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Wednesday, Oct 01, 2008
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Disney foray into film production in India

Sudhish Kamath

MUMBAI: The Walt Disney Company (India) on Tuesday announced its plans to independently produce four live action films. These will include The 19th Step with Kamal Haasan and Asin, to be directed by Bharat Bala, and Zokkomon with the Taare Zameen Par whiz-kid Darsheel Safari, to be directed by Satyajit Bhatkal.

It was Bhatkal who wrote The Spirit of Lagaan and directed Chale Chalo, the documentary on the making of Lagaan.

Mahesh Samat, managing director of the company, told The Hindu that this was in addition to its co-production arrangement with Yash Raj Films.

On the eve of the audio launch of the Disney-Yash Raj Films maiden co-production Roadside Romeo, the animation feature directed by Jugal Hansraj with voice by Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor, Mr. Samat said the company was collaborating with Yash Raj Films for one more animation film.

On Zokkomon, he said: “It’s a family film driven by a great story. We should be starting work on it by the end of this year.”

The 19th Step will be a lavish production with an Indo-Japanese cast. “This is an interesting film because it’s a multilingual which will primarily be in Tamil and it is one of those unique films that will potentially be a global film. It’s got some elements of martial arts. We are proud to be associated with Kamal Haasan and A.R. Rahman.”

Disney’s foray into film production in India has been triggered by the size of the market. Mr. Samat said: “With 3.6 billion movie admissions a year, it’s a remarkable figure. With the value of movie admissions going up from Rs.25 to Rs.80 in five years, we are talking about a $7 billion box office. Disney has a huge amount of expertise in telling stories and building a franchise around the characters.”

“We are about creating products that take the story beyond the story,” said Roshni Bakshi, regional director, Disney Consumer Products. A whole range of products that will take the Roadside Romeo franchise to the consumer will reach the retail market by mid-October, two weeks before the film’s Deepavali release.

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