MUMBAI: Palador Pictures, which has the rights to about 1,000 World Cinema titles, has tied up with Moser Baer Entertainment to sell and distribute 50 foreign language film titles in DVD format through the latter’s over 2,000 retail outlets across the country.

The DVDs, each priced at Rs 399 also marks the entry of Moser Baer Entertainment into premium category in their repertoire of DVD labels.

The foreign films being released in DVD are some of the most awarded and critically acclaimed films of all times. These include Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai and Yojimbo, Infernal Affairs, Wong-Kar Wai’s Cannes award winner In The Mood for Love, the cult Asian horror film The Eye, Ingmar Bergman’s Wild Strawberries, Jim Jarmusch’s Dead Man and the original Godzilla.

Palador Pictures founder and managing director Gautam Shiknis said, “This alliance is the beginning of a World Cinema movement in India. The tie-up with Moser Baer Entertainment will now allow Indians from across the country to legally own a Bergman or Kurosawa or any of the other masters and be suitably awed by their art, craft and wizardry over the cinematic medium. I sincerely hope this rejuvenates a cult kind of movement for World Cinema and foreign films in smaller cities in addition to the metros.”

Palador Pictures has invested over $4 million (Rs 16 crores) to acquire legal rights to around 1000 foreign language film titles in its World Cinema category.

Moser Baer CEO Entertainment Harish Dayani adds, “At less than Rs 400, we will bring the premium home video titles to the Indian consumer through this tie up with Palador Pictures. Imagine you can now legally own 10 Bergman classics or 10 Kurosawas in less than Rs 4,000! We at Moser Baer are happy of the efforts of a young company like Palador and are enthusiastic about being able to launch a range of premium products. We hope that this alliance with Palador is only the beginning and that we can collaborate with Palador for more than these 50 titles in the future.”