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Rekhi funds son's Bollywood foray

As a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley, Kanwal Rekhi has helped numerous first-time entrepreneurs realize their dreams.

Now, Rekhi hopes to create a little of that magic to help his son, Benjamin.

But Benjamin won't be venturing into technology. Instead he will look to enter Bollywood, as a possible production assistant for India's first Imax film, Taj Mahal .

Benjamin, a senior in film and television at New York University, will head to India later this year when production begins. Taj Mahal will feature India's top female movie star, Aishwarya Rai as Shah Jahan's beloved queen Mumtaz Mahal. The male lead is yet to be decided. The film will be made in Hindi and English.

Rekhi is one of the limited partners in India Lotus Inc., funding the $10 million project. Other Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, including B.V. Jagadeesh and K.B. Chandrasekhar, have stakes in the firm, founded by filmmaker Ganapathy Bharat, who is known popularly as "Bala." They have invested almost $3 million in the company, primarily to be used for Taj Mahal .

"We wanted a project that would create an A-class image for India," Jagadeesh said. "There's a lot more to India than IT. With the Taj Mahal there's so much history to it."

This is the third time Rekhi is working with Jagadeesh and Chandrasekhar (popularly known as Chandra).

In 1994, Rekhi invested $200,000 in Exodus Communications-virtually protecting then-relatively unknown co-founders Jagadeesh and Chandra from bankruptcy.

That investment helped the Web hosting company land on its feet. Both Jagadeesh and Chandra have moved on to bigger and better things-Jagadeesh the CEO of NetScaler, a Santa Clara, California, IT firm; and Chandra the CEO of Jamcracker, an IT services company.

Meanwhile Exodus still remains rock solid, with a market capital exceeding $10 billion.

Last year, the trio were also the primary investors of a $1 million Web site dedicated to preserving Mahatma Gandhi's thoughts.

Rekhi is well familiar with Gandhi but he hasn't seen a Bollywood-produced film since 1973. His interest in the new project is strictly personal.

"There are two things that interested me," he said. "It's India's first Imax film and the second, my son's involvement."

Rekhi said Benjamin is putting his own money in the movie, adding he has no other financial involvement. Reuters news agency reported Rekhi was among the Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who had invested in the film.

"I don't have much time for this," Rekhi said. "My son is the one who wants to participate in Hollywood and Bollywood. I am just a passive investor (in India Lotus)."

Taj Mahal will be the most expensive Bollywood production, surpassing last year's $9 million for Raju Chacha. It starred Bollywood couple Ajay Devgan and Kajol, but was a flop in India. The film was a modest success abroad.

Rekhi expects Taj Mahal to be an international phenomenon with its lavish production and Imax appeal.

Bala agrees. "It is not just for India. It is going to be released all over the world," he told Reuters. Taj Mahal will be released July 2002.

"This is an intense, passionate story of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz," said Bala, who wrote the script with his wife, Kanika.

According to Bala, Taj Mahal will be the biggest movie venture from India since 1982's Gandhi, which won several Oscars including Best Picture. Directed by Sir Richard Attenborough, the movie was a Indo-British joint venture.

Perhaps as big a draw as Rai will be Taj Mahal 's soundtrack, to be composed by A.R. Rahman. Bala and Rahman have been close friends since childhood, having also collaborated among other projects for the patriotic songs collection, Jana Gana Mana.

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