ITV

Tag: Abhishek Pathak

  • Cinema: Getting the business model, right?

    Cinema: Getting the business model, right?

    MUMBAI: Mumbai’s cinema moguls gathered at the 9th Edition of The Content Hub Summit 2025, the industry attempted to hit “rewind” on declining traditional media consumption and combat digital fatigue.

    Chaired by acclaimed film critic, journalist & author Mayank Shekhar, the panel boasted a stellar cast of industry heavyweights, including Abhishek Pathak, managing director, Panorama Studios; Aashish Singh, producer, Red Chillies Entertainment; Shailesh Kapoor, CEO, Ormax Media; Devendra Deshpande, CEO, Friday Filmworks; and Pragati Deshmukh, head of content, Zee Studios.

    Ormax Media’s Shailesh Kapoor, often the industry’s truth-sayer, kicked off with a candid confession: “Nobody knows for sure.” Yet, his numbers paint a clear picture. Despite the seismic shifts, the core metrics total box office, total footfall, and the number of unique theatre-goers (a consistent 15 crore annually) remain stubbornly unchanged since 2013-14.

    Kapoor pointed out that the pandemic’s real plot twist was its coincidental overlap with the streaming boom. “If the pandemic had happened in 2015, this wouldn’t even be a discussion,” he quipped. The lockdown fast-tracked the audience’s discernment between “OTT films” and “theatrical films,” a process that would have otherwise taken years. While star power might dim on OTT, it still shines bright in cinemas, and language barriers are slowly, but surely, dissolving. “Fundamentally, nothing really has changed,” Kapoor concluded, suggesting that content choices, rather than audience habits, are the evolving variables.

    Devendra Deshpande of Friday Filmworks, a science fiction writer in the realm of film production, firmly believes in leading with the narrative. “You start with the story because you believe in that story,” he asserted, dismissing hindsight analysis in a business where a film’s journey from conception to screen takes at least two years.

    The panel then tackled the curious case of remakes. While Abhishek Pathak’s Drishyam 2 was a massive hit despite the Malayalam original being widely available on OTT, Vikram Vedha (a remake of a Tamil hit) stumbled. Pathak, who directed Drishyam 2, revealed his unwavering confidence: “I always had a feeling that it would do a 150 crore number, this film will surprise the audience.” His logic was that audiences are smarter than we give them credit for, and a strong brand, like Drishyam, transcends language and prior viewing. “People come to the theatre, they give us a formula,” he declared, suggesting that the “mystery to the presentation” and local flavour are key ingredients for a successful remake.

    Red Chillies Entertainment’s Aashish Singh weighed in on Jawan’s phenomenal success, attributing it to meticulous planning. The film, directed by a renowned South Indian filmmaker, was conceived as a pan-Indian spectacle from the get-go. With Shah Rukh Khan’s unparalleled star power and a clever blend of North and South Indian talent, Jawan struck a chord across all tiers of Indian audiences. “It’s not about North and South, honestly. But, yes, we have to be conscious about our audience and what they like across the board,” Singh elaborated, highlighting the importance of tailoring content for a diverse national palate.

    Pragati Deshmukh of Zee Studios echoed the sentiment, emphasising that for studios, the story’s relevance for the next few years, irrespective of language, is paramount. She revealed that Zee Studios is actively seeking out stories that would travel across languages, indicating a strategic shift towards pan-Indian narratives. The success of films like Gadar 2, which evoked sheer emotion across linguistic divides, underscores this trend.

    The conversation then shifted to the nitty-gritty of film finance. Shailesh Kapoor noted the rise of re-releases, a desperate measure by exhibitors to fill empty screens as fewer films are being made. He revealed a staggering 60 per cent drop in the number of films releasing per year, from 45 to a mere 33-34. This “crisis of confidence” is pushing studios to greenlight only certain genres, primarily action. Re-releases, he believes, are a temporary fix and will fade once the release calendar becomes busy again.

    Pragati Deshmukh offered insights into the studio’s risk-mitigation strategies. Beyond big-budget spectacles, studios are exploring innovative models for smaller films. She cited examples like securing partnerships with brands or even shooting two films simultaneously to offset costs. The perennial strength of sequels and franchises remains a constant in a volatile market.

    Lastly, the discussion also touched upon the vexing issue of ticket pricing. While audiences are still willing to visit cinemas, the average ticket price of Rs 99-100 for new releases, making a night out prohibitively expensive for many, remains a significant hurdle. In contrast, re-releases often come at a much more palatable Rs 75-80.

