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Tag: Viacom18 Motion Pictures

  • Viacom’s Cineshorts: Big break to Bollywood for students

    Viacom’s Cineshorts: Big break to Bollywood for students

    MUMBAI: To promote its upcoming release Mary Kom, Viacom18 announced a short film contest early last month called Cineshorts allowing aspiring filmmakers and documentary makers to submit five-minute long films on the theme ‘Against All Odds’.

     

    With cash prize worth Rs 1,00,000 for the winner and a chance to be premiered on Pepsi MTV Indies, the registrations have touched the 400 registration mark and the deadline for submission has been pushed to 30 September from  15 August.

     

    Viacom18 Motion Pictures marketing head Rudrarup Dutta said, “As a studio, it is our constant endeavor to identify and promote fresh talent in the industry. Cineshorts is an initiative that provides an exclusive opportunity for budding filmmakers. We believe this is an effective platform for us to identify new talent and nurture an ecosystem that allows fresh talent to contribute new vision and fresh ideas.”

     

    Cineshorts was held in seven cities targeting a total of 28 colleges across Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Manipal, Bangalore, Pune, Delhi/ NOIDA and Kolkata. MICA, Government Film and Television Institute, Indian Institute of Mass Media and Communication, St. Xavier’s College, Manipal Institute of Communication, Whistling Woods International School of Film-making, and Symbiosis College (BBM) were among other colleges that participated in Cineshorts.

     

    The contest will see short movies made on a number of themes. While one participant, a 22-year old BCom graduate, Raj Sampad is making a docu-fiction Dreaming With Sand,  based on the real life story of the most famous sand sculptor in India, Padma Shri Sudarsan Pattnaik, Yogendra Kumaria’s movie focuses on the common man, who has to fight against the rising expenditure and inflation every month, and finally comes out as a winner.

     

    Different participants also revealed various motivations to take part in the contest.Wwhile for some the Rs 1,00,000 cash prize was the focus, others concentrated more on the chance to showcase their work on television.

     

    A student of MGR Govt Film and Television Institute, Janardhan Chikkanna said, “As a short film maker what attracted me towards the competition is the platform to reach a wider audience, which would have been very difficult to reach on my own.”

     

    Adding to that another participant,  Narsee Monjee College graduate Devansh Doshi said, “The motivation for applying is to have professionals see your work and guide you for your future films. It also serves as a great platform for communicate with people of similar interests. Cineshorts has helped me to bring forward my film to a lot of people who have been a part of the industry for years.”

     

    The contest, according to Dutta is solely a Viacom18 Motion Pictures initiative. Speaking on the same he added, “Cineshorts is a Viacom18 Motion Pictures registered property that we plan to nurture and cultivate on a regular basis. The start of this initiative was with Mary Kom but there will be a second season, so to speak, every six months or a year with an upcoming project on our slate. The plan is to up the ante for contestants with every edition and to release the best short film before the feature film so that we can establish the crux of the feature film as well as give the aspiring filmmaker a theatrical release reaching out to a wide audience.”

     

    The campaign is mainly targeting young, aspiring filmmakers who may otherwise not receive a competitive outlet to display their work. “The initiative caters to all Bollywood lovers who want to make it big in the industry without the crutches of family legacy or a godfather,” Dutta reckoned.

     

    Commenting on the marketing and promotion of the campaign, the marketing head revealed,” Since this concept was targeted towards youth, we advertised on platforms that they haunt daily, therefore a large investment on the digital front was the obvious choice. A teaser that said ‘Movie Banane ke Liye Talent Chahiye, Babaji ki Jooti Nahi!’ led the campaign on digital video platforms. Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter ensured both awareness as well as engagement. Also, the association with the film Mary Kom helped in garnering attention and traction with a wide cross section of the TG.”

     

    The company also carried out on ground promotions with seminars in colleges that have it as part of their syllabi for mass media and film courses. 

  • ‘Mary Kom’ declared tax-free in Maharashtra

    ‘Mary Kom’ declared tax-free in Maharashtra

    MUMBAI: National Award winning actress Priyanka Chopra’s much-awaited movie Mary Kom has been declared tax free in Maharashtra a week before its scheduled release date.

     

    “Yay! #MaryKom declared tax free in Maharashtra a week before release! Amazing!! #Sept5,” Priyanka posted on Twitter.

     

    The movie is a biopic on the five-time World Champion boxer Mary Kom and is slated to release on Teacher’s Day 5 September. It has been produced by filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali and directed by Omung Kumar.

