MUMBAI, India, Oct. 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Relativity - B4U, a joint venture established earlier this year, is delighted that its first distribution venture, the release of 'The Best of Me', premiered today at the first South Asian Premiere of a Hollywood film, in the company of its stars Michelle Monaghan and James Marsden, and Director Michael Hoffman.
As part of its commitment to create and distribute high-quality entertainment content in India, Relativity - B4U is also very pleased to announce an association with Balaji Motion Pictures, India's leading, most innovative studio, for a deal to produce three films. The first will be a Hindi reimagining of 'The Best of Me'. The cast for the Hindi adaptation of the film is yet to be announced.
Commenting on the agreement, Ishan Saksena, CEO of Relativity-B4U, said "Balaji has been producing hugely successful films over the last few years. This coupled with their undisputed TV content leadership makes Balaji an automatic choice for us to tie in. This three film co-production, a natural step in our progression provides a platform to bring the best of Relativity's intellectual property, production skills, and unique monetizing strategies to India, and partner with Balaji whose strengths in this area are unsurpassed."
Joint Managing Director and Creative Director of Balaji Telefilms, Ekta Kapoor, said "The co-production tie-up also brings us unprecedented access to Relativity's catalogue past and future and allows for the films to be re-imagined for India. Relativity boasts of an exciting array of films and a creative collaboration with Relativity is something that excites all of us at Balaji."
Sameer Nair, Group CEO, Balaji Telefilms Ltd, said, "B4U has always been at the helm for delivering Bollywood content in India and internationally. This association with Relativity-B4U allows both our organizations' synergies to be maximized and allows us to create engaging successful content for Indian audiences. We feel that this co-production deal plays to our mutual strengths and will give Indian audiences uniquely creative filmed content."
Ryan Kavanaugh, CEO of Relativity, said: "We are excited about the co-production deal with Balaji, which has an incredibly impressive track record producing high-quality television and film content in India. The agreement brings great strength to Relativity's existing catalogue of content, and we believe that this is a unique blueprint that further bridges two great filmmaking industries -- Hollywood and Bollywood."
About Balaji Motion Pictures:
Balaji Telefilms Ltd. is one of India's leading integrated media conglomerates with defined strengths across both the motion picture and television content business.
The satellite boom in India and the new wave of television content has been credited to Balaji Telefilms. Over the last two decades, Balaji has delivered over 20,000 hours of television content, across multiple languages such as Hindi, Tamil, Telegu, Kannada & Malyalam.
Balaji's foray into the Motion Picture business redefined the Bollywood landscape, by creating distinctive, clutter breaking content. Balaji Motion Pictures boasts of successful films, like - The Dirty Picture, Once Upon A Time in Mumbai, Shootout at Wadala, Lootera, Ek Thi Daayan, Ragini MMS-2, Main Tera Hero and the very recent Rs. 100 Crore box office hit 'Ek Villain'.
Balaji's content coupled with its impactful, differentiated marketing strategies and a strong clear distribution network has catapulted the studio to the top of the game. Balaji Motion Pictures continues to move from strength to strength capturing the imagination of viewers across the country.
About Relativity:
Relativity (relativitymedia.com) is a next-generation global media company engaged in multiple aspects of content production and distribution, including movies, television, fashion, sports, digital and music. More than just a collection of entertainment-related businesses, Relativity is a content engine with the ability to leverage each of these business units, independently and together, to create content across all mediums, giving consumers what they want, when they want it.
Relativity Studios, the company's largest division, has produced, distributed or structured financing for more than 200 motion pictures, generating more than $17 billion in worldwide box-office revenue and earning 60 Oscar nominations. Relativity's films include Safe Haven, Act of Valor, Immortals, Limitless, and The Fighter. Upcoming releases include Beyond the Lights.
About B4U:
Launching both B4U Movies and B4U Music in 1999, the network has been labeled as the foremost Asian channel to pioneer Bollywood and Indian Entertainment worldwide. Since its inception, B4U has successfully created a brand with a strong momentum, across multiple platforms including TV, Cinema, Press, New Media and Digital.
Today B4U is a select top brand on Bollywood Entertainment, Culture and Lifestyle having been widely awarded with 9 Promax and Television awards for the quality of programming and televised shows.
B4U has been a household name, acting as the ambassador of, and allowing viewers worldwide to appreciate the high standard of entertainment it has to offer. B4U has a presence in over 100 countries, and a potential audience reach of over 200 million viewers. With an ever expanding viewer base and newer platforms, B4U is today clearly at the forefront of taking the magic of Indian entertainment and Bollywood worldwide. www.b4utv.com
Photo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20141030/8521406415-a
Photo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20141030/8521406415-b
