Hindi
Chinese keen for co-productions with Indian filmmakers
NEW DELHI: Nine latest Chinese films including one based in Tibet are being screened in a reciprocal festival of films from China beginning Friday.
Organised by the Directorate of Film Festivals in collaboration with the China’s State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) and the Chinese Embassy, the Festival will be inaugurated by Chinese ambassador Zhang Yan and Information and Broadcasting ministry secretary Asha Swarup.
The opening film is Gun of Mercy by Xiao Feng who will also be present in the festival.
A high-level Chinese delegation is here to attend the festival, led by SARFT Director General Tong Gang. Other members besides Feng include Luan Guochi who is director of the SARFT’s International Cooperation in the Film Bureau, film director Zhang Jianya and actress Liu Yiwel of the film Call for Love, actress Jiang Wu of Gun of Mercy, and Lu Hongshi, vice-president of the China Movie Channel CCTV-6, and SARFT Digital Film Programme deputy director general Mao Yu.
Addressing a press meet, Gang said the Chinese government was keen to strengthen coperation and co-productions in the field of cinema and this would be discussed further with members of the Indian film industry in Mumbai later this week.
The delegation had also visited the National Film Development Corporation. He said China would also like to see Indian films released in theatres and through DVDs in their country and vice versa. Furthermore, Indian films could be shown on CCTV-6, he added.
Directorate of Film Festivals director Neelam Kapur said a Festival of Indian films had been held in Beijing and Shanghai about 18 months earlier. She said the reciprocal festival had been delayed, as India wanted a delegation to accompany the films, and also wanted to ensure that the Festival did not clash with any other festival.
Apart from Gun of Mercy and Call for Love, the other films being screened are Fearless (Ronny Yu), The Banquet (Feng Xiaogang), Courthouse on the Horseback (Liu Jie), The Silent Holy Stones (Wanma Caidan from Tibet), A world without thieves (Feng Xiaogang), Honeymoon (Chen Jun) and Perhaps Love’ (Peter Ho-Sun Chan).
She said the films had been screened at the recent International Mumbai Film Festival organised by the Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image(Mami). Xie Fei, cultural counsellor of the Chinese Embassy, was also present at the press meet.
Gang said in reply to a question that the Chinese government would give full help to any Indian producer wanting to shoot in China. Furthermore, any co-production will be given the same benefits if exemption from customs or distribution tax as given to quality domestic films.
Noting that films like Awaara and Caravan were still remembered in China, he said the Raj Kapoor film was shown by CCTV-6 in February.
In reply to another question, he said the Government gave special funds for promoting the showing of films in the rural areas of the country and the aim was that at least one film should be released in every village every month. Under this programme, 60 per cent of the villages had been covered so far. Filmmakers also got a subsidy if they released their films in rural areas.
He said that the Chinese Government helped the film industry by giving money for production of quality films and by promoting distribution and exhibition. A percentage of the revenue from advertisements on television was collected by the Government and used to produce good films, while a five per cent tax was collected on each ticket and used for distribution or exhibition purpose.
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.
