ITV

Category: Hindi

  • WMA, Endeavor merger imminent

    MUMBAI: In a pact that is set to change the landscape of talent deal-making, leaders of William Morris Agency (WMA) and Endeavor took a giant leap into showbiz‘s future recently by approving a merger between the two companies.

    The board of WMA and partners of Endeavor held separate votes last Monday to give their assent to the merger. The deal will reportedly be put into force next month, uniting 14-year-old Endeavor with 111-year-old WMA. The resulting thrust would have a dramatic affect on the Hollywood landscape, with the joint endeavour becoming a major rival to the two decade old Creative Artiste Agency (CAA).

    The new entity will be called William Morris Endeavor (WME) Entertainment once the transaction is completed in the second quarter, subject to customary closing conditions.


    But while the merger appears to have been agreed in principle, details are still awaited.
    It is being rumoured that Endeavor‘s Ari Emanuel will assume day-to-day control of the merged entity as CEO, while WMA chief executive James Wiatt will take over as chairman. WME will be governed by a nine-member board of directors that will include five from the WMA camp and four from Endeavor.


    The combination of WMA and Endeavor will create a mega-agency, the assets of which will extend into virtually every aspect of the entertainment and media business with annual revenues estimated at $325 million.The tie-up, which is still subject to government approval, also creates the largest competitor to CAA.


    In addition to the challenges that all deal-making companies are confronting at a time of great change in the entertainment biz, WME‘s leaders will undoubtedly face a formidable task in achieving harmony between the wildly different cultures and backgrounds of the two agencies.


    The merger, for which William Morris and Endeavor had been in talks for nearly a year, was driven by the fact that each agency has assets the other coveted.

  • Shemaroo’s new DVD offer to fitness freaks

    MUMBAI: Moving ahead to give fitness freaks another bonanza, Shemaroo Entertainment brings Hip Hop Body, an exercise DVD mixed with hip hop dance and music, thus mixing fun and entertainment to an otherwise boring exercise regime. The DVD of Hip Hop Body is priced at Rs 199.

    Last year in June, Shemaroo released Shilpa Shetty‘s yoga DVDs and VCDs. The company has now brought ‘easy to do‘ exercise workout routines, for home viewing and practicing.

    Hip Hop Body includes a warm up session to get you stirring; 30 minutes of cardio exercises, which can be split into individual 10 minute sessions if you have less time; toning for the upper and lower body; toning for the abs and a session to cool down. The whole workout takes around 50 minutes and one can do this at least 3 times a week.


    No dancers featured in the DVD are professionals. In fact, all of them are ordinary people with busy lives, who would like to remain in shape, keep fit and have a toned body by taking to dancing.

    Sharing his thoughts, Shemaroo Entertainment Director Hiren Gada says, “As part of our alternative content, we are glad to introduce Hip Hop Body. Watching titles like these one can practice exercise workouts within the comfort of their homes and at their own convenient time. With these ingredients the DVD becomes more appealing.”

  • Producers, plexes begin pressure game ahead of meeting

    MUMBAI: Ahead of their joint meeting this week, film producers and multiplex owners have started resorting to pressure tactics to get on to the better side of negotiations. While some production houses have announced the re-release of their slate of films in single-screen theatres across the country from 1 May, multiplexes have won over Percept Picture Company to release Hanuman once again.

    Looks like with the release of the hit animated feature, multiplex owners like Fame, Inox, PVR, Fun and 24 Karat want to play one up on the producers. Film studios like Studio 18, YRF and UTV, on the other hand, are opening up their slate of old releases for display on select single-screen theatres.


    “The tussle is on to make the other blink. A lot of the future action will depend on how the mid-week meeting shapes up,” says a trade analyst who is closely tracking the developments.


    Last week it was Studio 18 which released Ghajini in Mumbai. Soon they plan to re-release Singh Is King, not just in Mumbai but also in all the major metros across India.


    UTV will release films like Jodhaa Akbar, Race, A Wednesday, Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!, Fashion, Goal, Aamir, Kismat Konnection and Welcome to Sajjanpur in single screens across the country from 1 May.


    “We are going to release all the eight films across the country in single-screen theatres on 1 May,” confirms a UTV spokesperson.


    Meanwhile, Yash Raj Films‘ Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, which was released in two single-screen theatres, will now spread its wings to nine more screens in Mumbai next week.

  • UTV inks deal with 6 Sales for distribution of ExTerminators

    MUMBAI: UTV Motion Pictures has signed a foreign sales deal with Madrid-based film sales company 6 Sales, for ExTerminators, the first independent Hollywood venture of the Mumbai-based integrated media company. Through its foreign sales partner, UTV has inked distribution deals for Romania, Benulux and Middle Eastern territories.The film, a dark comedy, is directed by John Inwood and stars Heather Graham, Jennifer Coolidge and Amber Heard. It is about Alex (Graham), a lonely accountant whose sole act of rage results in her being sentenced to court mandated rage therapy. There she meets Stella (Coolidge), the owner of a small extermination business who uses her car as a weapon; and Nikki (Heard), a dental technician with the face of an angel and the mind of a sociopath. Together these unlikely friends form their own ‘silent revolution‘.

