Category: Hindi

MUMBAI: Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd (SAVCL) plans to invest Rs 5 billion to fund its expansion plans that include overseas distribution, acquisition of satellite rights, entering new geographies for content buying and making small budget movies (Rs 50-150 million).

The company also plans to raise Rs 3 billion through an initial public offering (IPO) of one of its newly-formed subsidiaries, Shree Ashtavinayak Lights Camera Action, in the next fiscal. The proceeds of the issue will be used for the expansion of the subsidiary into new geographies for content buying, acquiring satellite rights and scaling-up annual production of movies from the present three to 10.

Shree Ashtavinayak plans to either build a new studio in and around Mumbai or acquire one depending on the feasibilty report. 

However, the distribution of films, both overseas and domestic, will be done by the parent company SAVCL.

The company said in a filing to BSE that it will produce eight movies next year at an estimated project cost of Rs 5 billion. It also said that the shareholders have approved a bonus of four new shares against one share held in the company.

MUMBAI: Dev Benegal‘s Road Movie will open the 60th Berlin International Film Festival that will open on 11 February and will go on till the 21st of the month.

The film presented by The Indian Film Company (TIFC) in association with Studio 18 has already received glowing public receptions in Toronto, Tokyo and Doha.

International Sales giant Fortissimo Films, is representing Road Movie, its first Hindi language title. 

Remarks Indian Films Company CEO Sandeep Bhargava, “The film made for the international audience has been earlier appreciated at the several festivals it had attended. The dream to have it shown in a European film festival has been fulfilled with the film being selected to open the Berlin film festival.”

Road, Movie follows Vishnu played by Abhay Deol, as a restless young man who rejects his father‘s faltering hair-oil business and hits the road with a Chevy travelling cinema in search of freedom.

Along the journey Vishnu ponders his life‘s priorities as he learns to appreciate his culture and the power of friendship and love.

MUMBAI: Director Indra Kumar is venturing out of his own banner and is all set to direct a yet untitled film for Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd.

The film will star Sanjay Dutt, Anil Kapoor, Govinda and Akshaye Khanna while one more hero is in the process of finalisation. The leading ladies are yet to be finalised.

Besides directing the Ashtavinayak venture, Indra Kumar will also be simultaneously working on Double Dhamaal, the sequel of his super-hit film Dhamaal that is being made under his home banner Maruti International.

Kumar has directed many hit films like Dil, Beta, Raja, Ishq, Masti, Dhamaal and Daddy Cool under his banner Maruti International.

MUMBAI: Reliance Entertainment is planning to bid for the debt ridden Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), a move that would take the Reliance ADAG company to the centre of Hollywood.

Reliance Entertainment, which already has a joint venture partnership with Spielberg‘s DreamWorks for production of movies, is among the 12 companies that have signed MGM‘s confidentiality agreements to make bid offers.

The others in the roster include News Corp, Time Warner, Liberty Media, AT&T Inc, Lions Gate and independent studio Summit Entertainment, apart from some private equity firms who are also in the fray to put in a bid for the legendry studio.

A Reliance spokesperson, however, refused to comment. “We do not comment on speculation,” the spokesperson said.

Entertainment-focused investment firm Qualia Capital has made a proposal to restructure MGM, which would involve converting some of its debt to equity and put in enough money to keep it running. 

Private equity firms also signed non-disclosure agreements, it is understood. Those firms could be allowed to team with media companies and make joint bids for the studio in later rounds.

MGM skipped an interest payment last year on its $3.7bn in debt when it failed to raise the capital required to support an ambitious production schedule. Its lenders have granted it forbearance from interest payments until the end of this month.

The studio amassed much of this debt when it was taken over in a leveraged buy-out in 2005 by private equity firms TPG, Providence Equity Partners, DLJ Merchant Banking Partners and Quadrangle Group and media companies Sony and Comcast.

