RELIANCE ENTERTAINMENT PARTNERS WITH DHARMA PRODUCTIONS FOR FOUR FILMS IN INTERNATIONAL MARKETS
Reliance Entertainment, the flagship motion picture arm of India’s Reliance Group, has partnered with Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions for four of their key projects in the International Markets. Reliance Entertainment will market and distribute Dharma Productions four prestigious films ‘Gori Tere Pyaar Mein’, ‘Hassi Toh Phassi’, ‘Ungli’ and ‘Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya’ in the overseas market.
RELIANCE ENTERTAINMENT PARTNERS WITH DHARMA PRODUCTIONS FOR FOUR FILMS IN INTERNATIONAL MARKETS
Reliance Entertainment recently distributed the much acclaimed international box office hit Bhaag Milkha Bhaag partnering Viacom 18. This was the first time in the Hindi film industry that two Bollywood studios collaborated on a film. Reliance Entertainment’s international schedule also includes smash hits like Don 2, Talaash, Bodyguard and Ghajini. Reliance Entertainment also has to their credit the highest grossing Hindi film of all time in the international markets, “3 Idiots” that grossed over USD 25 Million of which USD 10 million was from non-traditional markets like Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan. In the last four years Reliance Entertainment has expanded the reach of Bollywood films to 85 countries.
Established by the Late Shri Yash Johar in 1976, Dharma Productions’ endeavour has always been to produce high quality cinema, appreciated by a worldwide audience. 1998 saw the release of Karan Johar’s directorial debut Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (‘Heartbeats’) under the banner, featuring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol. The film went on to be a box office blockbuster and became the first Indian feature film to figure in the UK Top 10 (Empire, December 1998).
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham represented everything that a quintessential Hindi film was defined by – scale, grandeur and a touching storyline. The film established new box-office benchmarks, when it featured in both the US and UK Top Ten Listings, and went on to win awards at a host of national and international film festivals. Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham made its debut at No. 3 in the UK chart (behind Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings) and was in the Top Ten Films in the UK for four consecutive weeks. Besides being invited to various international film festivals across the globe, it has also been listed in the Top 20 Asian Films by admission in Europe in the Cannes Film Festival 2002. In fact, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham is the first Indian film to have a mainstream release in the territories of Germany, France and Poland. It was very well received with five awards, including the Best Actress Award for Kajol at the Valenciennes International Film Festival, France. Dharma Productions’ other films like Kal Ho Na Ho, Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, Dostana, My Name Is Khan and many more have been very warmly accepted across international markets.
Commenting on the partnership Mahesh Ramnathan, COO Reliance Entertainment said: “Reliance Entertainment is delighted to partner Dharma Productions – India’s premier film production house. The collaboration should break new ground in the overseas markets and expand the reputation of both the companies internationally.”
Commenting on the partnership with Reliance Entertainment, Apoorva Mehta, CEO Dharma Productions, said: “We are very excited about having Reliance Entertainment as our overseas distribution partner for our next 4 releases. Our strength in content creation matched by their distribution expertise will ensure that the films have the widest possible reach in traditional and non-traditional markets”.