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Tag: NH Studioz

  • Prashant Gaonkar gets appointed as CEO of Alpha Pictures

    Prashant Gaonkar gets appointed as CEO of Alpha Pictures

    MUMBAI: Prashant Gaonkar, a seasoned media professional with over 25 years of experience, has been appointed chief executive officer at Alpha Pictures Pte Ltd. Gaonkar, who joined the company this month, brings extensive expertise in content syndication, inflight and maritime entertainment, digital media distribution, and music licensing.

    Throughout his career, Gaonkar has held key leadership positions at major media organisations, driving strategic growth and forging innovative partnerships across global markets.

    Prior to his current role, he served as head of business development at NH Studioz, where he managed India’s largest film library with over 2,500 titles. His responsibilities included content syndication across linear and non-linear platforms, digital business operations on platforms such as YouTube and social media, and leveraging ancillary rights for inflight, maritime, and surface transport sectors.

    Earlier in his career, Gaonkar held the position of vice president, content syndication, and revenue head for music and digital at Eros International. His tenure saw significant achievements, including expanding ErosNow’s music portfolio through partnerships with global streaming platforms such as Amazon Music, Spotify, and YouTube Music. He played a pivotal role in content licensing for broadcast TV and OTT platforms, as well as launching successful AVOD ventures on YouTube.

    Gaonkar’s contributions to inflight entertainment are particularly noteworthy. He spearheaded content syndication initiatives for Eros, securing partnerships with over 59 international airlines and establishing a strong presence in African and European markets.

    He also held the role of head of inflight entertainment at Crest Animation Studios, where he specialised in supplying programming to prominent airlines, including Air India, Emirates, and Gulf Air. Prior to that, he gained valuable experience as client services manager at both Dattaram Advertising and Shells Advertising, as well as marketing officer at Jasubhai Group.

    A physics graduate from K J Somaiya College of Science and Commerce, Gaonkar has consistently demonstrated a strategic approach to media and content distribution, with a focus on scalability and sustainability.

  • NH Studioz collaborates with actor Ajay Devgn for their 11th film together

    NH Studioz collaborates with actor Ajay Devgn for their 11th film together

    Mumbai: The collaboration that Goes back to “Jigar ” of 1992 is still going strong in 2024. We are talking about the 11 films journey with NH Studioz with the most dependable actor having 11th film in 2024.

    “We will be releasing our 11th collaboration with Ajay sir this year and this is a very special film. Ajay and Tabu will weave magic on screen with a mature love story and the film is being directed by none other than the critically acclaimed, celebrated director, Neeraj Pandey,” informs Shreyans Hirawat of NH Studioz.

    Shreyansh also informs that the film’s genre is a romantic thriller. Titled “Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha,” the narration of the film spans 23 years, from 2000 to 2023.

    “The movie promises to offer a unique combination of a thriller and portrayal of love’s journey, a heartfelt portrayal of mature love and companionship on the big screen,” Hirawat added.

    Director Neeraj Pandey also expressed his enthusiasm about exploring the intricacies of mature love. “Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha seeks to explore the depths of a love that transcends mere physicality and dives into the intricacies of the human psyche. This storyline remains largely uncharted in Bollywood,” remarked Neeraj Pandey.

    Produced by Shital Bhatia, Narendra Hirawat, Kumar Mangat Pathak (Panorama Studios) and Sangeeta Ahir, Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha is scheduled to hit theatres on 5 July.

  • NH Studioz to release ‘Ittu Si Baat’ on Amazon Prime

    NH Studioz to release ‘Ittu Si Baat’ on Amazon Prime

    Mumbai: This Christmas, NH Studioz is set to spread cinematic magic on your holiday season with the worldwide release of the Bollywood rom-com, ‘Ittu Si Baat’, on Amazon Prime. Available from 24 December in an extraordinary 35 languages, this delightful film promises to warm hearts across the globe, making it a perfect addition to your festive celebrations.