The first-round bids are non-binding which means that bidders are not legally bound to follow up on their offer and are expected to help MGM assess the level of interest among potential buyers.

First-round offers are expected to come in between $1.5 to $2 billion, well below the $3.7 billion debt that the studio owes.

If the bids come in too low, MGM‘s creditors could decide to keep the company and restructure it, possibly filing for a pre-packaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

MGM boasts of a library with 4,000 titles, including classics such as the Pink Panther and James Bond movies and more recent ones such as Legally Blonde.

MUMBAI: With Republic Day around the corner, Shemaroo Entertainment has come out with Vande Mataram, a song compilation that pays a befitting tribute to India on home video.

The songs in the album have been carefully selected with lot of thought and effort. They represent the six decades of a Republic India, with a nationalistic perspective of people belonging to different strata of the Indian society.

The album features Yeh Desh Hai Veer Jawanon Ka from Naya Daur or the fiery enthusiasm of college students from Talaq, the ever-popular patriotic Apni Azaadi Ko Hum from Leader, Mere Desh Premiyon from Desh Premee, Aye Mere Pyare Watan from Kabuliwala and Har Karam Apna Karenge from Karma among others.

Apart from this, is the evergreen Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai while a salute to the guardians of our frontiers appear in the form of Dekho Veer Jawanon Apne from Aakraman.

Patriotic feelings and desires of the increasing number of NRI‘s (Non-Resident Indians), towards their motherland find expression in I Love My India from Pardes. Also the track O Yaaron Maaf Karna from Aa Ab Laut Chalen is a tribute to the unity in diversity of Indians.

Besides the above mentioned tracks, there are other well-known songs like Bharat Humko Jaan Se Pyara Hai from Roja, Punjabi Gayenge Marathi Gayenge from Aakraman and Garjo Jai Jai Kar from Ek Krantiveer-Vasudev Balwant Phadke which truly take the feeling of patriotism to an altogether different level.

In addition, this compilation has also got some amazing moments with the song Meri Aawaz Suno from Naunihal in which the real footage of Jawahralal Nehru‘s funeral procession has been used and the film Pukar which has a rare screen appearance by Lata Mangeshkar singing Ek Tu Hi Bharosa.

It is certain that, this unique representation of songs in Vande Mataram are bound to evoke among audiences emotional, nationalistic and patriotic feelings.

The Vande Mataram DVDs and VCDs are priced at Rs. 99 and Rs. 45 respectively.
 

MUMBAI: Percept Pictures has roped in Yusuf M Shaikh as head of film distribution and IPR.

Prior to this, Shaikh was chief operating officer, feature films at Maverick Productions.

At Maverick, he had produced films such as Aloo Chaat and Dulha Mil Gaya and distributed films like Om Shanti Om and Cash.

Said Percept Pictures COO, Feature Films Sanjay V Ahire, “Having released more than 60 films over the last five years, we are focused to offer the best distribution services to independent movie producers, other movie studios etc. Having Yusuf on board will add the much needed experience and expertise to our distribution service offering.” 

With approximately 18 years of experience in the feature films business, Shaikh has acquired and distributed over 100 films for various entertainment companies including Trimurti Films, Venus, Paramount, Shringar, Fox and Columbia.

Shaikh was earlier associated with Percept Pictures from 2003-06 wherein he had distributed and released films such as Phir Milenge, Page 3, Hanuman, Corporate and Malamaal Weekly in India and the overseas markets.
 

MUMBAI: Yash Raj Films (YRF) has announced an agreement with Indian travel and tourism company SOTC and Switzerland-based enterprise Brandinvest AG to offer a ‘YRF Enchanted Journey‘ in Switzerland to movie fans.

The tour visits sites and locations in Switzerland featuring in Yash Raj Films, as well as engaging with various themes and elements seen in the studio‘s most famous films like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Mohabbatein, Veer-Zaara, Chandni, Darr and Bachna Ae Haseeno.

