Indian Director Sees Great Potential in Russia-India Film Co-production Beyond Hollywood

NEW DELHI, July 21. /TASS/. Russia and India have great potential to high-quality films together, ones that don't just copy from the Hollywood playbook, Sarfaraz Alam Safu, an Indian director and producer for Picture Entertainment, said in an interview with TASS.

"India and Russia have great potential. However, major producers and market players on both sides need to temper their love for Hollywood and take some risks. I assure you that they will see what magic and what potential there is in these two giant countries, where they love cinema so much," he said.

According to Safu, since the pinnacle of Indian films’ popularity, "Indian cinema has changed and evolved technically but the style and storytelling are still the same as in the USSR time. The Russian audiences has changed. They are habituated to watching fast food Hollywood garbage,'" he said. "Like the Russian audience and makers, unfortunately, Indians are also in trap of the west."

He believes the solution is to produce films together, taking into account Russia's strong tradition in visual effects and India's experience in filming large-scale scenes.

"It will take time and patience, but this is the future," he believes. "Indians are already collaborating with Russian companies such as XOVP and Color Kitchen. There are many joint projects being implemented: after the first joint film Pearl (2025), there are 4-5 more films in development."

According to Safu, "stories based on real events or dramas with high-quality visual effects" could become the basis for a new "golden age" of Russian-Indian cooperation in the film industry. "Large-scale projects will be successful," he said.

The Indian producer also mentioned the rebate system as a promising tool for cooperation between the two countries.

"I heard the rebates are regional. Not the Russia rebate but Moscow or Kaliningrad, Baikal rebate. A rebate is always attractive for any film maker in any country because it gives a guarantee of some ROI," he said, adding that "Russia is such a vast and supremely beautiful country that each and every corner could become a hit in India."