Russian production and distribution businesses are courting Indian filmmakers and assisting them with their films. Russians grew up watching Indian movies with subtitles, such Shah Rukh Khan, Raj Kapoor, Mithun Chakraborty, and Hema Malini. According to a source, stakeholders in both countries are aiming to increase the number of Indian movie shoots and screenings in Russia in order to revive this historical and cultural relationship.
Following the withdrawal of Hollywood corporations from Russia due to their invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, film production and distribution companies are making a concentrated effort to attract Indian filmmakers and advance Indian films in the area.
Owner of Kartina Entertainment, Sarfaraz Alam Safu, was mentioned in the report as stating that his business has produced recent projects including Sardar Udham, Pathaan, Tiger, and Jugjugg Jeeyo, all of which were shot in Russia.
In addition, Siddharth Roy Kapoor will produce a biopic of me based on the life of Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian in space. The film is currently in production. According to the newspaper, Safu stated, “We are in contact with companies like Dharma Productions, Excel Entertainment, Emmay Entertainment, Rohit Shetty Productions, and many more for several projects.”
This year, the Russian government wants to draw in more Indian filmmakers by providing lower production costs.
First deputy head of the office of the mayor and the government of Moscow Evgeny Kozlov said in the report, “We are like the front office or supermarket of any services for filmmakers, as we are trying to cut their production expenses as much as possible by offering a low price to shoot here.”
The Greatest of All Time, an upcoming Tamil action movie, became the first foreign production to take part in the “Moscow-City of Cinema” initiative last month, which provides financial support to filmmakers.
According to Kozlov, connections are being made between Bollywood filmmakers and the Moscow Department of Culture, which is in charge of luring filmmakers.
In the meanwhile, Russian theaters are showing more Indian movies. Indian movies are being screened in over 40 locations throughout the nation, including Arkhangelsk, Belgorod, Kazan, Penza, Saratov, Tula, Ulyanovsk, and Cheboksary, in addition to Moscow and Saint Petersburg.
According to the report, general producer of Indian films in Russia Mirzoyan Karen Rudolfovich expressed his anticipation that in the next four to five years, Indian films will account for roughly 20 percent of the Russian film market, up from the current less than 5 percent.