    Creatively helmed by Lakshman Utekar and produced in collaboration with Kathputali Creations, ‘Ittu Si Baat‘ is more than just a movie – it is a celebration of love, dreams, and the simple joys of life. Set against the charming backdrop of Chunar, near Varanasi, the film invites viewers into a world where first love blossoms and dreams take flight.

    NH Studioz director Shreyans Hirawat said “ As families gather around the world to celebrate Christmas, we are excited to offer ‘Ittu Si Baat’ as a gift that transcends borders and languages. It is something that the entire family can watch together. This film, with its universal theme of love and aspiration, resonates with the spirit of the season and is sure to bring smiles and warmth to our viewers.”

    Starring Bhupendra Jadawat and Gayatri Bhardwaj along with a stellar supporting cast, the film has already earned acclaim for its engaging storytelling and memorable performances. It is a story that speaks to everyone, reminding us of the power of love and the importance of chasing our dreams.

    NH Studioz to present this charming tale on a global stage, making it accessible to a vast audience in a myriad of languages. The film is a testament to the studio’s commitment to sharing the beauty of Indian cinema with the world.

    “With ‘Ittu Si Baat’, we invite viewers to embrace the holiday spirit and enjoy a story that is as heartwarming as it is entertaining. This is our Christmas present to you – a story to cherish, in a language you love.” added Shreyans.

  • NH Studioz acquires Fahrenheit Films

    NH Studioz acquires Fahrenheit Films

    Mumbai: NH Studioz, a leading name in the Indian film and media industry, is thrilled to announce its recent acquisition of Fahrenheit Films, a prominent player in the post-production and content restoration arena. The acquisition is poised to be a game-changer, as NH Studioz envisions Fahrenheit Films to become the technical backbone of their operations, fostering innovation and excellence in content creation and delivery.

    NH Studioz MD Shreyans Hirawat expressed his enthusiasm about this strategic move, stating, “We plan to integrate Fahrenheit Films as an integral part of our company, enhancing our technical capabilities and solidifying our position in the industry. This partnership will not only empower us to upgrade our existing content but also expand our reach by dubbing and restoring our precious retro gems.”

    The acquisition is expected to usher in a new era of growth for NH Studioz and Fahrenheit Films. The two companies will synergize to offer post-production services to international clients, further solidifying their presence in the global entertainment landscape.

    Hirawat went on to say, “This acquisition aligns perfectly with our long-term vision to maintain and enhance the quality of our timeless classics while continuing to create groundbreaking new content.”

    In terms of the financial structure of the acquisition, NH Studioz has secured a majority stake in Fahrenheit Films while ensuring that founder Hassan maintains a significant role in the partnership.

    Fahrenheit Films’ track record as a preferred vendor for renowned studios like Star, Disney, and Viacom is a testament to their expertise in content restoration and post-production. Moreover, Hassan’s remarkable contribution as a teacher at Jamia University Delhi has helped shape the careers of numerous students, some of whom have gone on to make a significant impact in the industry.

    This strategic acquisition is poised to reinforce NH Studioz’s commitment to innovation and excellence in the entertainment sector. As NH Studioz and Fahrenheit Films embark on this exciting journey, the world can expect to witness captivating storytelling and entertainment experiences of unparalleled quality.

  • NH Studioz paves the way for Doordarshan’s grand revival

    NH Studioz paves the way for Doordarshan’s grand revival

    Mumbai: NH Studioz, one of India’s premier content houses with a colossal copyright library of over 2500 feature films, has been awarded the tender and entered into a landmark agreement with Doordarshan (DD), India’s pioneering and most widely watched television channel. In a significant move that marks a new era of content synergy, NH Studioz has leased slots on DD for a two-year period, taking complete ownership of daily afternoon slots from 1 pm to 4 pm and weekend prime time slots from 8 pm onwards. They will be taking care of entire programming, advertising sales, marketing, and promotions.