    (If you are an Anime fan and love Anime like Demon Slayer, Spy X Family, Hunter X Hunter, Tokyo Revengers, Dan Da Dan and Slime, Buy your favourite Anime merchandise on AnimeOriginals.com.)

  • Panorama Studios hires Rajat Goswami to lead new stream films & acquisitions

    Panorama Studios hires Rajat Goswami to lead new stream films & acquisitions

    MUMBAI: Panorama Studios has appointed Rajat Goswami as head of new stream films & acquisitions. Goswami is a renowned name in the film festival circuit and has worked in tandem with numerous reputed production houses.

    Under Rajat's leadership and the guidance of Panorama Studios Distribution managing partner Murlidhar Chhatwani, the banner will continue to back content-driven cinema and bolster independent cinema and aspiring filmmakers.

    Panorama Studios producer and director Abhishek Pathak said, “Panorama Studios has always upheld the supremacy of talent and content and so we're happy to welcome Rajat Goswami to our cinema abode. He has tremendous experience in the representing and handling of independent films and I'm positive that we can harness it so as to offer the audience exciting options for entertainment.”

    Panorama Studios Distribution managing partner Murlidhar Chhatwani added, "The undeterred consumption of content over digital platforms goes to show that even a crisis cannot diminish the need for entertainment. I am sure that Rajat's arrival into the production house at such a juncture will mark a fruitful new phase of endeavours and expansion."

    Goswami said he has received a warm welcome at Panorama and is excited to work with one of the foremost production banners in the country.

  • Panorama Studios partners with One Digital Entertainment to launch ‘Bar Code’ web-series

    Panorama Studios partners with One Digital Entertainment to launch ‘Bar Code’ web-series

    MUMBAI: Panorama Studios is launching its first web-series titled Bar Code in partnership with One Digital Entertainment. The series will have 10 episodes and will be shot in real nightclubs in Mumbai.

    Speaking on the new tie-up, Panorama Studios producer and MD Abhishek Pathak said ”With the current web-series space being heavily cluttered and with most of them being imitations of one another, we at Panorama Studios were on the lookout for something clutter-breaking and something that would stand out, and in Bar Code we found the right script which deals with the fascinating world of Bombay’s nightclubs, making it very exciting for us to to be launching it as the first web-series out of the variety of other web-content being developed at our studio.”

     “Bar Code looks closely at what goes on behind the scenes in one of the most glamorous businesses in the world. The plot has an interesting hook, the characters, humor and the drama are very relatable while the whole look and feel will be very upscale and chic. The treatment of the music will have an interesting mix of EDM, Bollywood and Deep House, which should connect with youth segment across the country”, added writer-director Vignesh Shetty.

    The casting process is underway and renowned actors are being considered to play the male and female leads. Production will begin in mid-June 2016.

    Commenting on the association, One Digital Entertainment COO and co-founder Gurpreet Singh said, “Panorama Studios have delivered amazing stories in the form of bollywood movies so far and now with their entry into web shows, am pretty sure they will set new benchmarks in the industry. We are very delighted to partner with them and are looking forward to engage both the consumers and brands with such an innovative concept.”

  • Panorama Studios partners with One Digital Entertainment to launch ‘Bar Code’ web-series

    Panorama Studios partners with One Digital Entertainment to launch ‘Bar Code’ web-series

    MUMBAI: Panorama Studios is launching its first web-series titled Bar Code in partnership with One Digital Entertainment. The series will have 10 episodes and will be shot in real nightclubs in Mumbai.

    Speaking on the new tie-up, Panorama Studios producer and MD Abhishek Pathak said ”With the current web-series space being heavily cluttered and with most of them being imitations of one another, we at Panorama Studios were on the lookout for something clutter-breaking and something that would stand out, and in Bar Code we found the right script which deals with the fascinating world of Bombay’s nightclubs, making it very exciting for us to to be launching it as the first web-series out of the variety of other web-content being developed at our studio.”

     “Bar Code looks closely at what goes on behind the scenes in one of the most glamorous businesses in the world. The plot has an interesting hook, the characters, humor and the drama are very relatable while the whole look and feel will be very upscale and chic. The treatment of the music will have an interesting mix of EDM, Bollywood and Deep House, which should connect with youth segment across the country”, added writer-director Vignesh Shetty.

    The casting process is underway and renowned actors are being considered to play the male and female leads. Production will begin in mid-June 2016.

    Commenting on the association, One Digital Entertainment COO and co-founder Gurpreet Singh said, “Panorama Studios have delivered amazing stories in the form of bollywood movies so far and now with their entry into web shows, am pretty sure they will set new benchmarks in the industry. We are very delighted to partner with them and are looking forward to engage both the consumers and brands with such an innovative concept.”

