Fox signs Bollywood deal

2008-10-04 21:44

New Delhi - Twentieth Century Fox announced on Saturday it had struck a multiple movie agreement with a top Indian producer, part of a Hollywood trend to reach out to Indian cinema.

Fox STAR Studios, owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, said it had clinched the deal with Indian producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah, one of the most successful producers in Hindi-language cinema.

Shah's talent "will provide audiences of Indian cinema with films that will set new benchmarks" in India and globally, Jim Gianopulos, chairman of Fox Filmed Entertainment, said in a statement

Shah's hits include Namastey London and Singh is Kinng.

Twentieth Century Fox and the Star entertainment and media group announced last month the formation of Fox STAR Studios to produce Asian-language films for worldwide distribution.

The Fox STAR Studios India deal includes the development and production of a visual effects-driven fantasy action movie and a contemporary romantic comedy, the statement said.

The pact is part of a move by Hollywood studios to team up with Asian producers to tap new local language audiences. Sony Pictures and Walt Disney have concluded similar pacts in India.

The Indian film industry is expected to nearly double in size over the next five years from $2.4bn in 2007 to $4.4bn by 2012 so "there is tremendous opportunity to grow," said Vijay Singh, chief executive of Fox STAR Studios India.

Fox STAR Studios said it would first work in India and would soon expand into China and southeast Asia.

In India, the tie-up is part of a growing trend for corporatisation of the Indian film industry and a reflection of Bollywood's increasing appeal outside its traditional market to a wider audience, particularly the Indian diaspora.

- AFP