December 2008 - Reliance Entertainment

Big Pictures’ Overseas Release ‘Ghajini’ Garners Opening Weekend Of USD 4 Million

Posted on December 29, 2008September 3, 2018 by reliance

– In North America the film opened with weekend collections of USD 1.4 million the second highest in 2008.

– In Middle East the opening weekend collection stood at USD $0.92 million, highest opening for a Hindi film.

Following its Christmas day debut across 22 countries, the Aamir Khan starrer ‘Ghajini’, has grossed USD 4 million, outside of India, over the Christmas weekend. Distributed by BIG Pictures, the motion pictures brand of Reliance Big Entertainment Ltd, the film opened with USD 0.92 million in the Middle East, highest opening weekend for a Hindi film. Followed by North America with USD 1.4 million the second highest opening weekend for a Hindi film in 2008 and Australia raking in Australian Dollar $254,000 AD.

The film will open in 4 additional countries that include Myanmar, Uganda, Malaysia & Morocco in the coming weeks. In an unprecedented manner for a Bollywood title, the film opened in the Middle East & North America setting new records, while in the UK it the had the biggest opening for a 15 rated film. ‘Ghajini’ also opened simultaneously in Ireland, Norway, Germany, Denmark, Holland, Netherlands, Belgium, South Africa, New Zealand, Fiji, Mauritius, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia where it’s broken all previous Bollywood and records including any previous Aamir Khan starrer.

Ghajini’s performance demonstrates that the overseas audiences are equally accepting, of quality action films, which are still a rarity, coming out of India. We are extremely pleased with the films opening, which has created bench marks in various international markets like North America, Australia, The Middle East says Jawahar Sharma, COO – International Film Business, BIG Pictures.

A Geetha Arts production, ‘Ghajini’ is a remake of the critically acclaimed South Indian (Tamil language) film with the same title, also directed by A.R. Murugadoss and garnering the Best Actress Award for Asin Thottumkal at the South India Filmfare Awards, who also stars in the remake. The film stars Aamir Khan, Asin Thottumkal, Jiah Khan, Mohit Ahlawat, Pradeep Rawat and Riyaz Khan. Cinematography is by Ravi K. Chandran. Madhu Mantena and Tagore Madhu produced the film.

‘Ghajini’ features amazing new music from Golden Globe® nominee (Best Original Score ‘Slumdog Millionaire’) and Andrew Lloyd Webber collaborator A.R. Rahman, with lyrics by Prasoon Joshi.

For more information on the film log on to www.rememberghajini.com

Boiler Plate:

Reliance Big Entertainment Ltd. (RBEL) (www.rbe.co.in ) is the flagship media and entertainment arm of Indian conglomerate, Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (RADAG), (www.relianceada.com) with significant presence in film entertainment (film production, distribution, and exhibition), broadcasting and new media ventures.

With investments over USD 1 billion in its Filmed Entertainment business RBEL’s motion picture brand BIG Pictures has built a formidable film production slate in Hindi, English & other Indian languages, which it markets & distributes worldwide. The slate has projects with leading production houses and marquee Indian directors like Vidhu Vinod Chopra, David Dhawan, Indra Kumar, Ravi Chopra, Farhan Akhtar, Sudhir Mishra. Shaji N. Karun, Shyam Benegal, Rituparno Ghosh, Buddhadev Dasgupta, M.S Sathyu & Amol Palekar,

On the Hollywood slate, BIG Pictures has development silos with Nicolas Cage’s Saturn Productions, Jim Carrey’s JC 23 Entertainment, George Clooney’s Smokehouse Productions, Chris Columbus’ 1492 Pictures, Tom Hank’s Playstone Productions, Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment and Jay Roache’s Everyman Pictures.

BIG Pictures Goes Bigger With ‘Ghajini’ In The Overseas Market

Posted on December 22, 2008September 3, 2018 by reliance

As the year 2008 bids us goodbye, audiences are eagerly looking forward to the most awaited film of the year 2008- the Aamir Khan starrer ‘Ghajini’ releasing worldwide this Christmas. BIG Pictures, the motion pictures brand of Reliance Big Entertainment Ltd, distributing the film internationally, is not leaving any stone unturned to make ‘Ghajini’ the most watched film of 2008 in the overseas market.

Directed by the maverick A.R. Murugadoss the film will hit theatres across 22 countries with approximately 300 prints; the key markets being US and Canada with 112 prints, UAE with 36 prints and UK with 65 prints. The film will also open simultaneously in Norway, Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore amongst others.

“There has been a very high response from exhibitors to ‘Ghajini’, with keen anticipation from the media and public alike. Aamir Khan has been off the screen for almost a year and his fan base cannot wait, having already pushed the soundtrack up on the charts” Says Jawahar Sharma, COO, International Distribution, BIG Pictures.

“‘Ghajini’ is by far the most awaited film of 2008. With the storyline revolving around short term memory loss, with all the excitement and intrigue imaginable, we are hopeful of meeting the audiences’ expectation this holiday season. We are confident of the team at BIG Pictures and have completely backed their vision for promoting the film overseas” said producers Madhu Mantena.

