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Tag: Hungama Mobile

  • Hungama Mobile, Adlabs showcase Marigold at 3GSM World Congress

    Hungama Mobile, Adlabs showcase Marigold at 3GSM World Congress

     MUMBAI: Hungama mobile and roamware in association with Adlabs Films premiered its soon-to-be-launched co-production Marigold on a mobile platform at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona.

    This event is a part of Hungama and Roamware’s Bollywood initiative at 3GSM, which will scale the Hungama digital network from 70 operators in 32 countries to more than 261 operators in over 100 countries.

    The 3GSM World Congress is one of the largest exhibitions for the mobile industry. The event attracted over 60,000 attendees from across the global mobile value chain.
    Marigold, a romantic comedy, is Bollywood superstar Salman Khan’s first Hollywood film .It is targeted for release in April 2007.

    Speaking about the tie up, Hungama managing director and CEO Neeraj Roy said, “With the success of providing Bollywood entertainment, the combination of Hollywood and Bollywood will give a new outlook and experience to the audience.

    From providing music, imagery, video and games we are now preparing to introduce full features and this project of Marigold is a step in the same direction.”

    “Marigold is a perfect example of how Hollywood and Bollywood can co-operate to produce international quality films from India” said co-producer Sidhartha M Jain.

    He further added “we used the best talent from Bollywood such as Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy for music, Anil Mehta as DOP, Nitin Desai for sets and a host of other Indian talent, who worked hand-in-hand with the US and UK crew. This event is ideally suited for such a film”.

  • Hungama Mobile ties up with T-Series for music download

    Hungama Mobile ties up with T-Series for music download

    MUMBAI: Hungama Mobile in association with T-Series launched the Kar Le kar Le Koi Dhamaal music for mobile. This is the first time in Asia that the music will be available for downloading on mobile before it is available in music stores.

    Several other add on features like ‘Full Music’ monophonic ringtones, polytones, ringback tones wallpaper will also be available, suitable for every type of mobile phones.

    The star at the launch of the music was ofcourse Shah Rukh Khan who has performed in the music video. Talking about the product he said, “When I personally downloaded the music it was a great experience hearing it on my own phone. Hungama Mobile is providing a new platform by giving a new experience to the audience. The Gen X is definitely going to be excited with such exciting features and I can say now mobile will be the next new destination, for music.”

    Hungama Mobile managing director and CEO Neeraj Roy said, “We sincerely appreciate the support of Shahrukh, who in his own way encouraged this step. Experiencing the success and looking at the potential in mobile content market, we are delighted to partner with T-series. Through this initiative we can reach out to a vast audience across the globe.”

    Speaking on the occasion T-Series managing director .Bhushan Kumar said, “Considering our long association with Hungama Mobile, we are delighted to take it one step further for the mobile content industry. Seeing the success of previous projects like the Krrish, added to which this time we have SRK himself. This combination makes us confident of this initiative being a great success!”

    Hungama Mobile also owns Bollywood portal, www.indiafm.com and has worked on over 1000 films on the mobile and the online space.

    To download the music one can SMS SRK to 4646 and it will be made available through Hungama Mobile distribution network with over 77 Wireless Carriers in 30 plus countries.

    Hungama Mobile has exclusive worldwide rights to India’s largest music label T-Series and in addition has over 100 content alliances with companies as diverse as Warner Bros, Sony Pictures etc.

  • Hungama Mobile, GSM Association, Roamware unveil a mobile Bollywood film initiative

    Hungama Mobile, GSM Association, Roamware unveil a mobile Bollywood film initiative

    MUMBAI: Bollywood is all set to go mobile! Global roaming solutions provider Roamware, Hungama Mobile and the GSM Association have joined hands to launch a Mobile Bollywood initiative. The aim is tio create short films for the mobile. This is one way in which film lovers from across the world can sample what the Indian film industry has to offer.

    The three parties have partnered with director Sanjay Gupta to premiere Bollywood short films for the mobile. The films titled Dus Kahaniyah will premiere at GSMA’s 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona from 12-15 February 2007. Th event is expected to attract 60,000 executives from the mobile world. This initiative follows an initiative by Roamware in the US where it sponsors the Sundance Film Festival Short film Project. This is a JV between Roamware and the Sundance Institute.

