India's Bid to Extend its Cultural Dominance

What is the secret of world domination by the English-speaking nations like the United States and Great Britain over the last two or three centuries? Is it their leading role during the industrial revolution? Is it their embrace of democracy and capitalism? Is it their wealth? or military power? or technology? It is probably all of the above. But, more than anything else, it seems that this phenomenon is rooted in the cultural domination of the world by the English-speaking nations. Taking a leaf from this playbook, the Indians are aiming at similar cultural domination of the world through media and entertainment. The size of India's domestic market, its new found wealth and the current wave of globalization sweeping the world clearly favor India in its quest.


Anil Ambani, the Indian billionaire, is putting up between $500 million and $600 million to back famous Hollywood director Steven Spielberg and his team at DreamWorks as they leave Viacom Inc.'s Paramount Pictures later this year, according to the Wall Street Journal.

While Anil Ambani, married to a former Bollywood actress Tina Munim, has clearly shown great interest in the Indian film world for a while, his global ambition to build a major international media and entertainment empire is just beginning to emerge.

Ambani's company, Reliance Big Entertainment, said last month that it would finance movies by production houses connected to George Clooney, Jim Carrey, Tom Hanks, Brad Pitt and others. It also said it plans to spend more than $1 billion in the next 18 months to expand its entertainment empire. Reliance is not the only Indian company pursuing deals in Hollywood. Similar deals are being made by UTV Motion Pictures, which co-financed current U.S. box-office hit "The Happening" directed by Oscar-winning Indian-American Manoj Night Shyamalan. And a similar joint effort is underway between Disney and Yash Raj Films in producing an animated film "Roadside Romeo" for the Indian audience. Disney is also an investor in UTV.

The history of outside investors, including foreign companies, trying to profit from Hollywood is long, with few notable successes. The 1980s saw a flood of Japanese investors, followed in the 1990s by Germans. The Indians, however, are different. Bollywood film revenues totaled $2.5 billion last year, less than one-tenth the total made by Hollywood films, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. But film revenue in India has been growing at about 17% a year for the past three years, while growth in the U.S. has been less than 3%. Emerging markets in general have outpaced the U.S. and most other developed markets: Annual movie revenues have climbed more than 6% in the Asia-Pacific region and Latin America in the same period, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Besides the Hollywood deals, Ambani is launching 20 TV channels and owns FM stations in India. Anil Ambani's plans appear to be highly ambitious and may partly be driven by the sibling rivalry between Anil and Mukesh. Currently, Mukesh is ranked a notch higher on the Forbes billionaires list.

The opportunities for growth in Bollywood are attracting successful, Silicon Valley based Indian-American entrepreneurs such as Raj Singh and Kanwal Rekhi to invest in Indian movies with broad, international appeal.

Beyond the big Indian investors, other Indian cultural organizations such as the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) has established 20 cultural centers (and two sub-centers) worldwide. Of these, Southeast Asia has only two centers (Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur) and one sub-centre (Bali), according to India Post.

According to a recent piece written by Pranav Kumar of Jawahar Lal University, the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR), founded by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, has established 20 cultural centers (and two sub-centers) worldwide. Of these, Southeast Asia has only two centers (Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur) and one sub-centre (Bali).

These centers organize performances of dance, drama, and music, essay competitions, lectures, photo exhibitions, and so on. They also conduct classes for yoga, Indian music and Hindi language. However, with the increasing importance of Southeast Asia in India's foreign policy, there are plans to open more centers in the region. Educational assistance forms another important element in India's cultural diplomacy, offering Southeast Asians opportunities to visit India, acquire education and learn about Indian culture.

There are several important schemes, under which India provides scholarships for Southeast Asian students to study in India. Under the General Cultural Scholarship Scheme (GCSS) of the (ICCR), 55 scholarships are provided to Southeast Asian countries (Brunei-1, Thailand-10, Malaysia-1, Philippines-1, Vietnam-6, Combodia-2, Indonesia-20, Laos-4 and Myanmar-10). Thirty scholarships are provided to BIMSTEC countries. Myanmar and Thailand from Southeast Asia come under the BIMSTEC umbrella. The Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) has established 20 cultural centers (and two sub-centers) worldwide. Of these, Southeast Asia has only two centers (Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur) and one sub-center (Bali).

These centers organize performances of dance, drama, and music, essay competitions, lectures, photo exhibitions, and so on. They also conduct classes for yoga, Indian music and Hindi language. However, with the increasing importance of Southeast Asia in India's foreign policy, there is an immediate need to open more centers in the region. Educational assistance forms another important element in India's cultural diplomacy, offering Southeast Asians opportunities to visit India, acquire education and learn about Indian culture.

There are several important schemes, under which India provides scholarships for Southeast Asian students to study in India. Under the General Cultural Scholarship Scheme (GCSS) of the (ICCR), 55 scholarships are provided to Southeast Asian countries (Brunei-1, Thailand-10, Malaysia-1, Philippines-1, Vietnam-6, Combodia-2, Indonesia-20, Laos-4 and Myanmar-10). Thirty scholarships are provided to BIMSTEC countries. Myanmar and Thailand from Southeast Asia come under the BIMSTEC umbrella. These centers organize performances of dance, drama, and music, essay competitions, lectures, photo exhibitions, and so on. They also conduct classes for yoga, Indian music and Hindi language. However, with the increasing importance of Southeast Asia in India's foreign policy, there is an immediate need to open more centers in the region. Educational assistance forms another important element in India's cultural diplomacy, offering Southeast Asians opportunities to visit India, acquire education and learn about Indian culture.

There are several important schemes, under which India provides scholarships for Southeast Asian students to study in India. Under the General Cultural Scholarship Scheme (GCSS) of the (ICCR), 55 scholarships are provided to Southeast Asian countries (Brunei-1, Thailand-10, Malaysia-1, Philippines-1, Vietnam-6, Combodia-2, Indonesia-20, Laos-4 and Myanmar-10). Thirty scholarships are provided to BIMSTEC countries. Myanmar and Thailand from Southeast Asia come under the BIMSTEC umbrella.

In Silicon Valley, there is a very active Indian Cultural Center that promotes Indian culture by organizing events and offering classes. Several wealthy Indians have established Indian Studies departments at major universities in the United States to project a positive image of India.

Indians have achieved the kind of domination of their region that could not be achieved by the force of arms. Rather than its huge military and its nuclear arsenal, India's soft power based in Bollywood has been its weapon of choice. Almost every child, every newspaper and every TV channel in Pakistan follows the day to day activities of Bollywood stars like Amitab Bachan and Aishwariya Rai. Having established its cultural dominance over its neighbors including Pakistan, India is now setting its sights on Hollywood and US media to become a major media and entertainment powerhouse extending its influence and spreading its culture well beyond South Asia. The Indians are coming! Rupert Murdoch, Sumner Redstone and Walt Disney and Sony bosses had better watch out!