MUMBAI: Giving competition to UTV’s World Movies, NDTV launched its 24-hour world cinema channel NDTV Lumière.
NDTV Lumière is a joint venture between NDTV, Sunil Doshi and Manmohan Shetty and was soft launched on 10 October. The official launch and an ad campaign will follow in November.
NDTV’s world cinema initiative was launched earlier this year. The partners identified a 360 degree approach towards showcasing world cinema movies on various platforms such as on home video, Pay Per View (PPV), on-ground and theatrical media.
While the home video has been launched on Excel Home Videos, the PPV initiative has been launched on Jaman.com. On the other hand, PVR Cinemas screens NDTV Lumière’s films across Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore. NDTV Lumière also has on-ground initiatives like Zenzi Lumière Film Club in Mumbai and Tabula Rasa Lumière in Delhi. Plans are also afoot to make the channel available on the DTH platform.
Speaking to Businessofcinema.com Doshi said, "We have selected 400 movies from our library to telecast on the channel. The 10 pm slot has been identified as our prime time slot, in which we will show contemporary movies of directors such as Ingmar Bergman, Louis Malle, Jia Zang Ke amongst others."
The channel will have 12 hours of original programming, which will show five to six movies along with the making of films and interviews with directors. The balance 12 hours will have a repeat telecast of programmes.
The 10 pm prime time band on NDTV Lumière will offer a different flavor every day – Project Monday offers edgy films from maverick and young debutante directors; Tuesdays and Wednesdays focus on Festival Flix, showcasing critically acclaimed films, award-winners and nominees. On Thursdays ATW (Action – Thrillers – War) will be the theme whereas the Friday Lounge brings cozy entertainers. Saturdays will have famous and latest films on the Saturday Box Office. The Sunday Showcase will feature the crème de la crème of international cinema.
At present NDTV Lumière is available on the Hathway digital and analogue platform.
NDTV Lumière has in its library films directed by Fatih Akin, Aki Kaurismäki, Elia Suleiman, Pedro Almodóvar, Emir Kusturica, Wong-Kar Wai, Abbas Kiarostami, Federico Fellini, François Truffaut, Ingmar Bergman, Louis Malle, Michelangelo Antonioni and Claude Chabrol.
Some of the movies that will be aired this month are Jellyfish, Gucha!, Strayed, Mind The Gap!, The President’s Barber, The Fire Within, Fratricide, The Son’s Room, Himalaya, Desert Dream, Gone With The Woman, The Housekeeper, 48 Hours A Day, Didier, The Caiman, Garage, The Cost Of Living, The Caiman, The Room Of Death, And They Lived Happily Ever After, Read My Lips and 24 Measures amongst others.
NDTV Imagine CEO Sameer Nair said, "NDTV Imagine Networks has made significant progress in the past one year…we launched our Hindi GEC – Imagine, then our Bollywood Business and Entertainment channel – Imagine Showbiz… and we now complete the circle on Lumiere with launch of a dedicated digital – only TV channel, to add to Lumiere’s theatrical, home video and internet offerings of contemporary world cinema."
