Hindi
200 films from 65 countries to be screened at 14th Mumbai Film Festival
MUMBAI: Over 200 films from 65 countries will be screened at the 14th edition of the Mumbai film Festival which has shifted its location to South Mumbai.
The event, which takes place from 18-25 October, will honour actress Waheeda Rehman with the Lifetime Achievement award. While Reliance Entertainment is the presenting sponsor and has been with the festival since 2006, American Express has joined this year as a co-sponsor.
Films that will air include ‘The Sapphires‘ from Australia, ‘Beasts of the Southern Wild‘ from the US, ‘Neighbouring Sounds‘ from Brazil, ‘Maddened By His Absence‘ from France, ‘Stories We Tell‘ from Canada, ‘The Hunt‘ from Denmark, ‘A Royal Affair‘, ‘Me and You‘ from Italy, ‘The Angels’ Share‘ from the UK, ‘Taboor‘ from Iran, ‘Renoir‘ from France, ‘Won‘t Back Down‘ from the US, ‘On The Road‘ from Brazil, ‘Cosmopolis‘ and ‘Amour‘ which won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year.
The total prize money at this festival for competitions is $220,000. A new competition, ‘India Gold 2012, has been introduced which will see 13 Indian language films of debut directors compete for $11,000. Other competitions include celebrate Age and Dimensions Mumbai.
To celebrate 100 years of Indian film, the festival will screen a package of restored Indian silent films accompanied by live orchestra. ‘Rendezvous With French Cinema’ returns for a second year. There will also be films that trace the history of Italian cinema. It will also have a section devoted to films from Afghanistan. In addition, homage will be paid to Dara Singh, Rajesh Khanna and A.K. Hangal.
Special events include a direction master class by Andy Tenant, creative production masterclasses by Gary Kurtz, acting master classes by Jaya Bachchan, editing masterclasses by Pascale Chovance and cinematography masterclasses by Declan Quinn. There will also be pitching and screenplay writing master classes which will be conducted by Equinoxe with the attendance of script consultant Claire Dobbin and screenwriter David Maggee.
For the first time there will be a panel discussion on restoration and preservation of films with representatives from Fox, Film Foundation, World Cinema Foundation and Academy Film Archive of the Academy of motion picture Arts and Sciences discussing on this topic.
Cinemascapes, the event that brings together filmmakers with location service providers, will be co-located during the festival. Filmmakers will be able to interact with national and international agencies regarding film locations and filmmaking incentives.
The film market Film Mart will aim at getting buyers for Indian films from non traditional markets like Latin America, the Far East and Eastern Europe.
MFF director Srinivasan Narayanan said, “This is the best festival yet and this has been possible due to the support we have been receiving from our sponsors, Government of Maharashtra and pleased to screen numerous award winning films all of which are Indian premieres. All this has been possible with the support of Mrs. Tina Ambani, the Reliance entertainment team and American Express being committed to the growth of the festival.”
Mami chairman Shyam Benegal said, ”NCPA is the best place to hold this festival. They have welcomed us. Hopefully the NCPA will become a permanent venue for the festival. The quality of films has improved year after year. The Mami trustees are filmmakers who doing it for the fraternity. In addition to NCPA, Inox and Liberty, we are screening films in two cinemas in North Mumbai. So the whole city will be covered.”
Reliance Entertainment chairman, Mami trustee Amit Khanna spoke about the Mumbai Film Mart which will be held at the Oberoi. “Much like the festival itself the Mart too has grown. Last year we facilitated some record breaking deals. This year we see the attendance of key players from non traditional markets such Wowow, Nikatsu, Happinet Corp in addition to film sales agents such as Fandango Portabello, MK2, Tanweer, Celluloid Dreams and The Festival Agency.”
Reliance Entertainment CEO Sanjeev Lamba said that his company had been involved for five years. “We wanted to see how as an entertainment company, we could give back to the entertainment fraternity. The aim was to create a venue where the best of world cinema can be seen. Reliance Entertainment organises the logistics of the event. Not many facilities in the city can accommodate the number of people who want to attend a film festival.
“All NCPA screens will be converted to movie screens with the help of companies like Dolby. The Oberoi Hotel is the hug for activities like the film Mart. Obviously cost is a factor in organising this event. So we looked at partnerships with like minded companies. It did not take long for American Express to agree to come on board. Their know how and experience in being associated with the Tribeca Film Festival in America will help make the Mumbai film Festival bigger and better.”
American Express India president Sanjay Rishi said, “For us this feels like a homecoming. We are associated with Tribeca Film festival, BFI in Lodon, Sundance. We have also done ads with film personalities like Kate Winslet, M Night Shyamalan and Martin Scorsese to name a few. At the Mumbai Film festival we will create opportunities for our customers through things like preferred seating at screenings, dining festivals. This gives us the opportunity to promote global culture.“
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14th Mumbai film fest from 18 to 25 October
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.
