How many producers can claim that they have worked with almost every stunning actress in Hollywood? Or that they are tennis buddies with Bruce Willis and Pierce Brosnan, or that South Indian star Rajnikanth stayed at their house in Los Angeles for over two weeks?
Enter Ashok Amritraj, CEO of Hyde Entertainment, who is one of the most successful Hollywood producers in the business. The 55-year-old entrepreneur has backed over 100 films — several of which were blockbusters — amassed a billion-dollar entertainment empire and currently is in Abu Dhabi to present his latest thriller, The Double, starring Richard Gere and Topher Grace.
"It was an easy call on The Double because it had a terrific screenplay. I love thrillers and I think we don't make enough of them." Billing it as one of those old-fashioned, on-the-edge-of-your seat movies, the Original Sin producer has worked with some of the biggest names in showbiz, be it Sandra Bullock for Premonition, Steve Martin for his comedy Bringing Down The House or Nicholas Cage for action-packed Ghost Rider 2.
"It's always a process with the stars. The first step is that they should read and like the project. For instance, in Richard's [Gere] case it was a case of playing the bad guy. In our offer to Richard we gave him different layers to his characters, twists and turns."
The Chennai-bred, US-based studio honcho from a tennis-star family in India adds that he's not the producer in the conventional sense of the word. Though his films are a collaborative effort, it's clear that his success can be traced back to being the old school, hands-on manager.
"My work as a producer is all-encompassing, In many parts of the world, a producer is considered as a person who puts up the money. I think that's a part of what we do. We also develop the screenplay, decide which actors to go to and then my international guys tell me about the domestic appeal. We put the patch together… As long as the director and me are in sync that we are making the same movie then we are good."
The director even swaps a trade secret: "Even after all this, if you are spending a long time with the film, then things are not going well." His company produces around four or five projects a year — some in partnership with other studio giants — and simultaneously is involved in developing 15 projects.
Tricky
He may be of Indian origin, but he's not enamoured by Bollywood. Known for its lavish, glitzy musicals, a locked script is almost an alien concept as they improvise the ending, the middle or the beginning of a film as they go. His work there includes just a couple of projects, including the 1998 romance Jeans starring Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Rajnikanth's 1984 flick Bloodstone.
"It's tricky in India and I have been asked and presented a number of things since Jeans. But honestly, I have never been tempted enough."
For a producer who is particular about the script being finalised three months before it begins shoot, working in Bollywood may mean that he has to let go of his disciplined working pattern. It also boils down to screenplay, which he places higher than star wattage, even if Angie and Sandy (Angelina Jolie and Sandra Bullock) are on his speed dial.
"I don't think we have any writers in India to be tempted. Writing is probably the most difficult part of the business but writing is not the focus in India. I think that is the part of the reason. Having said, I think it is getting better and you have a lot more originality. But there's a leap to be taken."
Though he is critical of the Indian entertainment industry, he maintains that his comments are not directed at belittling Bollywood, which he believes has its own share of loyal followers.
So would he ever consider making a magnum opus like RA.One, Bollywood's sci-fi starring Shah Rukh Khan releasing next week?
"For me it doesn't make any sense to make RA.One. But it makes perfect sense in India because it's a step in the right direction. If I were to do something in India, it wouldn't be a visual effect movie. Visual effects is all about money but you cannot match Hollywood."
While Bollywood is heading in the right direction, he's definitely not heading there any time soon. "For me it would be all about finding a great story."
Enter Ashok Amritraj, CEO of Hyde Entertainment, who is one of the most successful Hollywood producers in the business. The 55-year-old entrepreneur has backed over 100 films — several of which were blockbusters — amassed a billion-dollar entertainment empire and currently is in Abu Dhabi to present his latest thriller, The Double, starring Richard Gere and Topher Grace.
"It was an easy call on The Double because it had a terrific screenplay. I love thrillers and I think we don't make enough of them." Billing it as one of those old-fashioned, on-the-edge-of-your seat movies, the Original Sin producer has worked with some of the biggest names in showbiz, be it Sandra Bullock for Premonition, Steve Martin for his comedy Bringing Down The House or Nicholas Cage for action-packed Ghost Rider 2.
"It's always a process with the stars. The first step is that they should read and like the project. For instance, in Richard's [Gere] case it was a case of playing the bad guy. In our offer to Richard we gave him different layers to his characters, twists and turns."
The Chennai-bred, US-based studio honcho from a tennis-star family in India adds that he's not the producer in the conventional sense of the word. Though his films are a collaborative effort, it's clear that his success can be traced back to being the old school, hands-on manager.
"My work as a producer is all-encompassing, In many parts of the world, a producer is considered as a person who puts up the money. I think that's a part of what we do. We also develop the screenplay, decide which actors to go to and then my international guys tell me about the domestic appeal. We put the patch together… As long as the director and me are in sync that we are making the same movie then we are good."
The director even swaps a trade secret: "Even after all this, if you are spending a long time with the film, then things are not going well." His company produces around four or five projects a year — some in partnership with other studio giants — and simultaneously is involved in developing 15 projects.
Tricky
He may be of Indian origin, but he's not enamoured by Bollywood. Known for its lavish, glitzy musicals, a locked script is almost an alien concept as they improvise the ending, the middle or the beginning of a film as they go. His work there includes just a couple of projects, including the 1998 romance Jeans starring Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Rajnikanth's 1984 flick Bloodstone.
"It's tricky in India and I have been asked and presented a number of things since Jeans. But honestly, I have never been tempted enough."
For a producer who is particular about the script being finalised three months before it begins shoot, working in Bollywood may mean that he has to let go of his disciplined working pattern. It also boils down to screenplay, which he places higher than star wattage, even if Angie and Sandy (Angelina Jolie and Sandra Bullock) are on his speed dial.
"I don't think we have any writers in India to be tempted. Writing is probably the most difficult part of the business but writing is not the focus in India. I think that is the part of the reason. Having said, I think it is getting better and you have a lot more originality. But there's a leap to be taken."
Though he is critical of the Indian entertainment industry, he maintains that his comments are not directed at belittling Bollywood, which he believes has its own share of loyal followers.
So would he ever consider making a magnum opus like RA.One, Bollywood's sci-fi starring Shah Rukh Khan releasing next week?
"For me it doesn't make any sense to make RA.One. But it makes perfect sense in India because it's a step in the right direction. If I were to do something in India, it wouldn't be a visual effect movie. Visual effects is all about money but you cannot match Hollywood."
While Bollywood is heading in the right direction, he's definitely not heading there any time soon. "For me it would be all about finding a great story."
![[JUGRAJ SINGH]](https://www.unp.me/data/avatars/s/123/123038.jpg?1591210006){kind=avatar}