     

    The biopic on Mary Kom has been in the limelight ever since the first look was launched. The trailer received an overwhelming response and has recently received ‘U’ certificate from the censor board.

     

    The biopic narrates the journey of Mary Kom who gave up her sporting career when it was at its peak to enjoy the pleasures of motherhood. But after giving birth to two children, she made her comeback in the ring and went on to make history.

     

    Feeling ecstatic about the news, Chopra said, “It is wonderful news. We have a compelling story to tell of a strong, determined woman who has made the nation proud. It is our tribute to all the unsung sports people who give so much to see the Indian flag flying high. If this can act as a catalyst of hope for them, then it’s something we can all be proud of.”

     

    “We are grateful to Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat and government of Maharashtra for lending their support to the film. This exemption right from release day will allow large segments of society to experience the spirit of magnificent Mary,” said Viacom18 Motion Pictures COO Ajit Andhare.

     

    While Bhansali’s spokesperson said that the tax free status will encourage audience to recognise and support the spirit of the film.

     

    Recently, various state governments granted tax exemption to Rani Mukherji starrer Mardaani based on the issue of child trafficking in India.

  • Eros International Media and Viacom18 Motion Pictures Announce International Distribution Agreement

    Eros International Media and Viacom18 Motion Pictures Announce International Distribution Agreement

    MUMBAI: Eros  International Media  Limited (“Eros”),  a  leading global  film  company in  the India  film entertainment industry and Viacoml8  Motion Pictures, a division of Viacom 18 Media Pvt. Ltd, a joint venture operation  in India between Viacom Inc. and the Networkl8  Group,  announced today an international  distribution  agreement.   The  deal includes four-films:  Mary Kom- directed by Omung Kumar and starring Priyanka Chopra;, Gabbar- directed by Krish starring Akshay Kumar & Shruti Hassan; Golu Pappu- directed by Kabir Sadanand and starring Dimple Kapadia, Vir Das and Kunal Roy Kapoor; and Santa Banta- directed by Akashdeep Sabir and starring Boman Irani and Vir Das.

     

    Pranab Kapadia, President, Marketing and  Distribution for  Eros  International Pic said, “We  are pleased to work with Viacom18 to present these highly anticipated films to overseas audiences. With our strong international distribution network and marketing capabilities, we anticipate that these films will have successful ru/IS in overseas markets.”

     

    Ajit Andhare, COO, Viacom18 Motion Pictures  said, “Indian cinema caters to audiences not just in India, but global v.   This multi-film alliance with Eros will provide the Indian fan base abroad a chance to experience our films that are rich in content and deliver cutting-edge narratives.

     

    Mary  Kom,  the first of the films  to be distributed  internationally  under this alliance,  will  release in over 250 screens  on September 5, 2014.

  • Movies use social media to gain traction

    Movies use social media to gain traction

    NEW DELHI: At a time when feature films are lucky if they last one week at the theatres, the social media has made it possible for them to reach more people through mediums like YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and just plain e-mail.

     

    Two forthcoming movies have already broken records as far the popularity of their trailers on social media goes: Viacom18 Motion Pictures and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Mary Kom, and Red Chillies Entertainments and Farah Khan directed Happy New Year.  

    The trailer of Mary Kom has had a current viewership of over 4.3 million. The trailer of the biopic based on the life of the five-time World Championship and Olympic medalist is one of the most successful trailers of all time.

     

    Overwhelmed with the response, Omung Kumar who makes his directorial debut with the film said, “First we were overwhelmed with the response to the first look of the film. The trailer touched people and many people called to tell me that they cried after seeing it. The most touching response for me was from a lady from the north east, who had somehow found out my mobile number and called to say how seeing the trailer, she felt so proud and felt grateful for what it was attempting to do for women, sports and most importantly, people from the region.” 

    Priyanka Chopra who has enacted the title role said, “I was in shock after the response to the first look of the poster itself! I remember we were shooting in Turkey and I tweeted it and went back to shooting. By the time I came back, my phone was flooded with SMSs and over 3,500 Twitter messages loving it. I thought my phone would explode. The nicest response I got post the trailer was when Mary called me and said, `My kids saw you and thought it is me.’ For me, if I could convince a mother’s children despite not looking like her, it made me proud.” The biggest compliment that came the actress’ way however was from Farhan Akhtar when he said, `Mary ko Milkha ka salaam.”

    Producer Sanjay Leela Bhansali said, “Mary Kom’s story is an inspiring one that touched my heart. Not many films are based on biopics of living people, so this is a rare experiment. I am extremely proud of it.”

     
    Produced by Viacom18 Motion Pictures and Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Mary Kom stars Priyanka Chopra and Darshan Kumar in the lead. The movie will be released on 5 September.