    GSM Association chairman Craig Ehrlich says,”The Sundance and Bollywood communities represent some of the most creative, vibrant and diverse talent in the movie world. In showcasing the films at Barcelona we hope to create a compelling mobile experience for mobile users across the globe. The aim of the GSM Association is to make the mobile experience go beyond text and picture messaging. India is the fourth largest mobile subscriber nase. The GSM Association represents every GSM operator in the world. “

    Hungama Mobile MD and CEO Neeraj roy says, “Hungama mobile has exclusive rights to over 70 per cent of Bollywood content on the mobile and digital platforms and trhis content from India. We believe that Bollywood offers tremendous potential as a content category for carriers in over 125 countries. The revenue sharing arrangement will see around 50 per cent go to the content creator.

    At the first stage we wanted established filmmakers to come on board. Later on when the mobile becomes viral we will look at offering our platform as a springboard for emerging filmmakers. Firstly we want to test the model to see if it works and makes money for everybody in the value chain.”

    Each story in the film runs for 10 minutes and stars established stars like Madhuri Dixit, Jimmy Shergill and Dia Mirza. Mirza notes that this represents a huge opportunity for the Indian film industry to move into the international market. This she notes comes at a time when the international market is becoming more interested in what Bollywood has to offer. Gupta thanked the three parties for providing established filmmakers with the chance to make short films.

    That is something that they do not often get a chance to do. The fact that the short films have known faces will make them reach the masses that much quicker he notes. “It is exciting to be part of a move that has the potential to create a new distribution model for Bollywood. The market for short films has been given an impetus by the fact that the quality of the video experience on the mobile has improved a lot.”

  • Hungama mobile launches the ‘Don’ game, on a multiplayer gaming environment

    Hungama mobile launches the ‘Don’ game, on a multiplayer gaming environment

    MUMBAI: Hungama Mobile and Excel Entertainment, the producers of Don, have launched two mobile games on the movie and is said to be the first ever multiplayer online game for any bollywood movie on www.gaminghungama.com .

    The graphics of the game have been done at the same level as the quality of special effects in the movie to give it a contemporary look and the action sequences are just as slick as the movie itself.

    The game created by Hungama Mobile, was unveiled by Shah Rukh Khan in Mumbai, along with the film’s producer Ritesh Sidhwani and the director Farhan Akhtar.

    Speaking at the launch, Shah Rukh said, “Not only is it a treat for the game lover’s but also a great way to merchandise.This is just an initial step for this kind of a market and i’m sure it will grow tremendously in the time to come”

    Hungama Mobile MD and CEO Neeraj Roy said, “Our creative and gaming team visited Kuala Lumpur for the making of the movie to understand the flow of the movie and decide on game play. They came back and worked on the concept and created a storyboard and later the virtual game.”

    The Mobile game is available in two versions – one is the race and chase game on the streets of Kuala Lumpur, with the back drop of the Petronas Towers and the other is the role-playing game. The race and chase, gives the player a chance to outfox the Don and capture him. In the other, the player has to help Shah Rukh find the secret disc, which he desperately seeks to prove that he is not the Don, but a victim of a serious case of mistaken identity.

    “The Hungama creative team watched the movie rushes including car crashes in Kuala Lumpur, sky diving and some of the fight sequences and have incorporated all those hair-raising stunts in the game,” said movie director Farhan Akhtar.

    The game is available on mobile and online as a multiplayer game. All operators in India including Hutch, Airtel, Reliance, Tata, Idea and others will provide the Don game. Besides, it will also be available across the Hungama mobile distribution network with over 50 carriers in 20 countries.

  • Hungama Mobile ties up with UAE business enterprise Koohiji Group

    Hungama Mobile ties up with UAE business enterprise Koohiji Group

    BANGALORE: Leading mobile entertainment company Hungama Mobile and the Dubai-based diversified business enterprise Koohiji Group have formed a business alliance to provide Middle East and North African (Mena) wireless consumers access to a wide range of legitimate entertainment content.

    Users will be able to download the latest Bollywood songs from legitimate music and entertainment sources for personal use on their handsets.

    As per the agreement, Hungama Mobile has appointed Digital City, a new strategic business unit established by the Koohiji Group, as their exclusive distributor for Bollywood and Indian digital entertainment content.

    Describing the alliance as a significant step in the new media era, Hungama Mobile COO Saleem Mobhani said, “The demand for Bollywood and related entertainment content has shot up dramatically over the last couple years, and Hungama Mobile being the world’s largest distributor of South Asian entertainment content, Mena consumers will have access to over all South Asian digital entertainment content, including content in 14 different languages”.