    Commenting on the deal, UTV Motion Pictures Vice-President USA Lokesh Dhar said, “With Exterminators, we look forward to strengthening our base in the international market. After our international co-productions such as The Namesake, I think I Love My Wife and The Happening, ExTerminators is UTV‘s first independent production in the US and is definitely a landmark for us as well as the Indian Film Industry.”


    “The public‘s response is exactly what we had hoped for: uncontrollable laughter and we believe that this type of a film is what the audiences are looking for,” said 6 Sales partner Marina Fuentes.


  • Home video rental market in an upswing

    MUMBAI: The fracas between multiplexes and film producers over revenue sharing has not left cinemagoers without any source of entertainment, though there is an anxiety concerning the release of new films. Viewers are now turning to home video in a big way. Not only are pirated films selling like hot cakes, original CDs/DVDs are going off the shelf of video rental libraries far too frequently.”We have been witnessing a 15 per cent growth over and above our regular growth of 15- 20 per cent on a month-on-month, since a month and a half. On an average movies watched by a member increased from 8-10 DVDs to 12 DVDs per month which very much more than the number of movies watched usually. Also, to make the most of these times, we have introduced a couple of offers so as to induce more people to watch movies at home with BIGFlix and are getting great response so far,” says bigflix.com chief lead online DVD rental business Pankaj Chandra.

    There has also been an increase in the demand for alternative content. Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd director Hiren Gada avers, “Due to the lack of new releases, our CD/ DVD sales have increased and are placed anywhere between 30 to 40 per cent. Another noticeable effect is that sports content is also in huge demand, thanks to the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches.”Movie rental



    service Seventymm has claimed that the demand for films has shot up by almost 25 per cent. The stoppage of new releases has seen a surge of new customers. Earlier its clients would rent up to three films a week but now they would hire almost five films every day, says a source in the organisation. The company has a market share of 60 per cent with 1, 20, 000 customers pan India.

    However, Moser Baer COO G Dhananjayan begs to differ. He says, “Old films are not being asked for. Yes, fresh titles are always in the askance. We are of course keeping ourselves abreast of the current situation. A few days earlier, we released Dev D and today we are releasing Dilli 6. All said and done these are fresh films and will attract considerable attention. Besides, there is no such news that sales or hiring of films have gone up. From the vast market we have around the country, from nowhere have we heard that CD/DVD sales are on the rise. In fact people are depressed because the inflow of new films has stopped.”

  • Feroz Khan succumbs to cancer

    MUMBAI: Legendary actor Feroz Khan is no more. He died of cancer this morning at the age of 69 in Bangalore, leaving behind his daughter Laila and son Fardeen, brothers Sanjay, Sameer and Akbar Khan. Fardeen and his wife Natasha were with him in his last moments, but the others reached after the news of his demise. His funeral will take place later in the day in Bangalore.

    Coming from Bangalore, Feroz Khan made his debut as second lead in Didi (1960). Initially, Khan appeared in several low-budget thrillers. He also appeared in an English-language film titled Tarzan Goes to India in 1962 opposite Simi Garewal.

    His first big hit was in 1965 with the release of Oonche Log. Khan is known for his roles in Arzoo, Geeta Mera Naam, Raat Aur Din, Aadmi Aur Insaan and Mela in which he starred opposite brother Sanjay.

    Khan soon turned producer and director, his first venture being Dharmatma that was supposedly inspired by the Marlon Brando‘s The Godfather. Qurbani (1980), which launched the singing career of Nazia Hassan, was the biggest hit of his career. In 1986 he directed and starred in Janbaaz, a box-office hit while in 1988 he directed and starred in Dayavan which was a remake of Tamil film


    Nayagan.


  • Jackie Chan reaches milestone, bags 100th film

    MUMBAI: Hong Kong-based action hero Jackie Chan will soon star and co-direct Chinese Zodiac, an action caper with a budget set at 250 million yuan ($37 million). In addition to the 100-picture milestone, the film marks Chan‘s return to direction since Who Am I? in 1998.

    Produced by Emperor Dragon Movies, a subsidiary of Emperor Motion Pictures, the film will have Chan on a series of treasure hunts across the globe, linked intricately with one of the major events in Chinese history.


    The idea for Zodiac came to Chan six years ago but his busy schedule did not allow him to work on the story until this year. Chan will co-direct the film with five-time collaborator Stanley Tong who helmed such Chan starrers as Rumble in the Bronx, The Myth and the third and fourth part of the Police Story series.


    The film will be shot on location in France, Vienna, Hong Kong, Beijing and Kazakhstan.


    Before Chinese Zodiac, Chan will begin shooting for Kung Fu Kid (inspired by The Karate Kid) that co-stars Jaden Smith, (son of Will Smith) who is also the producer of the film.