     

    Red Chillies Entertainments claimed that the views of the trailer of its Happy New Year from all platforms crossed a record breaking number of four million in 24 hours.

     

    The first trailer to be launched on Facebook, became the most viewed movie trailer on Facebook Native Player across the globe with 1.5 million trailer views, 2.8 million post interaction and over 18 million FB users reached, and over 360,000 likes for the trailer which is the highest ever.

     

    On Twitter, it had 1.5 billion impressions only on 14 August and five hashtags trending of Happy New Year.

     

    It had over two million views across various YouTube partner channels. It became the first film to send a trailer via WhatsApp.

     

    The trailer on the DTH platform Tata Sky reached over 13 million subscribers and each one had to watch the channel 100 when they switched on their TV sets before they could go to any other channel of their choice.

     

    Airtel WAP had over 15 million visitors every day while over 300,000 fans received it via SMS service (missed call facility). Over 25,000 fans received the trailer via email.

    While most of the films opt for the conventional YouTube platform, the trailer of Happy New Year slated to release around Diwali was first launched on Facebook’s native video player using an application wherein the trailer was not only launched on the Facebook page of the film but also the timelines of all the users who subscribed to the app. 

     

    “In keeping with the tradition of innovation established by Red Chillies, we were delighted to launch the trailer of HNY for the first time across multiple platforms. This was also done to meet the demands of fans who are consuming talent in ways that suit them. This has given the trailer an unprecedented footprint and delighted the fans,” said RCE CEO Venky Mysore.

     

    The trailer was launched on the native video player of Twitter with personalised messages from the cast of the film. “Red Chillies and the cast of Happy New Year understand the value of developing live, personal and interactive connections with their audience, which is only possible on Twitter. From the entire cast and crew sharing every moment of film production on Twitter via their personal handles to their launching personalised trailers and posters on Twitter, Happy New Year has set a new national and global standard in the movie business,” said Twitter India market director Rishi Jaitley.

     

    The trailer was also launched on the conventional platform of YouTube on all channels of the partners (Music distributors T-Series and film distributors Yash Raj Films) of the film along with Red Chillies’ official channel.

  • Viacom18 Motion Pictures set to give a big break to Bollywood with ‘Cineshorts’

    Viacom18 Motion Pictures set to give a big break to Bollywood with ‘Cineshorts’

    MUMBAI:  Are you a movie maker waiting to debut on the silver screen? Viacom18 Motion Pictures (VMP) is giving you an opportunity to be the one. It takes the lead to recognise talent in movies by providing an exclusive opportunity for budding filmmakers to showcase their talent through a visionary initiative christened – ‘Cineshorts.’

     

    The contest requires participants to submit a short film of five minutes, based on a theme that resonates with the upcoming film of the studio.

     

    To up the credits, VMP is all set to flag off this engaging enterprise with its upcoming mega release Mary Kom on the theme “Against All Odds”, which celebrates the unbreakable and resilient spirit of Mary Kom. An eminent jury comprising Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Omung Kumar along with VMP COO Ajit Andhare among others will judge the competition.

     

    Andhare believes that there is a need to democratise the entertainment space so that anyone with the vision, drive and talent can find an ecosystem of support and nurturing to make a film.  “Cineshorts is a platform that ventures into empowering talent by mentoring and showcasing their promising work. We are certain that this will usher in a new talent pool for the industry.”

     

    Filmmaker, Bhansali echoed the sentiment. “It’s a wonderful platform, I mean, when I started off in 1994, with Khamoshi it was a very difficult process. Today’s youth come out with new ways of looking at life. They bring in a new perspective, their whole take on a story, screenplay, edit or shot taking is completely different from mine. So this is an amazing opportunity for me to see what you have to offer.”

     

    Expressing her support of this mega platform, actress Chopra said, “When you want to establish yourself in life, you do not always need somebody to aid you but what you need is immense belief and a strong confidence in yourself. So, if I did and so did Mary Kom, why can’t you? When you have a platform like Cineshorts why don’t you just go out there and show them your talent so the whole world knows about it?”

     

    Marking the winning edge, the top five winning films will be officially premiered on Pepsi MTV Indies, along with winning significant cash prizes. The contest ends on 30 September 2014.

  • Mary Kom’s motion poster unveiled

    Mary Kom’s motion poster unveiled

    MUMBAI: The much awaited motion poster for the Priyanka Chopra starrer film Mary Kom is out. Chopra will be seen essaying the part of the Indian Olympic Bronze Medallist Boxer Mary Kom in the film.

