Sholay 3D: Recreating the Magic?

Headnote

'Sholay', an Indian classic blockbuster, and an extremely successful movie brand for about 38 years, was extended to 'Sholay 3D' to increase its brand value. This case analyzes the brand extension strategy used for the movie, which involved producing a three-dimensional format of the original classic brand. The case study builds on interviews with various stakeholders involved in recreating Sholay (including the producers, financier and music directors) to look at the drivers and challenges of such movie brand extension strategies in emerging economies like India. It depicts how an improved version of the successful classic movie, as an experiential brand, works in the context of the movie market in India or in a similar context elsewhere. This case would help understand the generic question: Can brand extensions of successful and classic experiential brands recreate the magic of the original brand?

Key Words: Brand Extensions, Forward Linkages, India, Reciprocal Linkages, Sholay

BACKGROUND

It was Monday, December 28, 2013-an important day for Jayantilal Gada, Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Popular Entertainment Network (PEN) India Limited-a Film Production House located in Mumbai. The day marked the special premiere of Sholay 3D, a film produced and presented by PEN India. The film itself was due for release later in the week- on the first Friday of the new year, 2014. A three-dimensional version of Sholay-an iconic Indian film and the greatest blockbuster in the history of Indian cinema (Chopra, 2000)-Sholay 3D was an attempt to recreate the magic of the original film for the current generation. As Gada prepared to attend the premiere, a wave of self-doubt ran through him: Had they done the right thing in recreating a classic? Would Sholay 3D be able to recreate the magic of the original Sholay and leverage the brand equity of the original brand? Personally, he also wondered whether he had, for once, let his emotions overrule business sense. Would the film be able to recover its investment of INR 160 million1?

THE INDIAN FILM INDUSTRY

The Indian film industry is the biggest movie industry in the world, with more than 30,000 feature films and several thousands of documented short films. In 2013, the industry was 100 years old, dating back to 1913 when the first feature film-a silent...