    “We are continually working to forge strategic relationships with key digital entertainment players. We develop and deploy content across the spectrum of Music, Images, Video, Games and Applications for our current relationship with 52 Operators and Partners in over 20 countries such as North America, UK and Europe, South Africa, Australia, Germany, South East Asia etc. and Digital Entities such as iTunes, Napster, Yahoo and others to extend Hungama Mobile’s presence in new media entertainment globally.” said Ali Hussein, head of Hungama Mobile for Mena.

    Speaking on the occasion SS Rajkumar, vice chairman and CEO of the Koohiji Group said, “So far, users in the UAE and in the region have been deprived of choices, up-to-date and easy access to Indian entertainment content for their mobile devices. As exclusive content distributors for Hungama Mobile, Digital City will bridge that gap and serve as a one stop shop for all content resellers and mobile operators offering digital mobile entertainment across the UAE and Mena region.”

    For Hungama Mobile, the tie up with Koohiji Group follows the recent tie up with the Apple Inc-promoted iTunes, where the music of the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Don was made available worldwide on the iTunes Music Store.

  • Hungama Mobile & TSeries release ‘Don’ music on itunes

    Hungama Mobile & TSeries release ‘Don’ music on itunes

    MUMBAI: Hungama Mobile, a popular aggregator of Indian entertainment content and TSeries, have announced the availability of the music of Farhan Akhtar’s eagerly-awaited Don for purchase on the iTunes Music Store (www.itunes.com).

    This is the first time in the history of Bollywood that the soundtrack of a movie is being made available online on the same day as the official launch of its music, and prior to public availability of its music on CD. The soundtrack of the film will be featured on the World Page on iTunes, informs an official release.

    The music was released on 26 August at an event, wherein along with Shahrukh Khan, music director of the film, Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy were also present.

    Hungama Mobile MD and CEO Neeraj Roy said, “This provides a great opportunity for Bollywood, as the worldwide popularity of iTunes means we can reach out to the growing Bollywood fan base online, wherever they are. We’re proud to have achieved a milestone by making the Don music available on iTunes.”

    “We are continually working to forge strategic relationships with key digital entertainment players, such as iTunes, to extend Hungama Mobile’s presence in online entertainment globally,” added Hungama Mobile chief operating officer Saleem Mobhani.

    The film is a remake of Amitabh Bachchan starrer Don, which had hit numbers to its credit like Khaike Paan Banaras Waala, because of which expectations are high from Sharukh Khan starrer Don.

    “It’s another step forward in our endeavor to reach the Global consumer and offer them the best of Bollywood through our digital initiative which is the first from the Indian music industry,” said T-Series chairman and MD Bhushan Kumar.

    “We are really excited to be working with Hungama Mobile to deliver exiting and original entertainment content and are working diligently to establish a more comprehensive distribution network in the mobile and digital space.”

    Excel Entertainment producer Ritesh Sidhwani said, “We are excited to be working with Hungama Mobile to release the Music of Don for the First time on the Digital platform via the iTunes Music Store along with the audio release. We are looking forward to increasing the fan following of hindi films by reaching out to the main stream audience through iTunes and welcoming the new era of Digital consumption of content.”

  • Indians notch up MipTV success

    Indians notch up MipTV success

    MUMBAI: MipTV, the world’s biggest content marketplace, which ended last week in Cannes, proved to be a very successful one for India’s content creators, distributors and aggregators.

    Some 43 production, broadcasting and mobile phone companies jetted their way down to Cannes to keep a tab on content trends in Europe and globally, buy and sell films, series and formats, find co-production partners and schmooze with the world’s most important players in the TV, animation, film and mobile content sweepstakes.
    The change this time around was that TV producers have invested in buying formats as against just broadcasters doing so. “The power has been weighing heavily in the hands of TV channel programming executives who have been behaving in a high handed manner with TV producers ordering them around as if they were serfs and they – the programmers – the fount of all that is creative,” one of the producers was candid enough to say. “Now with us buying formats, we will also be able to have our say. The times have to change. More power has to come to TV producers’ hands.”
    And mobile players from India aggressively scoured the landscape looking to do deals for video. Among these: Reliance Infocomm, Hungama Mobile, and Cellnext Solutions.

    Almost everyone who attended the market from India went back with a smile on their faces. Krishna Durbha Head of Business and Marketing – Reliance Infocomm Ltd., Applications Solutions Group (India), a panelist at a session on Asian markets, received a standing ovation and was spoken of as one of the more eloquent and candid speakers during the conference programme. Says Durbha: “It’s been a major eye opener for us. We are in the content space for the mobile and I got at least half a dozen leads which will lead to positive results.”

