Movies
D-Cinema players Pyramid-Saimira & Kalasa in Rs 100 million deal
MUMBAI: Chennai-based Pyramid-Saimira Group has signed Rs 100 million deal with Kalasa Entertainment Media Private Limited (KEMPL) to install 70 theaters with digital cinema equipment. The installation will be made between September 2005 and July 2006.
The deal follows Pyramid-Saimira’s earlier announcement of taking on lease 1000 theaters for digitalisation. The company plans to finish the assignment in three years and primary deadline is to digitalise 150 theaters by September 2006. In April 2005, the company had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Taiwan-based Delta Electronics for design, development and sourcing of about 15,000 digital projectors at a cost of about Rs 1.5 billion.
KEMPL had recently set up its own GDC encoder in Chennai. This facility is mainly used for those producers who insist to encode their movies in Chennai itself. However, a major chunk of its films are encoded by the Mumbai-based Adlabs. Kalasa presently has a chain of 11 digital theatres in Tamil Nadu. The company uses digital servers, provider by GDC Technology.
Digital cinema (D-Cinema) is slowly gaining ground as well as investments in India. Anil Ambani’s Reliance Capital purchased a 70 per cent stake in Adlabs worth US$83 million this year. Meanwhile, private equity fund ICICI Venture invested Rs 380 million rupees ($8.7 million) in PVR Cinemas, and GW Capital put in about Rs 150 million in Shringar Cinemas Ltd. Mumbai-based Adlabs recently commenced operation at its front end-processing lab in Chennai in association with Vijaya Labs to expand its base in southern India.
“All these activities demonstrated credible corporate and institutional funding entering the entertainment industry heralding new opportunities presenting themselves in the coming years,” states KEMPL CEO Ramesh V Subramaniam.
Movies
Amay Mehrishi’s short film Abracadabra premieres at Berlinale 2026
London Film School project screens in Generations Kplus at Berlin festival.
MUMBAI: Sometimes the biggest stories unfold in the smallest spaces. In this case, on a school bus. Emerging filmmaker Amay Mehrishi made his international debut with the short film Abracadabra, which premiered at the 76th edition of the Berlin International Film Festival in the Generations Kplus section. The film was developed as Mehrishi’s Master’s graduation project at the London Film School.
Set entirely during a single ride home on a moving school bus, the story centres on twelve year old Agastya, whose day takes an unexpected emotional turn when his best friend Naman chooses to sit somewhere else. What begins as a seemingly small moment slowly unfolds into a delicate exploration of childhood friendship, identity and guilt.
A simple magic trick threads through the narrative, giving the film its title while quietly tying together the emotional shifts that unfold during the journey. The storytelling leans on observation and restraint, capturing the fragile inner world of growing up without grand gestures.
Filming the project came with its own creative constraints. The entire production took place inside a bus in motion and featured 32 young non actors aged between seven and thirteen, bringing a naturalistic feel to the film’s classroom like ensemble.
The world premiere at Berlinale received warm applause from a multi generational audience. Several viewers shared that the film evoked memories of their own childhood journeys and friendships.
Mehrishi described the festival premiere as a major milestone in his early filmmaking career.
“With its world premiere at Berlinale, our film received an immense platform and a global audience to begin its journey. It is a dream as a filmmaker to be considered for such a prestigious festival, and hopefully it will open doors for the entire team,” he said.
Following the debut, Mehrishi has begun developing a satirical drama and has also started research on his first feature film, with plans to work across both independent and commercial cinema in the coming years.
