On the morning of a new weekend on Monday, the 13th, much of India went on a collective ecstasy when the news started coming in of Indians winning two Oscars at this year’s Academy Awards. RRR, a film from Tollywood that became a Pan-Indian hit got an Oscar for the “Best Original Song”. The second Oscar went to “The Elephant Whisperers” for the “Best Documentary”. For Indians, an Oscar win is coming after 14 years when A.R. Rahman and Resul Pookutty won the Oscars for the Best Original Song/Score and Best Sound respectively for The Slumdog Millionaire film.
As one would expect for such a global recognition, accolades have come in thick and fast from all quarters and deservedly so. It is common knowledge that an Oscar win adds to the brand value of the creative people behind it. Just limiting the scope of this article with RRR, S.S. Rajamouli, the director of the film, the producers, and the lead actors have all revelled under the glory in addition to the Music director M.M. Keeravani (MMK) alias Maragathamani (in Tamil) alias M.M. Kreem (In Hindi).
As can be expected, Naatu Naatu song winning the Oscars has attracted its share of criticism as well. Comments like “There are so many other classic songs from India composed by others and when they did not win the Oscars, how come Naatu Naatu?”, “Even among MMK’s work there are other songs that are much better than Naatu, Naatu”, “RRR got the award, not for Art reason but “Commerce” reason, because Hollywood wants to tap the vast Indian market” and so on are going the rounds in Social Media. Though all these comments could be partially or fully valid, that an Indian work has received the Academy Award is indeed commendable and hence should be complemented without any ifs and buts. So, congratulations to MMK, Lyricist Chandrabose and the entire RRR team are in order.
The reality is even if a film or a song/music is outstanding, it doesn’t mean that it will win an Oscar. This should be understood clearly because for any film to make an impact at the Oscars it has to go through a rigorous process that also involves millions of dollars and that’s quite a lot for an Indian film that is made in a few million dollars. For RRR, unconfirmed reports suggest that the team spent more than 80 million dollars for the Oscar campaign. That brings me to the subject of this blog that for an Indian film to win an Oscar, it has to get its marketing also right. Now one should not get me wrong as if I am alluding that MMK or ARR before got the Oscars only because of marketing and not because of their capabilities. My point is though the winners may be and actually are extremely talented and worth the Oscars, Marketing had a huge role to play in their wins whether it was RRR or Slumdog Millionaire.
Now, the Academy Awards are awards meant for Hollywood films. There is one category for foreign films in which Non-Hollywood films can compete where many countries including India send in their entries. To first get nominated from the home country as its official entry and finally go on to win an Oscar, is a creative + marketing exercise.
Philip Kotler, the Marketing Guru talks about the Ps of the Marketing Mix that a seller has to use to influence the buyer’s response. What started as 4Ps has now become 7Ps. My point is for an Indian film to win an Oscar it is not enough for just the first P – namely the Product to be great. The makers have to work on the balance 6Ps also if they want to stand a chance to win the Oscars. Let me explain the 7Ps and their relevance to the Oscar hunt.
Product: This is quite obvious. Here the product in this context refers to the film or the aspect of the film that is contesting for the Academy Awards (Film, Cinematography, Sound Editing, Music score etc). This is fundamental and has to be outstanding in the first place.
Place: This refers to channels through which the product is sold. In this context, Place refers to where the film is made and where all it is shown. If it’s a Hollywood production it obviously has a better chance to win. Though RRR was not a Hollywood production and it was not nominated as an official entry from India, it had an extremely successful run in many parts of the world including Hollywood. It was eventually the film’s American distributor – Variance Films who submitted the entry to the Oscars under the “For Your Consideration” category – kind of a wild shot at the Oscars. That the film was exhibited widely and was acclaimed all over as a fancy Indian film helped to push through under this category.
Price: In the normal context this refers to the cost or the price the customer pays for the product which usually is an important element for most of the categories. But in this context, I would refer to it as the Price the producer is willing to pay for the marketing and promotion of the film. Once a film is in the fray and that too a foreign film, it only stands a chance if most of the jury members are made to watch the film which requires heavy lobbying that costs money.
Promotion: Usually refers to the Advertising and Promotion activities that need to go behind the product. In this context also it refers to the same and it doesn’t need much explanation. Right from promoting the film within India before release and later promoting it in the markets where the film is exhibited, Promotions are becoming an important aspect of a film’s success.
People: Usually this refers to the people involved in the product right from concept to the store. In the context of films, this refers to the people behind the making of the film. Obviously, the creative brains involved in the film, the stars/cast that is part of the film and later the people who are involved in taking the film to the theatres play a huge role in the success of a film and its chance for an Oscar. Here I would add a crucial P in this People is the Producer without whose mind share and wallet share, it is almost impossible to take a shot even at the Oscars.
Process: This usually refers to the series of actions and SOPs that are involved in taking a product or a service to the consumer. In the context of films, it refers to the process that is involved in taking the film to the Oscars. And whoever has gone through the process before like Aamir Khan or Kamal Haasan will tell you how important it is to master this process that also costs money (P in Price)
Physical Evidence: In Kotler’s theory, this refers to the tangible and intangible elements that customers experience while using a product or service. Physical evidence includes the design, layout, and appearance of a physical location or environment where a product or service is delivered, such as a store, office, or website. It also includes the packaging, branding, and other visual and sensory aspects of a product or service. In the context of films, I would reckon that this would refer to the packaging of the film itself. Like how poverty in a developing country was packaged in Slum Dog Millionaire, for example. Or how a leader like Gandhi was packaged and shown in the film Gandhi. Or how a story belonging to the pre – Independence era has been packaged with mythology and so on in RRR.
There are many outstanding films that are made every year in India. Many of us feel that those are all far better than Slum Dog Millionaire or other films that win the Academy Awards. In order for these films to get chosen from India as India’s entry first and then to stand a chance for winning an Oscar, it is not enough if they are just great films from an Indian viewer’s perspective. It has to be an outstanding film from the perspective of the jury of the Academy Awards. For that, in addition to the main P (Product), the other six Ps as mentioned above need to be worked upon as well.
Many of Kamal Haasan’s films have been sent as the official entry for the Oscars in the past but have not managed to even secure a nomination. This is because they did not pass the 7 Ps test in my opinion. Now go back and check how RRR has fared in handling the 7 Ps and you will understand why it managed to enter into the race first of all though it was not recommended as the Official entry from India and also win an award in the original score category at the end. In the future, if any other filmmaker has aspirations of an Oscar, make a great film and before that read Philip’s Kotler.
