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All in the family

The 100-member Hansa family comes together. SOUVIK CHOWDHURY catches up with them

A FEW OF THE HUNDRED: The Hansas are a happy lot at family reunions

IT HAS to be a very delicate balance where love and money meet. The Hansa family has not only known it but found its equilibrium too, - where only verbal understandings and internal agreements between members of the family have contributed to the success of a multi-million dollar business story.

Hansa Pictures is a flourishing film distribution company that has endured to outlast more than half a century with the entire business being in the hands of family members - now outnumbering one-hundred - without a single intra family feud whatsoever. It is the third and fourth generation of the Harichand-Premchand progeny, mostly a consortium of cousins, running the show now - carrying on the passion of a proud legacy, the baton of long-standing business that has every property to dazzle the most seasoned businessman.

Looking back

The roots of the story take us to a quaint little village almost forgotten by time, Vartej, a few kilometres off Bhavnagar in Gujarat, where resided the Shah family among three other families in the 1800's.

The eldest son, Harichand Shah was the munim of the Rajah of Bhavnagar, then. He had no choice but to migrate to Bangalore when the Bhavnagar ruler sent an order that Shah be entrusted with the responsibility to oversee his mutual business interests and the Rajah of Mysore's.

When India achieved Independence, Shah's grandson and the eldest son of Premchand Shah, Kantilal Shah decided to set up a small movie distribution company that he managed alone for a few decades.

The company with a two-room office in Bangalore was named after Hansa, his daughter.

As the family grew, Kantilal Shah involved the entire family in the business. While some gave up their sugar, silk and cycle trade to join the bandwagon, everyone collectively pooled in resources with a commitment to make the business blossom.

And Hansa Pictures soon opened branches in Hyderabad, Vijaywada, Chennai, Coimbatore and Cochin apart from Mumbai, to become one of the leading movie distribution houses in the region.

Filmi family

From distributing Sangam, Aradhana, Dushman, Dost, Namak Haraam, The Train and several other super duper hits in Hindi, to Guns of Navarone and Drums of Destiny among others in English, to being involved in producing Shankarabharanam, Roja and Krishnadevaraya - the company has since then been growing healthily albeit conservatively into a profitable corporation.

Now, it is quite like an institution in itself, having acquired global rights for Satyajit Ray's movies, exclusive rights to distribute James Bond-movies in the South, in addition to being the leading distributor in the region of Universal and Fox-movies.

Over the last three decades, the Hansa family has diversified into the audio-visuals space with some of its offspring even dabbling in cable television distribution and manufacturing accessories.

Shailesh Shah, son of Fatehchand Shah (the oldest member in the family now), is the only one among the Harichand-Premchand progeny who is not actively involved in the family business.

A Wharton-educated management consultant who has had a long stint abroad, Shailesh is now a director and vice-president (Corporate Strategy group) Satyam Computer Services. And his rich experience is quite often the source of policies and business goals of Hansa Pictures.

"What is extremely gratifying is that we've never had to borrow. It usually happens that movie distribution houses do well, invest like the dickens, and borrow up to their neck only to face a series of failures and eventually die. We have never faced such difficulties, as the central pool of resources and funds is at everyone's disposal," he says.

Business of bonding

Equally heart-warming is the camaraderie that binds the one hundred-member - happy and democratic Hansa family together.

"Every Diwali, in whichever part of the world we are, everyone assembles at one of the places where we have offices to celebrate the joys of togetherness," adds Shailesh. This time round, the gathering was in Hyderabad.

"The Hyderabad office was set up by my uncle, Dhirajlal Shah in 1954. The joy was heightened this Diwali as we had completed 50 glorious years in this city."

Now that the family is extending and beginning to talk fifth generation, the need to professionalize is critical to keep the family together, and protect the legacy bequeathed upon them.

"We should be accountable, more responsive to enhance the business and commit ourselves to its protection to sustain being in business," urges Shailesh.

The Hansa family is an example that stands out as one of the largest family-run business houses in the country. A little rework on the unwritten constitution is necessary, as it appears - none would like the business to disintegrate. More than business, it is the integrated family - loss of which will be most painful.

As a rule, families often outlast corporations, even nations. The Hansa family is one such entity, of which a lot is expected.