    The agreement includes exclusive programming, advertising sales, marketing, and promotional responsibilities. Doordarshan, with its historical significance as India’s first and oldest television channel, boasts an unparalleled reach. The channel’s cultural impact, strategic placement on all platforms, government partnership, and emotional connect with viewers from diverse demographics make it the ideal platform for NH Studioz to expand its reach and engage with audiences nationwide.

    NH Studioz director Shreyans Hirawat expressed his enthusiasm for the collaboration, stating, “This partnership with Doordarshan represents a historic moment for NH Studioz. We are excited to bring our extensive content library and programming expertise to DD’s platform, and we look forward to providing captivating entertainment to viewers across the nation.”

    NH Studioz’s decision to collaborate with Doordarshan aligns with DD’s aggressive approach to revitalise its platform with new and engaging content. Recent initiatives by DD include shows by renowned creators like Subhash Ghai (“Janaki”), Shilpa Shetty (“Yoga”), and a collaboration with Netflix for “Azaadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.”

    NH Studioz sees this partnership with Doordarshan as a significant step in shaping the future of entertainment in India. It combines the strength of NH Studioz’s vast content library and programming expertise with Doordarshan’s historic presence, wide reach, and enduring cultural significance. Together, they aim to provide engaging content to viewers across the nation, from tier 2 and tier 3 markets to cultural and festive occasions, reinforcing Doordarshan’s position as an integral part of Indian families.

    With a history of delivering exceptional cinematic experiences, NH Studioz has established itself as a major contributor to the programming of leading movie channels like Star Gold, Zee Cinema, and Set Max, consistently accounting for impressive programming of their content. The studio’s diverse film library, spanning from classics of the 1950s to contemporary releases in 2023, caters to audiences of all demographics and features the biggest names in Indian cinema, including icons like Amitabh Bachchan, Kartik Aryan, Ranbir Kapoor, and more. NH Studioz boasts a vibrant social media presence, with an engaged audience viewing approximately 50 million hours monthly across 33 channels, serving a subscriber base of 35 million users.

  • Time Group partners with NH Studioz; announces expansion plans

    Time Group partners with NH Studioz; announces expansion plans

    Mumbai: Entertainment company Time Magnetics, known for its hit films “Jodi No 1” and “Vijaypath,” has diversified into five new business verticals and rebranded to Time Group. The company has announced the launch of the verticals Time Films, Time Virtual Studios, Time Motion Picture Services, and Time Audio at a mega-event on Thursday. Time Films also announced its partnership with NH Studioz to co-produce films and web series.  

    Time Group will be involved in the acquisition, production, distribution, and exhibition of films and content under one banner. NH Studioz, led by Nirendra Hirawat, is a leading content house that distributes Indian cinematic content across the globe.

    With an investment of Rs 275 crore, Time Films in partnership with Triflix Films, led by Rajat Bedi, will produce nine films and two web series. The films announced were Nana Patekar starter “The Confession” directed by Ananth Narayan Mahadevan, “Zakhami” directed by Teja Dharma, “Freedom at Midnight” directed by M Chandramouli, “Operation Khiladi” directed by Sanjeev Krishnamoorthy, “Topspin” directed by Aijaz Khan, “Samosa Singh” directed by Rehan Khan, “Wedding Unplanned” directed by Rehan Khan, “Kabool” directed by Anand Mahadevan and “Ranneeti” directed by Ashu Trikha. The two web series announced were “Gandhi Maidan” and “Taskari” directed by Teja Dharma.

    Time Group also revealed that it will build a state-of-the-art chroma studio at Golden Tobacco, Vile Parle West for VFX division Time Virtual Studios. The studio is expected to be the biggest shooting floor in Mumbai installed with world-class technology. Time Group has invested Rs 100 crore to build the studio and partnered with Real Touch Studios owner Subhash Kale for his expertise in virtual production, said the statement.

