I am a master in India

Chapter 146 Entering Bollywood

It was dusk, and Ron, Mary and the others were sitting in the open-air cafe of the Trident Hotel in Bandra, watching the sunset gradually fade into the sea.

Trident is a place frequented by many Bollywood practitioners, and is also a place frequently visited by movie stars and gangsters.

Here they observe others and are observed.

"So you've decided to invest in your first movie?" Ron turned the ceramic cup in his hand, killing time leisurely.

"Lena and I feel it's time." Mary's eyes showed determination and passion to pursue a career in film.

"Yes, in one year, we have become familiar with the rules of Bollywood." Lena agreed.

"Okay, what kind of movie are you going to make?" Ron asked.

“I haven’t decided on it yet, but it will definitely be a low-budget movie.”

"Oh!" Ron raised an eyebrow. "Low-budget movies include adult films and horror films. Which kind do you mean?"

"Which one do you want?" Mary secretly exerted force with her hands under the table.

"Hey, be gentle, I still have to work hard tonight." Ron begged.

"This bad guy must be thinking about those things." Lena was eager to try.

After the three of them laughed for a while, Mary gradually became serious.

"What do you think of horror movies? Some movie theaters in India show them at midnight. Maybe there's a market for them."

"It should be no problem to make back the investment, but it will be difficult to sell in large quantities." Ron nodded.

India also has a niche film market, and this part of the audience has curious tastes and is not picky.

Those shoddy movies, whether they are adult films or horror films, are basically guaranteed to make a profit.

"That's enough. Our expectation is to make sure we don't lose money." Mary took this as a test.

"What about the budget? How much money are you planning to invest?" Ron asked.

"Three million rupees."

Mary and the others have researched this and found that it is enough to make a low-budget movie in Bollywood.

Their shooting cycle is short, usually it can be completed in one month, and if it is an adult film, it may not exceed one week.

Low-budget films also have low requirements for location, and do not require a dedicated studio, but can be shot directly on location. For example, for an adult film, a suburban bungalow can be rented.

There is no need to worry about censorship because it is an restricted movie, so just let it go.

Ron believed in their judgment. They had both spent most of their time in Bollywood and were much more professional than him, a layman.

"Are there any problems with funding?" he asked.

"All the savings of Lina and I are only 100 million rupees." Mary looked at him.

"What are you staring at me for?" Ron asked curiously.

"Don't you have any ideas?" Mary glared at him.

"No!" Ron shook his head.

"Really?" Her hand gently stroked under the table.

"I want to play Jenga!" Ron finally couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Okay." Mary agreed readily.

"You have to move yourself!" Ron began to increase the stakes.

Mary nodded without saying anything.

"This time it's your turn to eat the sausage, and Lena will boil the milk." Ron became more and more demanding.

Mary patted him, and Lena burst out laughing.

"Okay, it's a happy decision!" Ron made the decision.

200 lakhs is just a drop in the bucket for him, and it can be considered as an attempt to invest in Bollywood.

There are only so many profitable businesses in India, and the entertainment industry is one with the lowest barriers to entry. Anyone can get involved, and gang bosses are particularly keen on this business.

"By the way, speaking of low-cost films, there is a special type of film that is unique to India and is very close to people's lives." Ron had a flash of inspiration.

"What kind of film?" Mary and Lena were very curious.

"A religious film!"

"Religion?" The two looked at each other. This was a path they had never thought of.

"India is more of a collection of multiple religious sects forcibly squeezed together than a country."

There are many religions in India, and there are six or seven with more than one million believers.

Among them, the religion with the largest number of members, accounting for more than 85% of the population, is Hinduism.

"This type of film has a very wide audience in India, especially in North India, which is completely different from Mumbai."

"You mean movies made specifically for Hindus?" Mary finally reacted.

"Of course, with a potential audience of hundreds of millions of people, doesn't this have a stronger base than horror films?"

"But we don't understand Indian religion," Lena added.

"Someone understands." Ron shrugged optimistically.

In the Little Portugal area of ​​Bandra, Ron took Mary to visit old Lal's house again.

Ai Jie was at home today, having his day off. Strangely, there were three or four plainclothes police officers on duty outside his front door.

Ron recognized them immediately because he had seen them last time at the police station.

The fat man who was leading the group came over to greet him attentively, using flattering words.

After a brief chat, Ron realized that these people were protecting Ajie's safety.

"What trouble have you gotten yourself into lately?" Ron asked after he came into the room. "It's that case again." Aggie frowned in distress.

After taking over the bombing case, his pressure has been increasing day by day because too many people have been involved and their safety is now threatened.

