Bollywood Biz : From Heroes to
Producers
Red Chillies Entertainment
Shah Rukh Khan
Bollywood stars are more than just pretty faces. In fact, they are astute
businessmen who know exactly how to get a return on their investment.
Today, almost all of the top stars don’t just act in movies, they produce them
too. Corporate Citizen rounds up the top production houses in Bollywood
backed by stars, along with their track record.
Aamir Khan Productions
Aamir Khan
Aamir Khan is one of the very few
commercially bankable actors who doesn’t
hesitate in experimenting with alternate
cinema. In 1999, When Aamir was
impressed with the script of Lagaan, he
approached many production houses, but
they weren’t interested in the unconventional
script. It was then that Aamir decided to
start his own production
company, to ensure that
good films got to see the
light of day. Lagaan became
a critical and commercial
success, and there was no
looking back for Aamir.
All of the movies produced
by the production house
since then have either gone
on to become super hits like Taare Zameen
Par, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, and Delhi Belly,
or become semi hits like Rang De Basanti
and Dhobi Ghaat. All the movies have
managed to recover their money and rake
in a profit. In addition to producing movies,
Aamir Khan Productions also produces the
immensely popular show Satyameva Jayate.
FilmKraft Productions
Rakesh Roshan and
Hrithik Roshan
While one mostly equates FilmKraft
Productions with Hrithik Roshan starrers,
this is in fact a relatively old production
house, founded by Rakesh Roshan in 1977.
It financed movies like Aap Ke Deewane and
Kaam Chor, and tasted real success with Karan
Arjun in 1995. Since then, however, the
production house began a lean phase,
until the launch of Rakesh Roshan’s
son Hrithik Roshan in Kaho Na
Pyaar Hai, which became one
of the most successful movies
in Bollywood history, and made
Hrithik a bonafide superstar.
Since then, Hrithik has been a part
of almost all of FilmKraft production’s
films, and all of them, from Koi Mil Gaya,
Krrish, and Krrish 3 have been extremely
successful. The interesting part is that most
of these movies have also been directed by
Rakesh Roshan. With this magical father-son
combination, FilmKraft production is sure to
have a very ‘Roshan’ future.
Hari Om Entertainment
Akshay kumar
In 2008, Akshay Kumar was at the peak of
his form, with back-to-back hits like Namaste
London, Welcome and Phir Hera Pheri. It was
then that he, along with his wife Twinkle
Khanna, decided to leverage his star power
by banking on it with their
own production house.
Thus was born Hari Om
Entertainment. It made
its debut by producing
Singh is Kinng, which
became a blockbuster
hit, and cemented Hari
Om Entertainment as a
credible production house.
Unfortunately, Singh is Kinng was followed up
by box office duds like Khatta Meetha, Action
Replayy, Tees Maar Khan and Joker. By the end
of 2012, however, this bad phase was over, and
Hari Om Entertainment delivered certified
hits like Khiladi 786, OMG, and most recently
Holiday in 2014.
By Neeraj Varty