Film Production
Shemaroo making strides in film production
MUMBAI: Shemaroo Films the film production division of home video firm Shemaroo has announced plans to produce several films.
It had produced its first film Kuchh Meetha Ho Jaye six months back. Vishal Bharadwaj’s Maqbool, Makdee next project is scheduled to go on the floor in January 2006. The film is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Othello which deals with envy and ambition. The film will star Ajay Devgan, Vivek Oberoi and Kareena Kapoor. Talks are on with two other female leads and one leading actor to complete the ensemble.
Director Sangeeth Sivan who made the hit Kya Kool Hai Hum will also direct a Shemaroo film. Even as the nitty-gritties of this venture are being discussed, Shemaroo has also signed director Rohit Shetty, who had directed Ajay Devgan and Abhishek Bachchan in Zameen and is currently shooting for his forthcoming film Gol Maal. The film will be scripted by Neeraj Vora.
Shemaroo is looking to produce five to seven films in the next two years. The company says that the past six months have seen intense planning and dedication from the team, which has brought in eminent directors on board to direct Shemaroo’s forthcoming ventures. Serious with its commitments and pooling in the best resources in the industry, Shemaroo plans to present several new ventures in 2006-07. These projects are aimed to be multi-starrers with the production house leaving no stone unturned to make the best of each opportunity.
Other projects are currently under discussion to fill the release pipeline for 2007. Shemaroo will also be looking into producing video and TV films over a period of time.
Shemaroo VP Hiren Gada says, “Shemaroo received a tremendous response from partners and sponsors for its first film for its sheer professionalism and production value. We believe our forthcoming ventures will be welcomed with an even better response.”
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.