That was once the biggest gang in Mumbai and was still as powerful as ever. They certainly wouldn't sit idly by and watch their best accomplices being sent to jail one by one.

The Shiv Army was relentless in its pursuit of the old shepherd. In order to appease Ajay, they specially deployed police forces to serve as his bodyguards.

"He doesn't even have time to take the kids to the zoo now," complained Ajay's wife Ritu.

"I live in a zoo every day," Aij responded.

"Don't be so serious. You know the situation in India best." Old Lal came out of the study, followed by Vikram Chandra.

The two seemed to be discussing the script inside, and only came out to greet Ron when they heard his voice.

"You should be careful. There are rumors about you everywhere." Ron hinted to him that this was gossip from the underworld.

Aijer nodded, and old Lal also warmly invited Ron to sit down.

Thanks to Ron's commercials, he has almost paid off his loan sharking debts and has even started thinking about preparing for his next film.

"I guess you're here for the movie?" Old Lal smiled at Mary beside Ron.

They all heard about a foreign woman opening an agency in Bollywood.

"You guessed right," Ron said, smiling as he took the tea from Aggie's wife. "We wanted to talk to you about religious films."

"A religious film?" Old Lal and Vikram were a little surprised.

"As you know, I'm also a shareholder of that agency." Ron shrugged.

Next, he told Mary and the others about wanting to make a movie, but of course, he mainly focused on his own desire to invest in Bollywood.

When it comes to winning over people in the industry, he has to rely on Ron's face and his Brahmin identity.

"Religious films are indeed a good choice." Old Lal fully agreed with this decision.

"The three main types of low-budget films that make money are romance, horror and religion," Vikram added.

"Why don't you just make a three-in-one movie!" Old Lal explained vividly, "It should have horror, erotica, and tantric elements. Indian men like this kind of movie."

Old Lal is a director with artistic accomplishment, but when it comes to the ins and outs of adult films, he knows it with ease and does not shy away from having his family present.

Ron was like a curious baby, nodding his head as he listened, almost taking notes.

"Director Lal, do you have any recommendations?" Ron asked.

It would be useless for him to remember everything. He had to find a professional. This was the purpose of his coming here today.

"Of course, Shiv Kumar is suitable. He is very enthusiastic about religion recently." Old Lal found a piece of paper and quickly wrote down the contact information.

"And for the male lead, we haven't found the right person." Mary added quickly.

Her agency was just starting out, and the actors under her all played small roles and couldn't support a movie.

"Wait for me." He simply stood up and walked into the study, and quickly took out another thick photo album.

"This is what I usually use to select supporting roles. You can take it for reference."

Mary was overjoyed and began to read through it immediately, as it would be of great use not only to the film but also to her agency.

The photos in the album cover all kinds of people, including the old and the young, women and children.

There were handsome young men and ugly hooligans, reserved and conservative women and vulgar and coquettish streetwalkers.

Ignoring the obsessed Mary, Ron turned his head to look at Vikram again.

"What's wrong?" he asked subconsciously.

"Script." Ron tilted his head.

Vikram smiled bitterly, "I can't write this kind of script, but I can introduce you to a few people."

"No problem." Ron nodded contentedly.

Look, it’s all done.

To get things done in India, you have to be good at using your connections.

Old Lal was also amused by their bachelor-like film preparations. It seems you haven't prepared anything at all.

“It’s better not to shoot the film in Mumbai,” he suggested.

"Why?" Ron and Mary both looked up.

"Mumbai's film censorship is the strictest in India. There's no place stricter than it. If you want your film to be screened smoothly, it's best to register it in a foreign country, the more remote the better."

Old Lal had a deep hatred for the people in the Film Censorship Board and he was beaten up many times.

People there said one thing and did another. They would praise him in front of him, "Good work, Mr. Lal."

Then they turned around and rated it restricted, which meant that the audience had to be over 18 years old to watch the movie, which greatly damaged the box office.

For Indians, watching movies is an entertainment activity that the whole family can enjoy together.

Since Ron and his team are planning to make a low-budget religious film, they don't actually need to care about the ratings.

But if it is rated restricted in Mumbai, it may face the same treatment in other states.

At this time, you can take a roundabout route, such as filing for review in other states first, and then getting the Mumbai rating after it has been released for a period of time.

Such an operation can minimize the impact on the box office. Of course, this is only suitable for low-cost films and not for blockbuster promotion.

In addition, after being rated as restricted in Mumbai, they cannot use many resources, and the actors, venues, and the number of theaters showing the film will all be restricted.

After being reminded by old Lal, Ron already had a vague idea in his mind.

"Maybe I know where to go to make this movie." Ron thought to himself, what a coincidence.

(End of this chapter)