Film Production
Exim Bank puts Rs 2 billion behind films in FY07, mulls equity in animation companies
MUMBAI: For the Bollywood industry which is keen to tap the overseas market, there is good news. The Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) is willing to loosen its purse strings and has extended funding to the tune of Rs 2 billion for eight movies during the current fiscal.
Exim Bank, in fact, has funded the recently released Yash Raj Films’ big ticket movie Dhoom 2. “We have lent Rs 2 billion to the film industry this fiscal,” Exim Bank chairman & managing director TC Venkat Subramaniam tells Indiantelevision.com. “Our total exposure to the sector is Rs 4 billion.”
Of the other Yash Chopra movies funded by Exim Bank are Veer Zaara, Hum Tum, Bunty Aur Babli and Dum. The Bank has also financed Don (Rs 100 million) and Mangal Pandey – The rising (Rs 80 million). Exim Bank has been funding Hindi movie projects which have a potential to earn foreign currency revenues in the overseas market.
Animation is another area in the entertainment sector that has drawn the attention of Exim Bank. It is eyeing the option of picking up equity in start-up animation companies. “With their outsourcing models, animation companies in India have the potential to grow. Apart from prividing debt, we may consider equity participation in the start-ups. But for the companies which are listed and are already enjoying high valuations, it doesn’t make sense for us to enter as equity partners because they are already highly valued,” says Subramaniam.
Exim Bank is in talks with an animation company to provide finance for the expansion needs. With Crest Animation Studios Ltd, it has already agreed to lend $7 million to Crest Animation Studios Ltd.
The Bank has extended lending to over Rs 4 billion for film projects which have potential to earn foreign exchange. “We are not only financing on production but also on the overseas distribution side.
Noted film producer Bobby Bedi will approach Exim Bank to discuss his new project Mahabharata for which he plans to invest Rs 3-4 billion. Bedi is considering institutional financing for the epic project which will extend to a talent hunt, TV series, film trilogy, gaming, animation and a theme park. “Bedi is looking at an innovative financial structuring. He is taking the project to financial institutions. He is also going to approach Exim Bank for this,” an industry source says.
Exim Bank will examine the cash-flow situation of the project as it spans over different formats and will take a longer period to complete.
Film Production
Priyanka Kaur Dhillon joins SVF Entertainment as lead for music distribution
A seasoned content dealmaker with 16 years in digital and satellite media joins the Bengali entertainment powerhouse as it pushes into the pan-India music market
Mumbai: Priyanka Kaur Dhillon has made her move. The content acquisitions and commercials veteran, most recently commercial manager at Sony Pictures Networks India, has joined SVF Entertainment as lead for music distribution, stepping into one of the more interesting briefs in regional entertainment right now.
SVF is no ordinary regional label. Over 30 years it has built a formidable legacy in Bengali cinema and music, driven by culturally resonant storytelling and a catalogue that consistently punches above its weight. Its recent success with Chiraiya underlines the point. But the Kolkata-based powerhouse now has its sights firmly set beyond Bengal, most visibly through Legacy, a rap reality series produced in collaboration with hip-hop label Kalamkaar that signals a deliberate push into the pan-India music ecosystem.
Dhillon brings precisely the kind of muscle SVF needs for that expansion. At Sony Pictures Networks India, she led film acquisition and commercials and handled music licensing across the entire satellite network. Before that, she spent nearly 15 years at Hungama, rising to assistant general manager and leading strategic content licensing for the platform’s digital entertainment business, with a particular focus on international markets. Her label relationships span the full roster: Sony Music, Universal Music, Warner Music, Believe International, Tunecore, The Orchard and a clutch of smaller aggregators. She has negotiated and closed deals with Hollywood studios, Bollywood production houses and regional content players alike, building pricing models and deal structures off data analysis rather than instinct.
Announcing the appointment, Dhillon said she was “thrilled to begin this journey with an iconic Bengali music label and content powerhouse,” adding that SVF’s “constant drive to push boundaries” was what drew her to the role.
SVF has spent three decades proving that regional does not mean limited. With a sharp commercial operator now steering its music distribution, its bid to go national just got a good deal more serious.
