Tycoon to share insight on Bollywood

Sandybeth Carrillo
Published: Tuesday, February 1, 2005

A multitalented Bollywood tycoon will speak to the UCLA Anderson School of Management community on Wednesday.

Bhuvan Lall, president and CEO of Lall Entertainment, has had more than 18 years of experience with the Indian film industry. His privately owned company has major interests in animation, broadcasting and cinema.

The company’s first project was launched at the Cannes Film Festival in 2003 with the company mission “to bring the world closer using the power of Entertainment,” according to the Lall Entertainment Web site.

Lall has been invited to chair and speak at trade conferences and seminars worldwide. On Wednesday, he will be the first “Outtakes” lunch guest of the winter quarter.

“Outtakes” luncheons are made possible through the Entertainment Management Association & Entertainment and Media Management Institute sector of the Anderson School. These seminars are intimate gatherings of a series of executives sharing their experiences with only 15 to 25 students.

The speakers for these events are personally chosen by the executive director and the Entertainment Management Association.

The Indian film industry is informally called Bollywood. The term was created by combining Hollywood and India’s city of Bombay, the headquarters of its film industry.

Bollywood now produces more films a year than Hollywood does and its movies are seen by audiences throughout the entire world.

As a pioneer of one of the most profitable industries, Lall can provide insight into Bollywood. An award-winning documentary filmmaker, entertainment industry consultant and international journalist, he is also soon to be a published novelist.

In 2002, Lall founded the “Animation Producers Association of India” which is now the largest professional trade body of India’s animation community.

“Mr. Lall has been a friend of the program and has a very broad perspective from experiences in both Indian film and TV, and interest of growth and change in the media business,” said Gigi Johnson, executive director of the Entertainment and Media Management Institute.

The Indian film industry has been producing more movies since 2001 when the Reserve Bank of India began to allow banks to finance movies.

Producers are normally expected to pay 25 percent of the production cost while the rest is paid by private financiers and distributors, according to the Reserve Bank of India. Loaning to producers with a good track record and assigning all agreements and intellectual property rights to the lender are part of the requirements.

The event will take place on Feb. 2 from noon to 1 p.m. in the Executive Dining Room, Gold Hall-B209. There will be a $5 event fee.