Hindi
Disney deepens ties with UTV, sources film distribution to Indian partner
MUMBAI: The Walt Disney Company is deepening its relationship with Indian partner UTV Software Communications where it holds equity stake. The global media major has allowed UTV to handle sales and distribution of all of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures‘ Hollywood releases in India, handing over the task which was earlier handled by Sony Pictures.
The deal with UTV will be effective 1 January, 2009. Disney, however, will continue handling its own marketing.
UTV, which has a rich film production pipeline, will now be able to strengthen its distribution business.
Says UTV Motion Pictures CEO Siddharth Roy Kapur, “The combined offering of UTV and Disney content will offer Indian exhibitors and viewers a tremendously diverse range of movies across languages and genres. This further strengthens our synergies with Disney and we look forward to more such collaborations in the future.”
Adds The Walt Disney Company India senior VP and MD Mahesh Samat, “UTV‘s leadership in India‘s rapidly growing film production and distribution space will strengthen our initiatives to build a family entertainment brand in the country by increasing the reach of our Hollywood films here.”
Hindi
Rashmika Mandanna, Shanaya Kapoor and Naila Grrewal climb IMDb’s Indian celebrity rankings
Upcoming films and returning shows are driving fan interest across Bollywood and streaming
MUMBAI: Bollywood’s popularity contest has a new weekly scorecard, and the numbers are telling. IMDb’s Popular Indian Celebrities list for this week places Shanaya Kapoor at number six, buoyed by buzz around her film Tu Yaa Main. Naila Grrewal slots in at seven on the back of the returning comedy series Maamla Legal Hai, while Rashmika Mandanna climbs to eighth, riding mounting anticipation for Cocktail 2.
The list, available exclusively on the IMDb app for Android and iOS, tracks trending Indian entertainers and filmmakers each week, drawing on data from more than 200m monthly visits to the platform worldwide.
Further down the rankings, Raaka is keeping two of its biggest names in the spotlight. Deepika Padukone holds 11th position, with Allu Arjun close behind at 13th, as the film continues to find traction with audiences.
The list offers fans a weekly pulse on who is breaking through, who is holding steady, and who is fading. It is a barometer as unsparing as the box office itself.