  • Producers re-release hit films at single screens in Mumbai

    MUMBAI: After lying low for two weeks, in the period of which there was no headway in solving the crisis, some big producers like Yash Raj Films, Studio 18 and UTV have announced the release of some of their old films in Mumbai‘s select single-screen theatres.

    While Studio 18 has re-released Ghajini with approximately 20 prints in Mumbai, Yash Raj Films has released Dhoom:2 in two Mumbai single-screen theatres along with Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi in an equal number of single-screens.


    On the other hand, UTV Motion Pictures is in plans to re-release at least five of its films like Jodhaa Akbar, Race, A Wednesday, Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!, Fashion, Goal, Aamir, Kismat Konnection and Welcome to Sajjanpur in the weeks to come.


    “We have decided to release these movies in Mumbai as a testing ground since it is a lucrative market. We will extend it to the other cities if the revenue-share issue is not settled with the multiplex owners. With this move, we producers have shown multiplex owners that if need arises we will go ahead and release our new films in single screens,” noted film producer Mukesh Bhatt told Indiantelevision.com.


    Interestingly, the movies are kept away from the multiplex operators who also own single-screen theatres in Mumbai. Fame India Ltd. and Fun Cinemas, who run a chain of multiplexes across the country, also own a single-screen theatre each in Mumbai.


    “Since we are multiplex owners, film producers wouldn‘t approach us anyway since we are at loggerheads,” says Fun Cinemas COO Vishal Kapur.


    What is the logic behind such releases? “Big producers have released their films in single-screen theatres because they don‘t want viewers to be disheartened and at the same time making it amply clear to multiplex owners that there are other outlets too,” replies former IMPPA (Indian Motion Pictures Producers Association) general secretary Anil Nagrath.


    Does the re-release of films that have been shown multiple times on TV make any sense? “Absolutely not,” replies trade analyst NP Yadav. “All this is the ploy of big-time producers to show multiplex owners that they can do business without them and nothing else. It is a matter of pressure tactics,” he states.


    Meanwhile, the two parties are slated to meet middle of next week. “We are meeting next week to resolve the crisis. If we arrive at a settlement, films will start releasing by May,” informs Bhatt.


    What does he foresee would be the result of the meeting? “Look I am a producer and not an astrologer,” quips Bhatt.

  • Warner Home Video offers Blu-Ray loyalty programme

    MUMBAI:The US-based Warner Home Video (WHV) has announced the launch of two new programmes.

    This is the Studio‘s first Blu-ray Disc customer loyalty programme and an HD-DVD trade up programme. Then there is Red2Blu, which offers HD-DVD owners the opportunity to upgrade their Warner Home Video releases on HD-DVD for a Blu-ray Disc of the same film.


    For those who have chosen to watch films at home, the best way possible is to watch them on Blu-ray Disc. The new Warnerblu Buy 5 Get 1 Free programme offers consumers one free Blu-ray film for every five participating titles purchased till 6 April, 2010 (shipping and handling not included). This scheme is open to residents in the US and Canada.


    To join, consumers can register at Warnerblu.com/rewards. After joining, members earn one credit for each subsequent WHV Blu-ray title they purchase. Once their Blu-ray title is registered, their Warnerblu account is credited and when they reach five Blu-ray titles, they will be able to select a free WHV Blu-ray Disc (plus shipping and handling). The first participating Blu-ray release is Yes Man.


    Red2Blu is for those who want to upgrade titles they currently own on HD-DVD to Blu-ray. By visiting Red2Blu.com, consumers can trade up virtually any of their WHV HD-DVD titles (up to 25) for the same title on Blu-ray for a small fee plus shipping and handling.


    Also, to promote the launch of Warnerblu Buy 5 Get 1 Free, WHV is launching the Blu-ray Today sweepstakes, featuring a prize of $5,000. Once they enter the sweepstakes, customers can return to the website every day for additional entries.

  • Mukta Arts in first-time deal with Times Music

    MUMBAI: For the first time since its inception, Times Music has struck a deal with Mukta Music, a division of Mukta Arts, to manufacture and distribute the audio track of Mukta Art Entertainment‘s forthcoming release Paying Guests.

    The deal includes physical as well as non-physical rights of the film‘s audio.


    Says Times Music CEO Adarsh Gupta, “We are proud to be associated with Mukta Arts Ltd with our first audio track of Paying Guests. I hope that our first outing with Mukta Music would be a smash hit that would pave way for more such ventures.”


    Founder and creative head Mukta Arts Subhash Ghai avers, “We have entered a deal with Times Music for the first time with full faith and confidence and together we are planning a unique strategy for marketing the music of the film by sending a justified number of paid TV promos just before the release of the film.”


    Paying Guest stars Shreyas Talpade, Aashish Choudhary, Jaaved Jafferi and Vatsal Sheth along with Celina Jaitley, Neha Dhupia, Riya Sen, Sayali Bhagat, Chunky Pandey, Asrani and Paintal. The film, written and directed by Paritosh Painter, is being produced by Mukta Arts Entertainment.