Film Production
Reliance Entertainment partners Friday Filmworks for Plan C Studios
MUMBAI: Anil D Ambani owned Reliance Entertainment and producer duo Neeraj Pandey and Shital Bhatia’s Friday Filmworks has formed 50:50 joint venture for production of movies called Plan C Studios.
The combination will benefit from the creative and production strength of Friday Filmworks, and leverage the global marketing and distribution capabilities of Reliance Entertainment.
Reliance Group group managing director Amitabh Jhunjhunwala said, “We are delighted to partner with creative minds like Neeraj and Shital. This relationship is in line with our continuing strategy in the media and entertainment business, of partnering with like minded and successful individuals, while playing the role of supportive investors on our part.”
Plan C Studios will kick start with Akshay Kumar starrer, the period drama, Rustom, directed by Tinu Suresh Desai. Other projects include Pandey’s cinematic version of his novel, Ghalib Danger and films helmed by Shivam Nair, Chandra Prakash Dwivedi, Anurag Singh, Anvita Dutt and Shree Narayan Singh.
Commenting on the partnership, Pandey said, “The partnership with Reliance Group is very significant and welcome, as it enables us to further raise the bar on our continued strategy of developing cutting edge commercial content. We like to keep pushing the envelope, and this partnership will greatly expand our vision.”
“The alliance with Reliance Group and our continued success at the box office, are a welcome and clear vindication of our focused strategy. Reliance’s significant global and domestic distribution and monetization network, not just perfectly complements our distinct content, but will also ensure highest value creation for all our partners and stakeholders,” added Bhatia.
Pandey’s first film A Wednesday in 2008 won the National Award. Subsequently, he directed Special 26 in 2013, and Baby in 2015, both widely appreciated and enjoyed huge commercial successes. Pandey is currently on the floors with M S Dhoni – The Untold Story – one of the most anticipated films of the year.
Reliance Entertainment has produced, distributed and released more than 170 films in multiple Indian languages, including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, etc.
Internationally, Reliance Entertainment has partnered for over the past 7 years with iconic film producer and director, Steven Spielberg, in the formation of DreamWorks Studios and announced the continuation of that relationship with the formation of Amblin Partners in December 2015.
In India, Reliance Entertainment has recently formed an exciting partnership with Phantom films, a company created by talented directors and producers.
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.