The agreement was signed by Yash Raj Films chairman Yash Chopra, Kuoni India & South Asia CEO and MD Zubin Karkaria, and Brandinvest AG co-owner and CEO Marco Casanova.

“We at YRF are convinced that this very special offering in Switzerland will provide a previously unattainable opportunity to a lot of Indians and fans of our films. It is a unique entertainment product that we are bringing to the market that promises to be a showcase offering for tourists visiting Switzerland,” said Yash Chopra.

MUMBAI: In his bid to split his role as chairman and CEO of Eros International Plc, Kishore Lulla has handed over the role of Group CEO and managing director to Jyoti Deshpande. He will, however, continue to drive the vision and strategy of the Group as executive chairman.

Deshpande, a director of Eros International Plc since 2006, was Group COO and commercial director before being promoted.

Says Kishore Lulla, “Having worked closely with Jyoti since 1998 when we set up B4U as well as later in Eros, I am delighted that she has agreed to take up the responsibility of Group CEO. She has been an integral part of Eros‘s exciting growth journey and I have seen her rise through the ranks with us. This move acknowledges her significant contribution to Eros‘s success over the years and her knowledge and passion for the business. I would like to take this opportunity to wish her the very best in her new role and I am confident the Group will continue to thrive under her leadership.”

Eros plans to raise Rs 3.50 billion via an initial public offering in India.

MUMBAI: UTV has announced the availability of Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra‘s Delhi 6 on iTunes.

The Abhishek Bachchan-Sonam Kapoor starrer has, thus, become the first Indian film to be made available on the iTunes online store. The movie has been listed under the ‘New and Noteworthy‘ film section and is available at $9.99 for download-to-own.

UTV Motion Pictures VP USA Lokesh Dhar says, “Entertainment is witnessing a surge of consumption in the online space therefore more and more fans are surfing, looking for movie related content on the internet. Hence, launching Delhi-6 on iTunes was a perfect fit.”

Delhi 6 saw a worldwide theatrical release on 20 February. It was the first Hindi film to be featured at the Museum Of Modern Art (MoMA) at New York.

The film has been screened at the 66th Venice Film Festival, Bangkok International Film Festival and 29th Annual Hawaii International Film Festival.
 

MUMBAI: 3 Idiots has stormed the box office, surpassing Aamir Khan‘s own previous mega hit Ghajini that had grossed Rs 2.6 billion.

The film has grossed Rs 3.15 billion worldwide in just 19 days, according to Reliance Big Pictures, the film‘s distributor.

In India, most multiplexes have added 14 to 21 new shows due to a huge rush for 3 Idiots.

Says Cinemax vice president marketing Devang Sampat, “3 Idiots has been doing wonderfully well. Till date there has not been a single show that hasn‘t sported a ‘house full‘ board much before the scheduled show. The film is set to break all records by being the highest grosser in at least 10 years.”

The second week occupancy of 3 idiots fell by a meagre 28 per cent, indicating its sustainable power in the fickle world of movies.

Says trade analyst Taran Adarsh, “3 Idiots is unstoppable. That‘s the truth. No distributor, no trade expert can predict the business of this film.”

More than 60 million people have watched the film in theatres since its release on 25 December.

Says a media analyst, “After a long time, an Indian film has had such a large repeat audience.” 

Produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra and directed by Rajkumar Hirani, 3 Idiots has also set a new benchmark for the Indian film industry in the global box office. It is the highest-grossing Indian film ever to release in the US, Middle East, Australia, South Africa, Pakistan, Kenya and Fiji.

Says Reliance Big Entertainment chairman Amit Khanna said, “3 Idiots has opened new vistas for the Indian film industry. The huge response across continents reinforces our belief that a well-made, well-exploited film can still create magic in the darkened auditorium. We are proud to be associated with Vinod, Aamir, Raju and the talented team of 3 Idiots.”