     

    The industry is buzzing with excitement about the two new posters that released recently and the launch of this new motion poster has added to the eagerness of the fans for the film. The actress has been receiving praises for her role from fans, fellow actors, directors and critics alike.

     

    The motion poster depicts the brawny actress in a fierce boxing pose ready to strike. It highlights her body muscles that are a result of her dedication and disciplined lifestyle. She has undergone intense training and exercise for months to fit the bill of a champion boxer learning the techniques from scratch. The actress, known for her out of the box choice in films, considers Mary Kom to be her toughest role so far.  Chopra has successfully awed the audience and they are now definitely looking forward to watch their favourite actress on the silver screen.

     

    Mary Kom is about MC Mary Kom’s life, struggles, family and her perseverance to be the best. It is directed by Omung Kumar, and produced is by Viacom18 Motion Pictures and Bhansali Productions. The film is scheduled to release on 5 September 2014.

     

    Click here to watch the motion poster

  • Zee Music Company joins hands with Viacom18 Motion Pictures

    Zee Music Company joins hands with Viacom18 Motion Pictures

    MUMBAI: Zeel’s new music label ‘Zee Music Company’ (ZMC), which was launched a couple of months back, has now joined hands with Viacom18 Motion Pictures. With this, the company has acquired the music rights for the entire slate of Viacom18 Motion Pictures for 2014.

     

    “We are thrilled to have Viacom18 Motion Pictures on board with ZMC. They have a very exciting line up of releases slated for the year and we are proud to be associated with them,” said ZMC business head and EVP Anurag Bedi.

     

    Giving details about the deal he said, “The 14-film deal includes the Akshay Kumar starrer ‘Gabbar’, Priyanka Chopra’s next ‘Mary Kom’ and  ‘Manjunath’  Other noted titles include ‘Dharam Sankat main’ with Paresh Rawal in the lead and other exciting projects.”

     

    ZMC earlier had acquired the music rights for Akshay Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha starrer ‘Holiday’, which is now set to cross the Rs 100 crore mark.

     

    “We’re excited about this partnership and believe that that with power of Zee channels behind us, our film promotions will go to the next level in terms of innovation decibels and impact,” concluded Viacom18 Motion Pictures COO Ajit Andhare.

  • Bollywood to get ‘Transformed’

    Bollywood to get ‘Transformed’

    MUMBAI: Touted to be the year’s most awaited, high octane action film, Transformers – Age of Extinction is the fourth edition of the epic Transformers franchise. With an ever growing fan base, this Hollywood flick seems to have transformed B–town celebs who attended the industry screening on Monday night at PVR Cinemas in Juhu.

     

    Celebrities that graced the occasion were Darsheel Safary, Resul Pookutty, Gaurav Chopra, Siddharth Shukla, Manish Paul, Salman, Lauren, Rithvik Dhanjani, Smita Bansal and Vishal Malhotra. MTV’s Ranvijay an ardent Transformers fan turned up in a super-cool Transformers belt and specially designed Transformers watch.

     

    The current movie will witness an all new star cast and a new twist. Directed by the maverick Michael Bay, the film includes a star studded cast with superstar Mark Wahlberg playing Cade Yeager, a single father who will go to any extremes for his daughter Tessa, played by Nicola Peltz and her handsome boyfriend Shane played by Jack Steynor.

     

    The film also introduces a series of new elements like the Dinobots, the dangerous intergalactic bounty hunter-Lockdown and the revival of the fire breathing T-Rex Grimlock.

     

    The returning Transformers include the courageous warrior and leader of the Autobots – Optimus Prime, the much loved Bumblebee who takes the most risks and will be seen in a new avatar and Drift, an Autobot tactician and a former Decepticon amongst others.

     

    Another first in the series, are human made transformers that join the evil forces of the Decepticons. Galvatron is a human-made Transformer who becomes the Decepticon overlord while Stinger becomes a Decepticon spy and sabotage specialist. The Army of the Dinobots is yet another challenge that Optimus Prime will have to overcome in this epic battle.

     

    Shot in 3D technology, Transformers – Age of Extinction is a spectacular cinematic experience in Dolby Atmos. Embellished with breathtaking VFX, it is also partly shot in IMAX.

  • Transformers’ Optimus Prime in India

    Transformers’ Optimus Prime in India

    MUMBAI: Transformers is back this year with Transformers – Age of Extinction, an amalgamation of drama, emotions and high octane action. Star lined with Mark Wahlberg, who plays the role of a single dad raising his daughter – Nicola Peltz, the movie is directed by Michael Bay.