    Time Audio is the music division of Time Group that has a library of 2500 titles and is backed by an investment of Rs 15-20 crore. The division will release two music videos, one of which is a rendition of the Hanuman Chalisa that is sung and composed by Sukhwinder Singh and set to release on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti on 16 April. The other music video will be on the devotional song “Jogi Re Jogi” which will be shot in Varanasi simultaneously in four languages i.e., Hindi Marathi, Bengali, and Bhojpuri.

    Time Group has launched a talent management agency called Time Artists Network that will usher new talent into the Bollywood industry and will be led by Sridevi Shetty. Time Motion Picture Services in collaboration with Bombay Media Works founders Amit Bhargava and Vinayak Jain will provide content services.

    Time Group chairman Pravin Shah, managing director Sangoon Wagh, director Viral Shah and director Jeet Wagh unveiled the new logo of Time Group to mark the occasion and celebrate four decades in the Indian media and entertainment business.

    “I pledge to keep raising bars the way I have been doing with every project for four decades and keep entertaining with larger-than-life visuals as always!” said Time Group chairman Pravin Shah.

    “Time Group chairman Pravinbhai and I go a long way and have been associated since 1982,” said Time Group managing director Sangoon Wagh. “I was a part of the blockbuster films ‘Vijaypath’, ‘Jodi No. 1’ ‘Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi’ etc. We will now be announcing new projects in films, web series and music videos.”

    “Time Group has been a pioneer and innovator over the last 40 years and now, we are taking quantum leaps towards the future by providing gen-next technology, services and solutions in the Indian entertainment space,” said Time Group director Viral Shah.

    The launch event was attended by the who’s who of the entertainment industry including NH Studioz founder Nirendra Hirawat, Pen Studios founder Jayantilal Gada, Triflix Entertainment founder Rajat Bedi, Nana Patekar, Chitah Yajnesh Shetty, Teja Dharma, Eijaz Khan, Jeetendra, Anshu Trikha, Sohail Khan and many others.

  • NH Studioz announces NH Plus OTT platform

    NH Studioz announces NH Plus OTT platform

    Mumbai: Film production company NH Studioz is all set to launch its OTT platform NH Plus.

    With NH Plus, NH Studioz aims to bridge the gap and become a one-stop shop for all the film buffs across demographics, said the company in a statement on Wednesday.

    Commenting on the launch of NH Plus, NH Studioz, director, Shreyans Hirawat said, “With NH Plus, we have planned to explore the digital ecosystem because coming from the entertainment sector, we believe that entertainment is all that people need at the end of the day and that’s when we decided to launch the OTT platform. With the blend of films and classics, our focus is very simple as the audiences are adapting tech and OTT, we would like to reach the desi film audiences.”

    “In today’s time, customer acquisition is the major challenge for any OTT player and we envisage the same challenges,” he further stated.

    While other platforms are focusing both on films and TV shows, NH Plus would focus only on films. The audiences will be able to access titles like “Sholay”, “Sarkar”, “Baghban”, “Krantiveer”, “Pink” and many more on the upcoming OTT platform.

    Hirawat said the company plans to roll out various offers on the subscription plan since the business model would be hybrid in nature. “We will be starting with 200 films and target to add a decent number each month,” he added.

  • NH Studioz appoints Ravi Malik as CEO

    NH Studioz appoints Ravi Malik as CEO

    MUMBAI: In a major shake-up in its corporate leadership, NH Studioz has brought in Ravi Malik as CEO, appointed Rohit Bohara as digital head and named Jatin Pandit as head of its business operations and productions.

