It's grand slam in Hollywood

From tennis star to film producer in Hollywood, Ashok Amritraj has come a long way. T. KRITHIKA REDDY talks to the film maker, who has recently clinched a deal with MGM, Disney and Eureka.

HIS IS not one of those cliched filmy rags-to-raves stories. For he was already in the spotlight in the realm of sport when he took the dicey path of film production. And if it was splendid success in the former, it has been phenomenal success in the latter. For today, Ashok Amritraj is ranked as one of Hollywood's top-notch producers.

The youngest of the tennis trio, the Amritraj brothers, Ashok has played in a host of international tournaments including Wimbledon, the U.S.Open and the Davis Cup, before switching over to his other passion - films. And here too, the winning streak continues.

``Films were always close to my heart. But the dream of making it in tinseldom was realised way back in the early 1980s, when I went to Los Angeles. I decided that I had to become part of Hollywood. For some time, I pursued tennis and films simultaneously, till some close friends advised me to concentrate on one. And naturally, the choice was films,'' reminisces Ashok at his office in Chennai.

Mercurial rise - that is precisely how Ashok's career graph should be described. After a dozen independent films produced at a time when the video market was flourishing, he went on to make full-fledged features. ``The first few years were a sort of education. It takes time to break in into Hollywood's inner circle. Seriousness and staying power matter. But you are certainly given a chance to prove yourself,'' he says when asked about how he cut ice in the famed showville being an Indian.

The turning point, as they say came in 1992, when Ashok produced Jean Claude Van Damme's peppy action-adventure flick ``Double Impact.'' And sure Ashok did make an impact with the film which was shot in Hong Kong and Los Angeles. Columbia Pictures released the film on 1,700 screens in the U.S. alone, making the film a top grosser that year.

Today, Ashok's cinematic canon includes 50 motion pictures, that have grossed over 300 million dollars. The impressive list of forthcoming films includes the ``The White River Kid'', a rib- tickling adventure film which relates the misadventures of two con men (the cast comprises Antonio Banderas, Bob Hopkins and Ellen Barkings) and ``The Third Miracle'' starring Ed Harris and Anne Heche to be released through Sony Classics. The much-awaited release however is Warner Brothers' ``Battlefield Earth'', a sci- fi epic which has John Travolta in the lead.

A milestone in his career was reached when Ashok along with David Hoberman (of ``Who Framed Roger Rabbit?,'' ``Ransom'' ``Sister Act'', ``Pretty Woman'', ``George of the Jungle'' and ``The Negotiator'' fame) launched Hyde Park Entertainment in Los Angeles. Hyde Park ``has a unique alternating first-look arrangement with MGM and Walt Disney. The deal calls for MGM and Disney to take turns in getting the first crack at Hyde Park's projects, which either studio would co-finance. The respective studio will also handle distribution in the United Kingdom, Latin America and South East Asia. Besides these smart financing- distribution deals with the entertainment barons, Hyde Park has also clinched a five-year foreign distribution contract with Eureka, a powerful European media consortium.''

Hyde Park's deal with MGM and Disney ``is one of a kind. Innovative. We plan to produce up to five major motion pictures each year, each costing about 40 to 80 million dollars,'' adds Ashok. Under the new contract, Hyde Park will soon launch shooting for ``Anti-Trust'', based on the computer business, starring Tim Robbins and Ryan Phillipe and ``Out Laws'' a triangle love story with a bank robbery as the backdrop. The film has Bruce Willis and Val Kilmer in the lead.

Fame in Hollywood did not stop Ashok from returning to home turf. He produced ``Jeans'', the technically acclaimed mega project of director Shankar starring Aishwarya Rai and Prashanth. His next desi project is a simple love story in Hindi ``Love You Hamesha'' with Akshaye Khanna and Sonali Bendre in the lead. ``It is a different experience here, when compared to Hollywood. Here star factor counts. There is this penchant to choose the star, then tailor-make sequences to suit the set image. However, it is a good time for Indian films abroad,'' says Ashok, who is all set to release ``Jeans'' in Japan.

``Yet not many film makers from the country are evincing interest in making it in Hollywood, despite their talent. Perhaps, because one has to really start from scratch and it takes a long time to establish.''

And what does he foresee in the coming years? ``Technically, we are headed for an exciting phase. May be, the concept of print- free cinema will become a reality.'' Sharing a popular joke in Hollywood, he says that producers ``might switch over to cent per cent animated ventures because, at times, star tantrums become too much to take.''

As for the content of future films, ``like always, good stories will click. The audience has an insatiable desire for novelty and it is up to the film maker to match up to their expectations.'' Further, showbiz ``proves to be costly by the day. It takes an average of 40 to 80 million dollars to make a film in Hollywood and another 15 to 20 million dollars to market it.

There is so much at stake. We have to come up with commercially viable projects'' says the producer, who currently serves on the Board for Foreign Films at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

From a diehard Chennaiite to shifting base to Los Angeles, how does he feel? ``Oh I do miss Chennai. In fact, I wait for the least opportunity to get back to those tantalising sambars and dosas.''

``The cultures are a distinct contrast. It is important to maintain a good balance. The East is rich in tradition, morals and culture. Whereas in the West, the business practices are worthy of emulation. If one strikes a balance between the two worlds, life can be immensely satisfying.''

In two decades, Ashok has consolidated his position in Hollywood, ``where there are hundreds trying to get a foothold.'' And his has not been an uneventful ``set''. It has been a ``grand slam'' all the way.

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