Mumbai: Exhibition chain Cinemax India, which currently operates 19 multiplexes in various parts of India, has forayed into film distribution with Kismat Konnection.

The Aziz Mirza directed film, stars Shahid Kapur and Vidya Balan and is produced by Tips. It is slated to release on 18 July.

Speaking to Businessofcinema.com, Cinemax India president Sanjay Dalia says, "Exhibition and gaming businesses are not enough to expand our business, therefore we decided to venture into production and distribution of films."

While the Cinemax production wing is still under development stages and the company is in the process of hiring people, the distribution wing has commenced its operations.

Cinemax will distribute Kismat Konnection in the Bombay territory (excluding Mumbai city) and in Punjab. The rights have been purchased from UTV, which holds the worldwide distribution rights for the film.

Cinemax is said to have paid Rs 55 million (Rs 5.5 crores) for the Bombay territory (excluding Mumbai city) and Rs 15 million (Rs 1.5 crore) for Punjab.

"Shahid Kapoor has been sought-after since Jab We Met. Moreover, since Tips and Aziz Mirza are also good in their respective fields of production and direction, we thought Kismat Konnection will be the best movie to commence our distribution operations with," adds Dalia.

Cinemax plans to set up its distribution offices in Bombay, Mysore, Delhi and Punjab over the next six months.

A formal announcement is expected in a few days once the production and distribution plans materialize further.