The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Bagful of movies: a project is launched

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 12, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Bagful of movies: a project is launched

Sudhish Kamath

P365 will start with the release ofChicken Little

THINK OUT OF THE BOX: Santhosh of Cinema Paradiso does it literally. — Photo: K. Pichumani

CHENNAI: You will need a bag that's four feet tall and three feet wide to hold all the titles Cinema Paradiso will release in the next 365 days. That's why Santhosh, partner of the DVD rental shop, sent out 75 such handmade bags to invite people to the launch of their latest promotion `P365'.

"It's short for Project 365. Starting Sunday morning, every day we will release a new title. And, whoever walks in first and asks for the release of the day gets it free (for rental, of course)," he says. The scheme will be launched by Gautam Menon, Selvaraghavan and Perarasu a month before their Tamil New Year releases, Vettaiyaadu Vilayaadu, Pudupet and Tirupati. All three come from different schools of filmmaking, and are passionate about movies. Hence, they would be the best people to launch the initiative, he adds. They will interact with fans at Cinema Paradiso at 11 a.m. on Sunday.

"Everyday, we want people to see something new. We have worked out a schedule for one month. We have tied up with studios to release films two weeks ahead of the release in the US to fight piracy," explains Santhosh.Every week, members of Cinema Paradiso will get an SMS update of the movies that will release on DVD during the week.

P365 will start with the release of Chicken Little, Derailed (unrated version), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and ABC Africa on Sunday. The other releases for the week include A History of Violence on March 12, Good Night, And Good Luck on March 13, The Prize Winner on March 14, Capote on March 15, King Kong on March 17 and Paradise Now on March 18.