A Geetha Arts production, ‘Ghajini’ is a remake of the South Indian (Tamil language) film with the same title, also directed by A.R. Murugadoss. In the Hindi version starring with Aamir Khan are Asin Thottumkal, Jiah Khan, Mohit Ahlawat and Riyaz Khan. Music is by A. R. Rahman with lyrics by Prasoon Josh. Cinematography by Ravi K. Chandran. Miadu Mantena and Tagore Madhu produced the film. The songs of the film are already ruling the music charts. For more information on the film log on to www.rememberghajini.com

The story of ‘Ghajini’ a unique mix of action, romance, drama and comedy revolves around a completely unexplored plot (Short Term Memory Loss). What follows will be unveiled when the movie hits the theaters this Christmas. For international theatre listings log on to www.rememberghajini.com

Boiler Plate:
Reliance Big Entertainment Ltd. (RBEL) (www.rbe.co.in ) is the flagship media and entertainment arm of Indian conglomerate, Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (RADAG), (www.relianceada.com) with significant presence in film entertainment (film production, distribution, and exhibition), broadcasting and new media ventures.

BIG Pictures’ Second Punjabi Film ‘Chak Jawana’ Completes Shooting

Posted on December 16, 2008September 3, 2018 by reliance

Following the success of its maiden Punjabi film, ‘Mera Pind-My Home’, which saw the biggest opening ever for a Punjabi film in Punjab and overseas, BIG Pictures, the motion pictures brand from Reliance Big Entertainment Ltd (RBEL) in association with Initiative Films, brings its second Punjabi film ‘Chak Jawana’. The film recently completed its final shooting schedule in Chandigarh and is expected to release next year.

Produced by Balli Janjua and Rupinder Chahal of Initiative Films and directed by Simerjit Singh, ‘Chak Jawana’ highlights the problems faced by the youth of a village in Punjab. These young men become directionless after falling prey to the evil of drugs. The helpless elders worry about the future of their community. In this atmosphere of despair, Captain Gurjeet Singh (Gurdas Maan) arrives home on a month’s leave from the Indian Navy. Disappointed with the situation prevailing in his village, he pledges to reform the undisciplined young men.

The film has Gurdas Maan in an inspirational lead role. Supporting him are Jonita Doda, Gaurav Kakkar, Gurkirtan and Rana Ranbir who play pivotal characters. Looking at the current situation of our country, an entertaining, family-oriented film which deals with social issues and concerns will be well received by the audience.

Said Mahesh Ramanathan, COO, BIG Pictures- “Our first Punjabi film “Mera Pind” did well beyond audience expectations. Our second film Chak Jawana is eagerly awaited in Punjab & abroad. Besides a strong entertainment quotient, the film has a strong message for the youth looking for greener pastures abroad. The film’s music is a potential chartbuster. Chak Jawana is another example of BIG Pictures commitment to create exemplary films in the regional filmed entertainment space. BIG Pictures is the only studio in India that is committed to & aggressively implementing initiatives to create a pan-Indian motion picture slate to entertain regional film audiences too”

Gurdas Maan expressed his thoughts on Chak Jawana with his characteristic clarityÂ¿ “When Rupinder, Balli and Simerjit narrated the script, I immediately gave my consent to be a part of this film. It highlights a serious issue in Punjab. Being a son of this soil, I have noted with grave concern the grip of drugs on our youth. It was my responsibility to express my thoughts on this problem. This youthful film will give hope to our youngsters by starting a vigorous social discussion. The privilege of working on this project with BIG Pictures was made possible only through the energetic efforts of Initiative Films.”

‘Chak Jawana’ is produced by Initiative Films in association with BIG Pictures

Though this is not the first time BIG Pictures has touched the hearts of the audiences worldwide, their very first release in September 2008 ‘Mera Pind – My Home’ starring Harbhajan Mann was a perfect recipe for an entertainment with a perfect mix of emotions, drama and comedy. The film saw the biggest opening ever for a Punjabi film in India and Overseas. The film released overseas across UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Germany. BIG Pictures collaborated with the veteran director Manmohan Singh.

Boiler Plate:

BIG Pictures’ & Excel Entertainment’s ‘Luck By Chance’ Releasing Jan 30th ’09 Worldwide

Posted on December 12, 2008September 3, 2018 by reliance

Giving a lucky start to 2009 is the film ‘Luck By chance’ a co-production between BIG Pictures & Excel Entertainment, which opens up at the box office on the 30th of January, 2009 worldwide.

The film marks the directorial debut of Zoya Akhtar. The plot of the film deals in and around Bollywood and how people from different walks of life come to the dream city to make it big in an industry where luck clicks more than hard work.

The movie stars Farhan Akhtar, Juhi Chawla, Konkana Sen, Rishi Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia and Isha Sharwani & has Hritik Roshan in a special appearance. The film’s music has been composed by Shankar – Ehsaan – Loy with Lyrics by Javed Akhtar.

About Reliance Big Entertainment

Reliance Big Entertainment Ltd. (RBEL), is the flagship media and entertainment arm of Indian conglomerate, Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (RADAG),(www.relianceada.com) with significant presence in film entertainment (film production, distribution, and exhibition), broadcasting and new media ventures.

With investments over USD 1 billion in its Filmed Entertainment business RBEL’s motion picture brand ‘BIG Pictures’ has built a formidable film production slate in Hindi, English & other Indian languages, which it will market & distribute worldwide. The slate has projects with leading production houses and marquee Indian directors like Vidhu Vinod Chopra, David Dhawan, Ravi Chopra, Shaji N. Karun, Shyam Benegal, Rituparno Ghosh, Buddhadev Dasgupta, Amol Palekar, Farhan Akhtar & Madhur Bhandarkar.

On the Hollywood slate, earlier in 2008 the company announced development silos with Nicolas Cage’s Saturn Productions, Jim Carrey’s JC 23 Entertainment, George Clooney’s Smokehouse Productions, Chris Columbus’ 1492 Pictures, Tom Hank’s Playstone Productions, Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment and Jay Roache’s Everyman Pictures.