Back in 1985, a 21-year old Deepak Jalan spent many an afternoon in Kolkata in front of the mirror, rattling off well-rehearsed dialogues of Amitabh Bachchan from his favourite movie Amar, Akbar, Anthony. But familial duties made him sacrifice showbiz aspirations and join his father’s business, Linc Pens.
He hasn’t done too bad either. Under him, Linc is today among the top three brands in India’s Rs 2,200 crore writing instrument industry. It’s the leader in the eastern region, and has 2,500 distributors across the country.
But after 26 long years, Jalan has decided to revisit his teenage dream. His group has ventured into film production with Linc Entertainment, which is set to come out with its first film, titled Shakal Pe Mat Ja this September. While climbing new highs in the writing instruments industry, Jalan kept in touch with the entertainment world by roping in Bollywood King Shahrukh Khan and its reigning queen Katrina Kaif as ambassadors for his brand. But even till a year ago, he had no inkling he would foray into the entertainment arena.
“Most aspiring youth want to be in the film industry. Likewise, I was a big fan of Amitabh Bachchan and used to dress up like him as a youngster. We even share the same birthday. I’d have left the pen business if I was offered a role.
In a way, my venture into film production is that dream coming true,” smiles the MD of Linc Pens, as he talks about a generation who were too shy to even speak to their fathers about their own ambitions. While the decision wasn’t a pre-planned one, Jalan believes his experiences in the pen industry would help him bridge the gap between both the verticals. “While making films is altogether different from producing pens, the marketing and distribution is very similar.
That knowledge and experience came in handy while chalking out the plans of distribution and marketing of our first film. So far as production is concerned; we have an experienced associate in actress Hrishitaa Bhatt,” adds Jalan.
For starters, Jalan and his team have set achievable targets and are aiming at the “new Indian” film-goer, who likes smart, low-budget films. He hopes to produce two to three medium to small budget films in a year, involving a total budget of Rs 15 crore, while also providing a platform for new talent. “Medium to small budget films involve lesser risk, as most of the cost can be recovered by selling of various rights, such as satellite rights, music rights, home video rights, theatrical rights and overseas rights. We will certainly look at bigger budget films too, in future, once we have established ourselves,” says Jalan.
While Jalan seems excited about the prospects of his new enterprise, he also has his eyes firmly fixed on aggressive growth for Linc Pens. He plans to increase the company’s export from the current 20 per cent, to 50 per cent of total revenues, in the next three to five years. Linc currently exports to 30 countries including US, UK, Bangladesh, Nepal and Middle East. Also on his agenda is increasing the number of ‘Linc Office’ outlets in Kolkata from the current 10.
The firm’s turnover in 2010-’11 was Rs 250 crore, and Jalan hopes to double it in the next three years.
“Linc Pens so far has been mostly in the mass price segment. However, in the recent past we have introduced some products in the medium price segment, and there are at least another three to four new products in pipeline, which will be launched soon in this new segment. Linc is also the exclusive distributor of Uni-ball pens (produced by Japan’s Mitsubishi Pencil Co. Ltd.) in India, and is the leader in the semi-premium segment.
It’s also the exclusive distributor of Lamy pens from Germany, and has ambitious plans of promoting high-end pens by Lamy in India through shop-in-shop concept. We’d like to re-position the Cruiser brand and launch a premium range from Rs 1,000 and above, and nurture the brand over the next five years,” says Jalan. But his goals don’t stop in India. Jalan hopes to be in the global top 10 in the next five years. This man doesn’t know to stop.