    Sahara Motion Pictures, which took a stand for the first time, was so delighted with the response that it has evinced interest in exhibiting in MipCom as well. “MipTV proved a great platform for us for creating business opportunities,” says Sandeep Bhargava, Chief. Operating Officer, Sahara One Motion Pictures. “We get to meet the who’s who of content in the world in one place and get results.”

    Sony Entertainment Television India, which took a stand, too had a rewarding market. Led by Kaushal Modi on the sales and syndication side, and by programming head Anupama Mandloi on acquisition, the content owner had a very busy market.

    WEG India, Eros and Suman – three other companies that have been attending and exhibiting at MipTV and MipCom for several years now – too had a good market. “Both MipCom and MipTV to be honest are great ways for us to meet, greet and service all our clients at one place,” says Vimal Gupta of the UK based distributor Suman Film.

    Zee TV, which was represented by Deblina Chakrabarty, Parul Chatruvedi and digital head Abhijit Saxena, too, made its mark. While Chakrabarty was sizing up opportunites for content acquisition – though she had a fall from the stairs in the Palais des Festivals and was even taken to hospital – Chatturvedi was exploring how India’s largest network could up its syndication revenues. Saxena – like a lone ranger – moved around in the shadows meeting all and sundry trying to further milk the potential of the 60,000 hours or so of the Zee TV content library, which is currently being digitized by IBM. Watch out for action in this space from Saxena as Zee TV chairman Subhash Chandra is himself driving the digital initiative with Saxena as his lieutenant.

    Star India, which used to have a separate stand until a year and a half ago when it was brought under the umbrella of Hong Kong based centralized syndication arm Fortune Star, too had a sizeable presence. Viren Popley, Ravi Menon and Manju Nair were at the forefront of the Star TV charge. Syndication experts however point out that it would be better if Star India’s Hindi content were not subsumed by the larger interests of Fortune Star’s huge Chinese library. A separate stand with a separate identity for Star India would help it further exploit its syndication potential.

    Other broadcasters who made their way to the market included NDTV (represented by KVL Narayan Rao and I.P. “Baj” Bajpai) and Aaj Tak (CEO G Krishnan).

    The buzz this year from the Indian delegation was centered around the production companies. Optimystix, Contiloe, Miditech, Maverick, Clapstem, AIM Television, UTV, ESP Films were amongst those who made waves. ESP is on the verge of signing a huge deal with a European producer for co-producing a new documentary.

    Sorely missed at MipTV were the two other big players Balaji Telefilms and BAG Films, who, are missing out on several opportunities in the global content marketplace. “Agreed they are more than busy in the domestic marketplace,” says a Cannes veteran. “But not being present internationally means that not many people in the world know you at a time when boundaries between nations are dissolving and cultures are beginning to merge. That is a huge opportunity loss.”

    The animation presence at MipTV came in the shape of Maya, Crest, Toonz Animation, Graphiti Multimedia which continued with their efforts to make themselves better understood by the world at large. And in the process snap up some co-production, original IP deals.

    Indian presence at MipTV:

    Aim Television Pvt. Ltd.
    Broadcast Worldwide Limited
    Cellnext Solutions Limited
    Clapstem Productions
    Color Chips India Limited
    Contiloe Films Pvt Ltd.
    Dawsen Infotech Private Limited
    Dessin Works
    Digikore Studios Limited
    Digimate Productions
    DQ Entertainment Ltd
    Escotoonz Entertainment Pvt Ltd (Subsidiary Of Escosoft Tech)
    ESP Films
    Fortune Star
    Fusion Films Inc. (Part Of Giriraj Group)
    Graphiti Multimedia Pvt Ltd
    HTMT
    I Stylus
    Maverick Productions Pvt. Ltd.
    Maya Entertainment Ltd.
    Miditech Pvt. Ltd.
    New Delhi Television Limited
    Optimystix Entertainment India Pvt. Ltd.
    Oxigen Infovision Pvt. Ltd
    Percept Picture Company Pvt Ltd
    React Media Pvt Ltd
    Sahara One Media And Entertainment Limited
    Sony Entertainment Television India (P) Ltd
    Super Cassettes Industries Limited Aka-T-Series
    Toonz Animation India Pvt. Ltd
    TV Today Network Ltd
    UTV / Hungama TV
    Video Movie International
    Weg India Pictures Pvt Ltd
    Zee Telefilms Limited