25 January 2005

Christchurch family business KURAN (NZ) Ltd has developed a profitable niche providing film location services to Indian film crews wanting to shoot their productions in New Zealand’s spectacular and diverse landscapes.

KURAN has worked with more than 90 Indian film projects since it started business in 1994, including feature films out of ‘Bollywood’, TV commercials, music videos and documentaries.

KURAN provides film crews with 24-hour a day support, obtaining consents and approvals for work permits, location scouting, line production, arranging accommodation, transport, acting and technical staff and trouble shooting. Its biggest movie operation to date involved more than 100 Indian crew and 20 locals and lasted 60 days.

The company’s foreign exchange earnings have grown rapidly, reaching almost $7 million in 2003.

A positive spin-off of New Zealand establishing a profile among film and television viewers in India has been growth in the number of tourists and international students choosing New Zealand as a destination. Spokesperson Nandini Singh believes much of this has been inspired by the sight of India’s favourite movie stars performing against a New Zealand backdrop.

Spokesperson Nandini Singh says the business was started by her father, the late Kamal Singh, when he saw an opportunity to attract some of the lucrative Indian film business to use New Zealand scenery and tap into the experienced local production industry here.

“It was an unknown field of business and a market New Zealand was virtually oblivious to. This was our niche market.”

Initially the business was part-time, with Mr Singh supplementing the family income working as a taxi driver. However his extensive networking in India and New Zealand, and the family’s commitment to service, saw the business grow from hosting just one film crew in 1995 to 18 in 2002/2003.

That growth has come out of the family’s close working relationship with members of the travel industry and Air New Zealand in Mumbai, India, Local Action Equipment Hire in Queenstown and with support from New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, which has promoted the opportunities in New Zealand to Indian filmmakers.

Ms Singh says KURAN holds about 98% of the market share in New Zealand, with more than 70% of its business being repeat or referral based. The challenge ahead is to maintain New Zealand’s popularity in the face of competition from other well established countries like Switzerland, Australia and South Africa, which are encouraging Indian crews with incentives and government-backed marketing drives.

“Our dedication to work is our most prized competitive advantage,” says Ms Singh.

“We foster a very good working relationship with our overseas clients and with local New Zealand technicians and businesses, local authorities and land owners.”

KURAN is looking to expand into tourism, with a venture on the drawing board aimed at the growing number of Indian tourists in New Zealand. The company plans to offer hosted, custom-designed tours for small groups of visitors wanting to explore New Zealand.

Nandini joined the business following the death of her father in 2001 and works with her mother Uma, brother Raajew and sister Atima.

“When I became involved in the business I intended to take one year off my university study, but now it’s become my passion. It was also my father’s passion and it’s taken four of us to fill the shoes of that one man.”

KURAN won a former Trade New Zealand Export Commendation and was a finalist in the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise 2004 Export Awards.