MUMBAI: Bollywood major BR Films has pumped in Rs 650 million for the slate of three films that will hit the box office in 2008.

BR Films promoter Ravi Chopra says, “Our lineup for the films to release in 2008-10 is finalised, and each year is equally distributed.”

In 2008, the first film to hit the screen from the BR Films stable is Bhootnath starring Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan in a cameo role. The Rs 250-300 million film is directed by debut director Vivek.

Next is Rs 200 million Banda Ya Bindass Hain directed by Ravi Chopra. Currently under production, the comedy film will be released in July.

The last offering from the stable in 2008 is Heaven on Earth. BR Films has infused Rs 200 million for the film directed by Deepa Mehta. Starring Preity Zinta, the film shows the treatment of women married to NRI husbands.

With six films on the cards, the year 2009 seems busier for BR films. Of these, Kohinoor, Pocket Maar, Betiyaan and Stella deserve special mention, with Stella to be directed by Deepa Mehta.

The company will foray into animation in 2009, with the release of its first animated film Paanch Pandav. It has acquired 73 per cent in the Mumbai-based animation and post production studio Pix-n-Trix. It has also relocated Pix-n-Trix to a larger premise at Film City located at Goregaon in Mumbai.

Besides, epic-based film Mahabharata is also in the pipeline. Expected to hit the screens in 2010, the film will be in two parts. Each of the two 3-hour parts will be released on two consecutive Fridays.

Ravi Chopra explains, “The Mahabharata is a long epic that needs more time than two hours for a better presentation. So we decided to split it into two parts, releasing the film on two consecutive Fridays. The first part will end with the cheer-haran episode; the second will follow from the same.”

Pic by Mitesh Bhuvad