Reliance Industries and Yashraj Films, the makers of hits such as Kabhie Kabhie and Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, are in talks for a joint venture to set up multiplexes, run entertainment channels and produce soap operas for television.
People close to the negotiations say that Reliance Retail, an associate of Reliance Industries, will float a new company where Yashraj Films will hold close to 26%. The new company will use the space provided by Reliance Retail’s gigantic malls to set up a chain of multiplexes across the country.
People close to the negotiations say that Reliance Retail, an associate of Reliance Industries, will float a new company where Yashraj Films will hold close to 26%. The new company will use the space provided by Reliance Retail’s gigantic malls to set up a chain of multiplexes across the country.
The Reliance group is believed to have committed over $50 million for the joint venture. “We are in talks with several players for new initiatives that we are currently evaluating. We have had talks with Mukesh Ambani as well, but there has been no outcome as yet,” said Sanjeev Kohli, CEO, Yashraj Films.
The move ties in well with Reliance Retail’s plans of setting up mega malls in urban centres, replete with an array of entertainment, food courts and other services. Yashraj Films, with domain expertise in entertainment, will be a formidable partner for Reliance.
In turn, Yashraj Films will get preferential access to prime real estate. Yash Chopra, the industry veteran and the maker of iconoclastic movies such as Kabhie Kabhie and Silsila, has been eyeing the film exhibition space for quite some time. For the past six months, the firm has been scouting for single-theatre properties in the four metros, with a view to converting them into multi-screen theatres.
For the past one year, Yashraj has been demanding a higher share of collections from multiplexes, banking on their record of blockbusters in the past. This had been stoutly resisted by multiplex chains. But a few chains have recently given in to the production house's demands, while others like PVR have even refused to screen films from the Yashraj stable.
Film exhibition is a $1.6-billion industry in India and has seen rapid growth in the past few years on the back of a boom in Bollywood and rising consumer spend. The emergence of multiplexes, coupled with the rise in demand for home-grown entertainment, has given power to movie producers who can now cater to different audience tastes.
Yashraj Films seeks to gain more bargaining power through its own chain of theatres. It has already bought out Capitol cinema -- a decades old theatre in the heart of downtown Mumbai, as well as Bahar theatre in Andheri East, the city’s largest suburb.
Yashraj’s current line of businesses includes distribution, both domestic and overseas, and DVDs. It also owns other home entertainment formats overseas. The only area where the company does not have a presence is the exhibition (in film industry parlance the cinema hall) space.
Film exhibition is a $1.6-billion industry in India and has seen rapid growth in the past few years on the back of a boom in Bollywood and rising consumer spend. The emergence of multiplexes, coupled with the rise in demand for home-grown entertainment, has given power to movie producers who can now cater to different audience tastes.
Yashraj Films seeks to gain more bargaining power through its own chain of theatres. It has already bought out Capitol cinema -- a decades old theatre in the heart of downtown Mumbai, as well as Bahar theatre in Andheri East, the city’s largest suburb.
Yashraj’s current line of businesses includes distribution, both domestic and overseas, and DVDs. It also owns other home entertainment formats overseas. The only area where the company does not have a presence is the exhibition (in film industry parlance the cinema hall) space.
