"Everyone tells me if I did 'Rang De Basanti' today, it may not be released": Ronnie Screwvala
Mumbai, July 29
Entrepreneur and film producer Ronnie Screwvala reflected on the changing media landscape, saying that many believe his acclaimed film 'Rang De Basanti' may not have been released if it were made today, while stressing that content and audience preferences have evolved dramatically over the years.
Speaking to ANI, the UTV founder said the relevance of past experiences has changed in today's fast-moving world, where younger generations seek contemporary perspectives rather than historical lessons.
"Today everyone tells me if I did 'Rang De Basanti', it may not be released. So that's a good connect," Screwvala said while discussing how younger audiences perceive his body of work.
'Rang De Basanti' is a 2006 coming-of-age drama film written, directed, and co-produced by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. The film stars an ensemble cast of Aamir Khan, Siddharth, Sharman Joshi, Kunal Kapoor, Atul Kulkarni, Soha Ali Khan, Alice Patten, and R Madhavan.
The producer said experience remains valuable primarily because it sharpens instinct and decision-making.
"The only thing that I can show from my experience is my own gut. It's helped me make better gut decisions today because of 20 years and 30 years of massive failures. But other than that the world has changed a lot," he said.
Discussing the early years of UTV, Screwvala said his vision was to build an integrated media company rather than a single-business enterprise.
"My conviction was that if I wanted to do something at scale, media was a strong brand ambassador and a great soft power. Everyone told me to focus on one sector, but I wanted to build a much more diversified integrated company," he said.
Explaining why he ventured into filmmaking, Screwvala said it was driven by creativity and brand-building rather than purely commercial considerations.
Recalling UTV's breakthrough, Screwvala said, "So to me, for example, getting into films was much more than if I didn't create a B2C strong brand; without films, you would not be able to create that aura. So I think that was compelling and that's why I stuck it out, even though the first five films were complete flops."
"I wouldn't call them hits was when we did 'Lakshya', 'Swades', 'Rang De Basanti' and more. 'Swades' was actually not a commercial hit at that time. So, yeah. But by that time, we also had a fair bit of eight or nine broadcast channels.
He added that although 'Swades' later became a cult classic, "'Swades' was actually not a commercial hit at that time. But by that time, we also had a fair bit of eight or nine broadcast channels."
Screwvala also said the media industry has been transformed to such an extent that many of UTV's past achievements no longer resonate with younger audiences.
However, he stressed that companies must adapt to the language and preferences of younger consumers instead of relying on past success.
"If I keep holding on to 'my experience and this is how it got done', I'll be a dinosaur. Today's generation consumes everything in two or three minutes, and the creativity in memes is mind-boggling. If you don't respond to that, you become a boomer," Screwvala said.
Ronnie Screwvala is an Indian entrepreneur, investor and film producer. He is considered a pioneer of cable television, built a media and entertainment conglomerate (UTV Software Communications) that partnered with News Corp, 20th Century Fox, The Walt Disney Company, and Bloomberg, and later, in 2012, he divested the company to Disney.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Ronnie is spot on about the 'boomer' trap! 😂 My dad still talks about how cable TV was a revolution, but we move on. The memes culture is indeed something else. But come on, RDB is a classic. If it was made today, the youth would still connect – maybe even more.
I respect his honesty, but I disagree partially. 'Swades' was ahead of its time and RDB was a cultural phenomenon. Yes, attention spans have shrunk, but if a film has soul, it will work. The real issue is the current system – too much fear of controversy and pandering to OTT algorithms.
Interesting perspective from a pioneer. But I think the real issue isn't the audience but the gatekeepers. A film like RDB might struggle with censorship boards or corporate pressures today. Ronnie's journey from flops to hits shows resilience matters more than trends.
He's right about one thing: the world has changed. But films like RDB become bigger with time – they're not just entertainment, they're history lessons. The younger generation might consume everything in 2 minutes, but they also crave meaningful stories. Look at the success of web series tackling similar themes.
His comment about 'gut feeling' is profound. Experience is not about repeating the past, but about refining your instincts. As someone who works in media, I see how many people get stuck in 'we always did it this way'. Kudos to Ronnie for adapting instead of becoming a dinosaur.
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.