     

    Aiming to bring viewers a step closer to their favourite hero – Optimus Prime, the makers have made a whopping 12-foot high statue that weighs about 300kg. Warrior, fearless and righteous – Optimus Prime is the ultimate leader of the Autobots who are constantly raging wars against a rival faction of robots called the Decepticons.

     

    Under a special license from Hasbro (American multinational that is one of the largest toy makers in the world), this figurine is made to exact design specifications. The viewing experience of this complex figurine has been enhanced by intricate lighting. Encased in a special package, a dedicated container has been hired to transport the robot locally around India. Optimus Prime will tour six cities, starting with Pune and eventually making his way to Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, and Hyderabad.

     

    In a bid to capitalise on this diehard devotion that fans have for Optimus Prime, Viacom18 Motion Pictures has initiated a digital contest across social media. According to this, fans will be asked three simple questions, with the winners getting an opportunity to click a selfie with the mammoth figurine in their city. Not only this, the winners will also attend an exclusive fan screening to watch the film before the rest of the world.

     

    Elaborating on the same, Viacom18 Motion Pictures VP- marketing Rudrarup Dutta said, “Optimus Prime symbolises the spirit of the Transformers as their leader and is worshipped as a hero by the ever growing Transformers fan base. This massive figurine is our way to bring Optimus Prime alive for his fans who will be able to greet him and as part of the campaign, get a once in a lifetime opportunity to click a ‘Selfie with Optimus’. Establishing the sheer magnitude and scale of this edition of Transformers, the initiative therefore aims at building an on ground connect in a unique and engaging manner with the fans.”

     

    Distributed by Viacom18 Motion Pictures in India, Transformers: Age of Extinction will be released on 27 June 2014.

  • Abundantia Entertainment beefs up creative team

    Abundantia Entertainment beefs up creative team

    MUMBAI: Abundantia Entertainment has beefed up its team significantly by adding former Viacom18 Motion Pictures creative chief Shivaji Dasgupta and former Sahara Movie Studios’ head of content & development Shikhaa Sharma to its people line-up.

     

    Established with the vision of producing and supporting progressive, high-quality entertainment content, Abundantia Entertainment has taken strong strides, especially in its motion pictures business, in a short span of time.

     

    Top-lining the announcement, Shivaji Dasgupta, an industry veteran of two decades, has played a key role in green-lighting and producing some of the finest and most critically acclaimed films of the last decade. With hands-on production experience to boot, Dasgupta’s impressive filmography includes Gangs of Wasseypur, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Madras Cafe, Kahaani, LSD, Once Upon A Time in Mumbai and Chashme Baddoor amongst others. Dasgupta will run Abundantia’s creative & production business and will have additional charge of commercial affairs for his slate of films.

     

    To spearhead Abundantia’s content development and incubation business across films, television and digital, it has brought on board Shikhaa Sharma who was until recently in-charge of the content and development function at Sahara Movie Studios and has also served in senior roles in the creative functions at Balaji Motion Pictures and Tips Industries in the past. Sharma’s filmography includes recent hits like Lootera, The Dirty Picture, Shor In The City and Race. Sharma’s core strength of identifying and mentoring new talent has seen her successfully support work from first-time writers and directors in the past.

     

    Dasgupta and Sharma will manage their roles independently while reporting to Abundantia founder and CEO Vikram Malhotra. Speaking on the new additions to the team Malhotra said, “Creativity, ideas and innovation are at the heart of Abundantia’s business model. I am delighted that we now have two of the brightest and most experienced creative minds in the business leading the charge at Abundantia. Shivaji has been associated with some of the finest film content in recent times and his production and commercial acumen will significantly enhance the quality and profitability of our slate. In Shikhaa we have somebody with formidable creative understanding and content development ability and coupled with her deep industry relationships, I look forward to taking our creative capability to the next level. I am confident that this dynamic duo will raise the bar for creative content in our business.”

     

    Driving the model of creating ‘talent-studio partnerships,’ Abundantia has assembled an impressive line-up for the first two years of operations of its motion pictures business. Combined with a strategic stake acquisition of Crouching Tiger Motion Pictures, the studio announced multiple film deals with production houses led by some of the hottest names in the movies business in India. Top-lining the slate are projects with Neeraj Pandey (A Wednesday, Special 26), Shoojit Sircar (Vicky Donor, Madras Cafe) and Nikhil Advani (D-Day, Kal Ho Na Ho) as well as up-coming talent like Soumik Sen (Gulaab Gang) and a set of talented first-time directors. At various stages of production, the slate will witness releases starting as early as mid-2014.