Hindi
Eros to add muscle with 35 movie releases in 2008
MUMBAI: Eros International plans to have an unprecedented line-up of 35 releases in 2008, indicating that it wants to scale up to dominate the Indian movie market.
Eros says it will be highly focused on its blockbuster releases this year which include the Eros International-Rose Movies co-production Drona, to be released over the Indian Independence Day weekend. Directed by Goldie Behl, the film stars Abhishek Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Jaya Bachchan and KK Menon.
Eros will this year release Sujoy Ghosh‘s Aladin, the evergreen Arabian nights story in a new Bollywood format with a high level of visual effects.
Eros will also release Toonpur ka Super Hero, an animation film with live characters. Starring the husband-wife duo Ajay Devgan and Kajol, Toonpur is a story in which a reel life hero accidentally lands in the world of cartoons and transforms into a real life hero.
Other films slated for release this year include You, Me Aur Hum marking the directorial debut of leading actor Ajay Devgan; the Diwali weekend bonanza Yuvraj, a musical film directed by Subhash Ghai starring Anil Kapoor, Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif, and Eros International-Sajid Nadiadwala co-production Kambakht Ishq directed by Saabir Khan with Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor in the lead roles.
In addition, romantic comedy God Tussi Great Ho starring Salman Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Amitabh Bachchan and Sohail Khan is slated for release this year. Also scheduled to release is the Ganesh Acharya directed comedy Money Hai Toh Honey Hai with Govinda, Aftab Shivdasani, Celina Jaitley and Hansika Motwani in the lead roles.
Eros will release Ravi Chopra‘s Bhootnath, the Amitabh Bachchan, Juhi Chawla starrer with a special appearance by Shah Rukh Khan internationally this year.
Other films in the pipeline for global release in 2008 include Ram Gopal Varma‘s Sarkar Raaj and Rakesh Roshan‘s comedy Krazzy 4. Directed by Jaideep Sen, the film stars Juhi Chawla, with leading character actors Irfan Khan, Arshad Warsi, Rajpal Yadav and Suresh Menon as the gang of crazy four.
Other releases during the year include Mehbooba (a romantic comedy by Afzal Khan and starring Sanjay Dutt, Ajay Devgan and Manisha Koirala), Haal-e-dil (a young love story directed by Anil Devgan and starring newcomers – Producer Kumar Mangat‘s daughter Amita Pathak and actor Shekhar Suman‘s son Adhyayan Suman), Had Bahedi (with Rishi Kapoor), The Great Indian Butterfly (Sarthak Dasgupta), Pankh (an unusual story starring Bipasha Basu and Mahesh Manjrekar), Hijack (by Kunal Shivdasani starring Shiney Ahuja and Esha Deol) and Mr. White Mr. Black (a comic suspense thriller starring Suniel Shetty and Arshad Warsi).
Eros International has recently released Bombay to Bangkok, Sunday and Black and White directed by Subhash Ghai this year.
In the regional cinema space, Tamil media and entertainment company Ayngaran International, an Eros International company, has at least 15 films lined up for release this year. Films by directors like Prabhu Deva, Raju Sundaram, Jhananthan, Vishnu Vardhan, Selva Raghavan and other few filmmakers will be part of the Eros-Ayngaran bouquet.
The Eros International-Ayngaran slate includes Aegan by Raju Sundaram starring south superstars Ajith and Nayanthara, a yet untitled project by Prabhu Deva as a director with Vijay and Nayantara in the leads, Peraanmai by Jhananathan having Jeyam Ravi as the lead star, Sarvam by Vishnu Vardhan and Arya along with Trisha in the lead roles, two untitled projects by Selva Raghavan and a host of other films.
The international line-up of Tamil films include Kuruvi by Dharani starring Vijay and Trisha, Jeeva and Aneez, Dhaam Dhoom with Jeyam Ravi and Kangana Ranaut in the lead, Varanam Ayiram by Gautam Menon and starring Surya with Sameera, Kanthaswamy with Vikram and Shriya, the Surya and Tamanna starrer Ayan.
Hindi
GUEST COLUMN: Why film libraries & IPs are the new engines of growth
Unlocking value through catalogue strength and IP synergy
MUMBAI:In a media landscape defined by fragmentation, platform proliferation, and ever-evolving audience behavior, the economics of filmmaking are undergoing a fundamental shift. No longer confined to box office performance, a film’s true value is now measured across an extended lifecycle that spans digital platforms, syndication networks, and global markets. As content consumption becomes increasingly non-linear and algorithm-driven, film libraries and intellectual properties (IPs) are emerging as strategic assets, capable of delivering sustained, long-term returns. For Mohan Gopinath, head – bollywood business at Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd., this transformation signals a decisive move from hit-driven models to portfolio-led value creation. In this piece, Gopinath explores how legacy content, when intelligently repurposed and distributed, can unlock recurring revenue streams, why the interplay between catalogue and original IP is critical, and how media companies can build resilient, future-ready entertainment businesses.
