MUMBAI: The Times of India Group’s company Zoom Entertainment Network has inked a multi-crore deal with actor – producer Rohit Roy’s production company to make films.
According to sources close to the development, the deal size is pegged at Rs 100 million and a total of 10 films will be made in the first round with a budget of Rs 10 million each.
These will be one hour films, which will be aired on Zoom and also in multiplexes. Rohit Roy Productions will make a total of 10 films for Zoom this year and production on the next batch of films will commence in March 2009.
Speaking exclusively to Businessofcinema.com Roy says, "This is a first of its kind experiment that we are trying in India. These films will be on the lines of the HBO Original Movies. Apart from airing them on Zoom, we are also planning to screen them at multiplexes as a double bill – two movies will be screened at one time with an interval between them."
However Roy refrained from parting with the production budget or the deal size.
Some of the films that will be made are titled – Hum To Hai Total Fida Tumpe, Maaan Naa Maan Main Tera Mehmaan, Hotel Park Street, Block Buster, Kabhi Na Kabhi, Road Trip and Game Set Match amongst others.
When queried about the cast and directors of these films, Roy informs, "We will have mostly FTII graduates and other known stars like Sudhanshu Pandey, Perizaad Zorabian and me starring in the films. Additionally, we have also roped in some great acting talent from television.
"The television industry has given me a lot and this is a way for me to give back to it. Some of the directors that we have roped in are Sarthak Dasgupta, who has directed The Great Indian Butterfly, debutant Rajiv Jhaveri and Siddharth Anand. I will also be directing one of the films. We will be shying away from the mainstream kind of films and cast keeping the budget constraints in mind and also the duration of the films," he further added.
At the time of filing this report, Zoom officials were not available for comment.
