MUMBAI: Balaji Motion Pictures, the subsidiary of Balaji Telefilms, is making inroads in the film market in a big way. The production house has signed Abbas Mustan, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Rohit Shetty and Apoorva Lakhia for their up-coming projects.
Speaking about the new development, Balaji Telefilms CEO Ramesh Sippy says, "We are planning a few co-productions apart from films that would be produced entirely by Balaji Motion Pictures. Our strategy is to focus on quality entertainment and we don’t want to get driven by competition alone. Moreover, we don’t believe in inking bulk deals since the market is too fast paced to bank on a bulk deal."
The company, which has recently got into the international distribution market, is upbeat about the response it got for Shootout at Lokhandwala. Adds Sippy, "The international distribution market offers a huge scope for Hindi films and we are planning to open offices in the US, UK and the Middle East. We have recently acquired the distribution rights of the upcoming T-Series movies (Bhool Bhulaiya, starring Akshay Kumar and Vidya Balan) and Darling (starring Fardeen Khan and Esha Deol) and plan to release them worldwide."
At the moment, Balaji Motion Pictures has a long list of films in the pipeline. There is Mission Istanbul, a co-production with Popcorn Motion Pictures. The film will be directed by Apoorva Lakhia and it stars Abhishek Bachchan, Vivek Oberoi, Tusshar Kapoor and Bobby Deol. The shoot for film is slated to commence from October this year in Turkey. Then there is Joy Augustine directed, Little Godfather (Suraj Berry, Chranjeev Bedi, and Laura Mishra) and Raaste directed by Vikram Singh again in co-production with Popcorn Motion Pictures starring Anil Kapoor, Abhishek and Aishwarya Bachchan and John Abraham.
Apart from co-productions, Balaji Motion Pictures will also be producing C Kkompany (Tusshar Kapoor, Suniel Shetty, Anupam Kher and Neetu Chandra) and Kya Kool Hain Hum 2 (Tushar Kapoor, Ritesh Desmukh). While C Kkompany is directed by Sachin Yardi, the sequel of Kya Kool will be directed by Sangeeth Sivan.
Speaking about Ekta Kapoor’s role in Balaji Motion Pictures, he says, "We are an autonomous unit of Balaji Telefilms and have our own creative team. But, of course Ekta’s suggestions are an integral part of the set up. Though we take decisions independently, we do consult her when the need arises."
Elaborating on the expansion plans of Balaji Motion Pictures, Sippy informs, "We are open to all possibilities provided it makes a profitable venture for us. Right now, we are into production and distribution, in the coming years we might get into Hollywood co-productions and even exhibition. It really depends on the mood of the entertainment market."
