already launched a Bollywood channel directly on operator decks around the world in nearly 30 countries, with over 70 operators. This channel contains music, imagery, video and games from Bollywood. Showcasing Bollywood movies on mobile is a natural extension both as a tremendous new marketing opportunity as also revenue for all the stakeholders.?

If the preparation for this marriage of content and technology is anything to go by, then Bollywood and mobile will enjoy a happy union. Hungama Mobile's content has combined with a two-year foray in taking Bollywood to the mobile world, coupled with Roamware's global reach. Huge promise beckons for the mobile market. The dramatic evolution of communications technology, from download speeds and battery life to compact form factors, screen sizes and resolution, as well as memory enhancements, means mobile devices can now deliver a compelling, high quality and uniquely personal viewing experience.

Bollywood is one of the fastest growing entertainment industry segments and has an appeal not only for the 150 million mobile phone users in India but for markets across all continents. Indian cinema is now dubbed in over 35 languages and accounts for as much as 16.5% of theatrical business in markets such as the UK. Indian films have made it into the top ten charts in markets such as USA, UK, Germany, Australia, Singapore and South Africa. More than 3.6 billion admission tickets are sold each year across the world. Now Hungama Mobile and Roamware will take this to some 2.5 billion mobile screens. A night at the cinema when you can leave your mobile on.

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