MUMBAI: Moser Baer, which recently forayed into the home video market, is now firming up its film production plans.

The company has already identified two films, which will go on the floors by August this year. Confirms Moser Baer CEO (entertainment) Harish Dayani, “Moser Baer has signed Samar Khan for an untitled film starring Rahul Bose, while ad filmmaker Anthony D’souza will direct a film titled Ishaan, which will feature Shreyas Talpade and Chunkey Pandey. The rest of the cast for both films is still being finalised.”

Samar Khan’s untitled project will be shot in India, while Ishaan will be shot in South Africa, says Dayani. Moser Baer has set aside a production budget of Rs 70 million (Rs 7 crore) for each film. While one of the films is targeted to release by the end of 2007, the other will release by early 2008.

Dayani adds that the company is also in talks with filmmaker Anant Mahadevan for a third film. In addition, Moser Baer has also signed a production deal with director Anubhav Sinha, which entails a joint production of 12 films within a period of 18 months. “These films will be shot on a budget of Rs 30 to 40 million (Rs three to four crore) and will be jointly financed by the two companies. Through this association, we are looking to to promote new talent,” mentions Dayani.

Moser Baer has also announced the national launch of 101 Hindi film titles, including Baazigar, Khakhee, Aankhen, Vaastav, Biwi No.1, Ghayal, Betaab and Qurbani for the home market, priced at Rs 28 for a VCD and Rs 34 for a DVD. The company has earlier launched Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada film titles.