  • Panorama & Pen buy theatrical distribution rights of PNC’s ‘Mastizaade’

    Panorama & Pen buy theatrical distribution rights of PNC’s ‘Mastizaade’

    MUMBAI: Panorama Studios and Pen Movies have acquired the all India rights of theatrical distribution of Pritish Nandy Communications’ upcoming films Mastizaade. 

     

    The film stars Sunny Leone, Tusshar Kapoor and has a special appearance by Ritesh Deshmukh. It has been directed by Milap Zaveri. 

     

    Panorama Studios has recently distributed films like Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2, Gabbar Is Back, Aloneand Singham Returns. The company has produced films like Special 26, Drishyam and the Pyaar Ka Punchnama franchise.

     

    Panorama Studios managing director Abhishek Pathak said, “2015 has been a great year for us at the box office. Acquiring Mastizaade for all India theatrical distribution is going to be great start for us in 2016.”

     

    Pen Movies managing director Dhaval Gada added, “We are very happy to be associated with this film. It is a sure shot box office success and I am sure that Sunny Leone will make a big brand of Mastizaade, which till date would be her biggest.”

  • Viacom18 packs a punch with ‘Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2’ marketing

    Viacom18 packs a punch with ‘Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2’ marketing

    MUMBAI: Pyar Ka Punchnama is all set to return with new twist. Viacom18 Motion Pictures has lined up a unique marketing campaign to promote the movie. Kick-starting the teaser with #DilKaJail standees across multiplexes pan India, the studio set the tone for a quirky yet relatable marketing campaign.

     

    Presented by Viacom18 Motion Pictures, Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 is produced by Abhishek Pathak and directed by Luv Ranjan. The movie will release on 16 October.

     

    Viacom18 Motion Pictures marketing VP Rudrarup Datta said, “Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 is a cult film that defies the norms of quintessential Bollywood love stories. The film needed a quirky, standout campaign that would connect to the youth and their ideologies of love and relationships and we are delighted with the response we have received thus far.”

     

    An interesting campaign was done by the filmmakers where cinema patrons went behind the bars, jailed by the heart and clicked funky selfies and group pictures. This was facilitated across metros and mini metros. Driving the quirk in the campaign, human banners with the tagline ‘Love is Injurious to Health’ were created and volunteers went and photo-bombed couples at various lover’s points across 10 cities.

     

    Moreover, as the Pyaar Ka Punchnama monologue has gone viral across platforms, in an attempt to extend the idea of the monologue to the common man, an on ground contest activation was conceptualised wherein the most Pyaar mein Pareshaan boy gets a chance to win a trip to Bangkok after a successful recitation of a heated monologue.

     

    Using radio and the digital platform as mediums, this campaign engaged people across the nation. Taking the campaign a notch higher in the release week, a Mohabbat Mukti Morcha was organised where a horde of people assembled in Juhu. From witty one liner hand posters that said Jaanu mujhe jaane do to the burning of a 3ft teddy bear – all the cliché romantic symbols that lead to false expectations in a relationship were protested against. Leading this movement were the lead actors of the film including Kartik Aaryan, Omkar Kapoor and Sunny Singh.

  • ‘Drishyam:’ A dull affair

    ‘Drishyam:’ A dull affair

    MUMBAI: Drishyam belongs to a genre, which is tried very seldom. It is a thriller involving two families and, hence, can be termed a family thriller. The film can be likened to 36 Ghante (1974), inspired by Desperate Hours or Kanoon Kya Karega (1984), which in turn was a lift from Cape Fear (1964) and such.

    The film was first made in Malayalam as Drishyam (2013) following the success and acclaim and awards, it was remade in Telugu as Drushyam in (2014) followed by a Tamil remake as Papanasam (2015).

    The advantage of making Drishyam, despite it being a film for limited audience, is that it has a script that can be made very economically which the makers do while also cutting down on costs with its casting of non-celebrity performers. The fact that the film needs only two or three locations further curtail the making costs.

    Ajay is an uneducated (4th fail) orphan who grows up doing odd jobs to finally start his own video cable network in a small town in Goa. Married with two daughters, one of whom is adopted, he is totally devoted to his family and their wellbeing. He would sacrifice his life for their sake if it came to that. As much as he may love his family, his love for movies comes first and he even stays back in his office to watch movies all night. While watching movies, his reactions are that of a typical front-bench audience. Yes, and that effect continues when he watches a Sunny Leone movie; he immediately wants to go home to his wife, Shriya Saran.

