In a deal mimicking hotel management contracts, the company will operate Annapurna Studios and enter the southern film industry.
Reliance MediaWorks, Anil Ambani-led film and entertainment company, which has sizeable presence in Bollywood studios, theatres and distribution, is now looking to gain a foothold in the southern film industry.
In a deal which has the characteristics of the hotel industry, the company is taking over the management of Hyderabad-based Annapurna Studios owned by veteran Telugu actor Akkineni Nageswar Rao’s family.
“This is a first of its kind deal in the film industry. We will be able to expand our presence to Telugu film industry, which is second biggest in the country after Bollywood,” Anil Arjun, CEO of Reliance MediaWorks, told DNA Money.
However, he refused to divulge the financials of the deal.
Similar deals are popular in the hotel industry, wherein the assets are owned by the land owners, while the management is left to a professional group that has expertise in handling a hotel.
“We have a large facility to handle production and post-production activities in Mumbai, spread in about two lakh square feet. But Annapurna Studio’s asset is big enough and will act as an anchor point to cater to the entire South. We are trying to leverage our expertise in managing assets related to the film industry,” Arjun said.
Annapurna, which was set up in 1975, is spread in about 22
acre.
The centrally-located studio complex owned by Annapurna has added five state-of-the-art studios to the existing five-studio complex, and the facility has been comprehensive resource for feature films, television, commercials and music videos among others.
In addition to managing and operating the asset as part of the alliance, Reliance would also expand Annapurna’s digital post production facilities that cater to the motion picture and
television commercials industry.
“It is a collaboration between Annapurna and Reliance. We will exchange best practices in addition to sharing the assets. For Reliance, in addition to accessing one of the best assets in South, there would also be some cost advantages. For us, we have access to assets of Reliance located in India and abroad,” Y Supriya, CEO of Annapurna, said.
Reliance MediaWorks owns and operates studios, which are India’s largest Hollywood benchmarked studios and comprise eight sound stages spread across a seven-acre area within Film City, Mumbai.
Having worked on more than 150 films, Reliance MediaWorks’ Digital Intermediate Lab is critically acclaimed as the leading 4K facility in Mumbai with real time grading capabilities.
Reliance MediaWorks operates BIG Cinemas, India’s largest cinema chain with over 530 screens spread across India, the US, Malaysia, Nepal and The Netherlands. The company, with operations across India, the US, the UK and strategic partnerships in Russia and Japan, has a significant presence in film and media services including motion picture processing, film restoration and image enhancement, digital mastering, studios and equipment rentals, visual effects and 3D, animation, broadcast and TVC post production and offers a digital network tapeless solutions from origination to post-production to play-out.
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