For all these years, we thought that a film is successful if it performs well in theatres. There are opening weekend numbers, box office milestones, and distribution footprints that gave a good picture of how the movie has done commercially and also tell us about its cultural impact. However, there are multiple platforms today, always-on content ecosystem, which has caused a shift. Today, the theatrical performance is not the culmination of a film’s journey but merely the beginning of a much longer and more dynamic lifecycle.
Film libraries today are emerging as high-value, constantly evolving assets that deliver sustained returns well beyond initial release cycles. This becomes a point of great advantage for legacy content owners with diverse catalogues, to shape long-term business outcomes.
According to FICCI-EY, the media and entertainment industry of India achieved a valuation of Rs 2.78 trillion in 2025 which is expected to reach Rs 3.3 trillion by 2028 through a compound annual growth rate of approximately 7 per cent and digital media will bring in more than Rs 1 trillion to become the biggest sector which generates about 36 per cent of overall market revenues.
This shift is the expansion of distribution endpoints. We know how satellite television was once the primary secondary window but today, it coexists with YouTube, OTT platforms, Connected TV, and FAST channels. Each of these platforms caters to distinct audience demographics and consumption behaviors, helping content owners to obtain more value from the same asset across multiple formats.
For instance, films that had great reruns, now find continuous engagement across digital platforms. On YouTube, classic Hindi cinema continues to attract significant viewership, reaching audiences across generations and geographies with remarkable consistency. At Shemaroo Entertainment, this is reflected in our film library shaped over decades as part of a long association with Indian entertainment. From classics such as Amar Akbar Anthony to much-loved entertainers like Jab We Met, Welcome, Dhamaal, Phir Hera Pheri, Dhol, Golmaal, and Bhagam Bhag, many of these titles continue finding new audiences while retaining their place in popular memory. Their enduring appeal reflects how culturally resonant stories can continue creating value over time. Similarly, FAST channels have created curated, always-on environments where catalogue content can continue to thrive through star-led and genre-based programming.
This multi-platform approach has very well transformed films into long-tail IP assets which are capable of generating recurring revenue across advertising, subscription, and syndication models.
The evolution of audience behavior is equally important. Nowadays, it’s more important to find what’s more relative than what’s recent as viewers are more influenced by mood, memories, and algorithmic suggestions than by release schedules. Even if a movie was released decades ago, it can trend alongside a newly released movie, if surfaced in the right context. Thoughtful packaging, whether through festival-based playlists, actor-driven collections, or genre clusters, allows catalogue content to remain dynamic and continuously discoverable. Shemaroo Entertainment has built extensive film libraries over decades and its focus has mostly been on recontextualizing content for the consumption of newer environments. This process doesn’t just include digitization and restoration, but also re-packaging of films as per platforms.
Syndication itself has evolved into a key growth driver. In perspective, when looking at the domestic market, curated content packages continue to find strong demand across broadcast and digital platforms. Meanwhile, in the international market, especially in markets like Middle East, North America and Southeast Asia, the appetite for Indian content is opening up new monetization avenues. Here, the ability to package and position catalogue content effectively becomes as important as the content itself.
Importantly, the need to re-package catalogue content does not diminish the role of new content. In fact, originals and fresh IP are essential to sustaining the long-term value of a film library because they act as discovery engines that bring audiences into the ecosystem, while catalogue content drives depth, retention, and repeat engagement.
This interplay between the “new” and the “known” is what defines a robust content strategy today. While new films generate spikes in consumption, catalogue titles offer familiarity and comfort. These are factors that are increasingly valuable in an era of content abundance and decision fatigue. This is also shaping our strategy, drawing value from both a deep catalogue assets and a growing focus on original IPs to strengthen long-term audience engagement and build more predictable revenue streams.
There is growing recognition that long-term value in entertainment will be shaped not only by how intelligently existing content continues to live, travel and find relevance, but also by how consistently new stories are created to renew that ecosystem. In that sense, film libraries and original IP are not parallel bets, but reinforcing engines of growth. For media companies, the opportunity lies in making these two forces work together, because that is increasingly where more resilient and predictable businesses are being shaped.
Note: The views expressed in this article are solely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect our own.