    Ajay’s daughter, Ishita Dutta, has been shortlisted by her school to go on a camp for students from various schools. Here, another boy at the camp shoots her video while she is taking a bath. He starts blackmailing her and would delete the video only if she would let him have sex with her. He tells her to be prepared for him that night. All the pleading of Ishita fails to work as the boy is determined to have his way. When Shriya walks in to the outhouse to find his daughter with the boy and realises what is happening, she too pleads with the boy. His condition is that he would delete the video and spare Ishita if Shriya complies with his wishes instead.

    While attempting to get the cell phone out of his hand Ishita picks up a rod to hit the boy on his hand but ends up fatally hitting him on his head. It is a rainy night but mother and daughter decide to get rid of the body instantly and bury it in a compost ditch dug by Ajay. Ajay has a habit of putting his landline off the hook so that his movie watching is not disturbed. The two have to wait till he returns.

    It is only after this stage that the film starts generating some interest as Ajay gets rid of the boy’s car and dispatches his cell phone to faraway places by dumping it on a transport carrier so that it could not be traced.

    Now, not waiting for the car or cell to be discovered, he starts building alibis for himself and his family and also trains his wife and daughters to face the interrogation, which, he is sure, will be inevitable. After all, he may not be literate but the films he watches all night long have taught him a lot and it comes handy now in a kind of reverse version of Slumdog Millionaire.

    Not long after, the boy’s car is found in a lake and the wheels start moving. The entire state police force is employed to find out details for, after all, a spoilt brat he may be, but he was the son of the director general of the state police, Tabu.

    Ajay takes two days off with his family to create alibis involving totally unrelated people to the case: a restaurant owner, a bus conductor, a cinema projector operator etc and also makes his presence recorded at a bank ATM on the day the incident happened.

    Finally, what points a finger at Ajay is a local cop who hates him and is keen to get back at him. He claims he saw Ajay drive away in the yellow car belonging to the missing boy. The family is summoned in Tabu’s presence. However, Ajay can prove his innocence as all witnesses created by him vouch for his being at their places respectively on the day of the incident. As a senior cop Tabu’s instincts tell her that what was going on was too good to be true but then, it also strikes her that the alibis were cleverly manipulated as an afterthought. But, Tabu’s belief can’t stand in court and she decides to use third degree to elicit a confession.

    This is the last and interesting part, which is the final twist to the story bringing the film to a satisfactory end.

    For a thriller, the film is too long drawn at 163 minutes. The first half is almost static just establishing Ajay’s two priorities: his family and his films. Though the direction good, the fact remains that the film has been made in three other languages earlier. There is nothing in the name of distractions or relief and, really, nobody of interest in the cast except Ajay; rest being unknown or little known faces. Even the so-called villain is a nondescript policeman; no strong villain, no strong hero. The songs are in the background and not of popular appeal. Editing needed to be much crisper. Dialogue is routine. Background score is good. Photography is apt.

    It is a film about performances and on that count, most of the actors do well. Ajay, the vengeful cop Kamlesh Sawant, and the girl playing his younger daughter Mrinal Jadhav, excel. Ajay does not have to either show his muscles or raise a fist. Shriya and Ishita are good. Tabu playing the tough cop is okay. Rajat Kapoor is ornamental.

    Drishyam has a limited appeal for a select audience with patience, which one is bound to have after paying high admission rates at high-end multiplexes, which is where Drishyam can expect to find its audience to some extent.

    Producers: Kumar Mangat Pathak, Viacom 18 Motion Pictures, Abhishek Pathak.

    Director: Nishikant Kamath.

    Cast: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shriya Saran, Rajat Kapoor, Ishita Dutta, Kamlesh Sawant, Mrinal Jadhav.

  • Pyaar Ka Punchnama draws cheers at Indian Film Festival in Berlin

    Pyaar Ka Punchnama draws cheers at Indian Film Festival in Berlin

    MUMBAI: Pyaar Ka Punchnama, the biggest rom-com of last year, owing to its comic appeal and youth centric content, was the highlight of this year‘s Indian Film Festival held in Berlin that kick started on 15 August.

    Producer Abhishek Pathak‘s film stole the show when it was screened on the 16 August after which it was well appreciated by the audience there.

    The producer, who was present with Sonalli Sehgall, one of the film‘s leading lady , was overwhelmed with the response he received for his film from the people of Berlin. According tp Pathak, this honour has motivated him to make more films on the lines of Pyaar Ka Punchnama.

    The festival has been organised in partnership with the Embassy of India, Berlin.