Hindi
Reliance ADA, Spielberg to start a $1.5 bn company
MUMBAI: Reliance ADA Group has signed a deal with DreamWorks SKG to start a new $1.5 billion company, completing Steven Spielberg‘s exit from Paramount Pictures and providing Indian billionaire Anil Ambani a foothold in Hollywood.
The deal is expected to finance a minimum slate of 32 movies over six years, says a source in Reliance. “The $1.5 billion amount is being raised through a mix of equity and debt,” he adds.
Reliance will pump in $550 million as equity investment while JPMorgan Chase & Co. will lead the debt financing.
When contacted, Reliance Big Entertainment president Rajesh Sawhney refused to offer his comments.
Meanwhile, Paramount said in a statement it will let Spielberg and DreamWorks chief Stacey Snider join the new company immediately.
Reliance had earlier announced it would produce a slate of 69 movies in nine languages over two years. The list included developing and co-producing movies with Hollywood stars George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Tom Hanks, Jay Roach, Nicholas Cage and Chris Columbus.
“It is a big step for Reliance which has already lined up a rich slate of Bollywood films. Hollywood, after all, dominates the film business across the world. Reliance already has a strong presence in the multiplex and FM radio business and plans to enter the broadcasting arena by the year-end,” says an analyst who tracks the company.
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.
