Hindi
Satellite rights, box office drives Eros’ Q1 net up 45%
MUMBAI: Strong box office collections helped Indian film production and distribution company Eros International Media to report a 45 per cent increase in net profit in the first quarter ended 30 June 2012.
Eros’ net profit in the first quarter was Rs 314.10 million, up from Rs 217 million a year ago.
The company said its total income rose 60 per cent to Rs 2.59 billion in the first quarter from Rs 1.62 billion a year earlier on strong theatrical revenue growth driven by robust theatrical pre-sales and box office performance of Housefull 2, Teri Meri Kahaani, Vicky Donor and Ferrari ki Sawaari.
Eros’s operating profit increased 42 per cent to Rs 523 million during the first quarter of 2012-13 from Rs 369 million a year earlier.
During the quarter, the company released five Hindi language films and 18 Tamil and other Indian language films. Strong demand for satellite rights for the films also drove revenue growth. As part of the pre-sales strategy, Eros has signed a licensing agreement with Viacom18 Media. Accordingly, Viacom18’s Colors television channel will exclusively telecast Cocktail, Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi, Khiladi and catalogue films.
Eros International Media MD Sunil Lulla said, “We are once again proud to have picked a fine slate of films such as Housefull 2, Ferrari ki Sawaari and Vicky Donor which have not only performed well at the box office but also been successfully monetised across television and digital platforms.”
“We have continued to optimise our de-risking strategy with the combination of pre-sales and self distribution to give us consistent cash flow and provide visibility of revenues. We are especially encouraged by the box office success of a modest budget film like Vick Donor which demonstrated potential for smaller films among a growing multiplex audience and widening the appeal of our films.”
Films slated for release by Eros over the next two years include Chakravyuh by Prakash Jha (starring Arjun Rampal, Abhay deol), Attacks of 26/11 by Ram Gopal Varma, Go Goa Gone (starring Saif Ali Khan), Tanu Weds Manu Season 2, Namak starring Shahid Kapoor and directed by Prabhu Deva and Sarkar 3 by Ram Gopal Varma, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan.
Hindi
Jio Studios, Sanjay Dutt team up to revive Khal Nayak
Rights acquired for new version, format under wraps as remake plans take shape.
MUMBAI: The villain is back and this time, he’s rewriting his own script. Jio Studios has partnered with Three Dimension Motion Pictures and Aspect Entertainment to revive the 1993 cult classic Khal Nayak, marking a fresh chapter for one of Bollywood’s most iconic anti-hero stories. The original film, directed by Subhash Ghai under Mukta Arts, was a commercial and cultural milestone, with Sanjay Dutt’s portrayal of Ballu becoming one of Hindi cinema’s most memorable performances.
Dutt, along with Aksha Kamboj, has now acquired the rights from the original creators, bringing on board Jio Studios and its President Jyoti Deshpande to steer the project creatively.
While the exact format whether remake, sequel, prequel, or a completely new narrative remains undisclosed, the collaboration aims to reinterpret the story for contemporary audiences while retaining the essence that made the original a defining film of the 1990s.
The move taps into a broader industry trend of reviving legacy intellectual property, particularly characters with strong recall value. “Khal Nayak” was notable for pushing mainstream Hindi cinema into morally grey territory at a time when heroes were largely one-dimensional, making Ballu’s character a standout.
The project also marks the film production debut of Aspect Entertainment, signalling a push towards more technology-led storytelling frameworks. Meanwhile, Jio Studios continues to expand its slate, having built a library of over 200 films and series, with more than 60 titles collectively winning 500-plus awards.
For Dutt, the revival is as much personal as it is strategic, a return to a role that reshaped his career. For the industry, it is another sign that nostalgia, when paired with scale, remains a powerful box-office proposition.
Because in Bollywood, some villains never fade, they just wait for the perfect comeback.
