Film Production
Hungama Mobile, GSM Association, Roamware unveil a mobile Bollywood film initiative
MUMBAI: Bollywood is all set to go mobile! Global roaming solutions provider Roamware, Hungama Mobile and the GSM Association have joined hands to launch a Mobile Bollywood initiative. The aim is tio create short films for the mobile. This is one way in which film lovers from across the world can sample what the Indian film industry has to offer.
The three parties have partnered with director Sanjay Gupta to premiere Bollywood short films for the mobile. The films titled Dus Kahaniyah will premiere at GSMA’s 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona from 12-15 February 2007. Th event is expected to attract 60,000 executives from the mobile world. This initiative follows an initiative by Roamware in the US where it sponsors the Sundance Film Festival Short film Project. This is a JV between Roamware and the Sundance Institute.
GSM Association chairman Craig Ehrlich says,”The Sundance and Bollywood communities represent some of the most creative, vibrant and diverse talent in the movie world. In showcasing the films at Barcelona we hope to create a compelling mobile experience for mobile users across the globe. The aim of the GSM Association is to make the mobile experience go beyond text and picture messaging. India is the fourth largest mobile subscriber nase. The GSM Association represents every GSM operator in the world. “
Hungama Mobile MD and CEO Neeraj roy says, “Hungama mobile has exclusive rights to over 70 per cent of Bollywood content on the mobile and digital platforms and trhis content from India. We believe that Bollywood offers tremendous potential as a content category for carriers in over 125 countries. The revenue sharing arrangement will see around 50 per cent go to the content creator.
At the first stage we wanted established filmmakers to come on board. Later on when the mobile becomes viral we will look at offering our platform as a springboard for emerging filmmakers. Firstly we want to test the model to see if it works and makes money for everybody in the value chain.”
Each story in the film runs for 10 minutes and stars established stars like Madhuri Dixit, Jimmy Shergill and Dia Mirza. Mirza notes that this represents a huge opportunity for the Indian film industry to move into the international market. This she notes comes at a time when the international market is becoming more interested in what Bollywood has to offer. Gupta thanked the three parties for providing established filmmakers with the chance to make short films.
That is something that they do not often get a chance to do. The fact that the short films have known faces will make them reach the masses that much quicker he notes. “It is exciting to be part of a move that has the potential to create a new distribution model for Bollywood. The market for short films has been given an impetus by the fact that the quality of the video experience on the mobile has improved a lot.”
Film Production
Disney to cut 1,000 jobs under new chief executive
The entertainment giant’s freshly installed boss inherits a restructuring already in motion, with marketing and corporate roles bearing the brunt
CALIFORNIA: Walt Disney is preparing to slash up to 1,000 jobs in the coming weeks, the Wall Street Journal reported, as the entertainment giant’s freshly installed chief executive moves swiftly to trim fat and tighten the ship.
The cuts, less than 1 per cent of Disney’s global workforce of 231,000, will fall hardest on marketing and corporate roles. The planning, notably, began before D’Amaro formally took the top job in March, suggesting the new boss inherited a restructuring already in motion rather than one of his own making.
Driving the push is Asad Ayaz, Disney’s newly appointed chief marketing officer, who in January assumed command of a unified, company-wide marketing operation spanning film, television and streaming. His consolidation drive has been given a suitably cinematic internal name: Project Imagine.
The move is modest by Disney’s recent standards. Between 2023 and 2025, under former chief executive Bob Iger, the company eliminated roughly 8,000 positions across several brutal rounds of cuts, saving $7.5 billion, comfortably exceeding its own targets. As recently as June 2025, several hundred more jobs were axed across Disney Entertainment, hitting film and television marketing, publicity, casting, development and corporate finance.
Disney’s structural headaches are well-documented: shrinking streaming margins, a weakened box office, and fierce competition from Amazon and YouTube gnawing at its flanks. The company is merging its Disney+ and Hulu teams into a single app, has brought in consultants from Bain & Co to guide its broader cost strategy, and is betting heavily on digital growth.
The wider entertainment industry offers little comfort. Sony Pictures, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery have all taken the knife to their workforces in recent years, and further cuts loom if Paramount’s acquisition of Warner goes through.
For D’Amaro, the message is clear: there will be no honeymoon period. The magic kingdom still has some cost-cutting spells left to cast.