    In his new role, Malik will oversee the entire running of the company. An industry veteran with over 40 years of experience, Malik was responsible for successfully establishing the DD network under the NFDC umbrella. From managing prime time slots to being an executive producer for more than 200 films in 14 languages which include classics like – Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro and Marupakkam, he has done it all. He also greenlit more than 1500 television programmes for Doordarshan 2 including Jungle Book, Rangoli, Superhit Muqabala and many others. Apart from being the CEO of Videocon Entertainment and other big companies, he served as the director of creative arts at the Fiji National University for nine years, where he headed the film and television department.

    Having such a vast and varied exposure, Malik’s vision is to create new business verticals along with movies and TV shows which suit the ever-growing demands of the audience.

    Bohara and Pandit will spearhead the digital content syndication businesses across verticals, including the setup of NH Studioz’s own OTT app as well as various digital channels. Both these names are backed with over 20+ years of hardcore experience and proficiency in the area of international and digital gevelopment.

    Rohit Bohara has single-handedly led international content markets like MIPTV, MIPCOM, ATF, CICAF, FilmMart, Cartoons of the Bay and many more. He also has over 14 years of practice in new media business development, content acquisition and syndication & distribution across mediums. During his 30-year-long career, Jatin Pandit has worked with biggies like Crest Communication Ltd, Multivision Plus, Hungama Digital, SaReGaMa, and others. He is a dab hand when it comes to content creation, programming and digital media.

    Founded in 1980, NH Studioz is a leading content house with distribution of Indian cinema around the globe. It has a vast library of 1500 films which ranges from features produced in the 1930s to 2020, across major Indian languages. Apart from producing pan-Indian movies and shows, NH Studioz also offers an extensive post-production infrastructure and services set in one of the most accessible localities of the town.

  • Tubelight distributors may incur losses

    Salman Khan and Eid, an unbeatable combination that usually guaranteed Rs 200 to 300 crore (Rs 2k million — Rs 3k million) business. And, Eid release date is blocked the day a major star film is launched. There are other few dates in a year that assure a grand opening to a big film paving the way for high business prospects. But, Eid release has a distinct advantage coming as it does after a month of fasting during the pious month of Ramzan during which the Muslims abstain from any form of entertainment and mainly watching films.

    This year, the first half has been unpredictably bad when it comes to quality of films and resultant box office performance. No major hits, no big star releases to save the situation. One exception was Hindi Medium which, in recovery to budget respect, can be called a blockbuster.

    Salman Khan has had such a huge following at the box office during his second innings which started with his film Wanted, an entertainer from his was a taken. In his last two films, Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Rustom, he played an underdog, a simpleton. But, one who rises when challenged.

    Playing simpleton was fine, this time, with Tubelight, he stretched it a bit too far deciding to play an imbecile; he tried to replace an eight year old of the original film, Little Boy, on which Tubelight is based! As it turned out, the Salman fans and moviegoers felt cheated and Tubelight is turning out to be the most abused Salman film ever.

    The film has been sold at a huge price for all India theatrical rights. The main distributor, NH Studioz, have divided their risk by selling off major circuits retaining only parts of Bombay Circuit. All these distributors stand to incur losses eventually.

    The money paying moviegoer has his/her own perception and was not wrong when Tubelight opened to half the patronage compared to earlier Salman+ festival releases.

    The opening day collections hovered around Rs 20 crore accounting for the opening weekend of Rs 63.8 crore. The negative reports that the film has generated over first three days, the film is not expected to benefit much from Eid holiday at the box office.

    *Bank Chor, which took an opening weekend of Rs 4.34 crore, ended its first week with a total of Rs 7.1 crore.

    *Phullu and G Kutta SE have had a disastrous week at the box office.

    *Raabta, a convoluted insipid love story added Rs 2.05 crore in its second week to take its two week tally to Rs 22.55 crore.

    *Hindi Medium is a super hit vis a vis its making cost. The film continues to pull audience even in its fifth week and adds Rs 3.6 crore to take its five week tally to Rs 63.3 crore.

    *Bahubali has collected Rs 1.5 crore in its eighth week taking its eight week total to Rs 500.7 crore.