First in series of 3D films - "Haunted" - set for world wide release on May 5, 2011

Number of 3D screens dedicated to Indian content anticipated to rise to 1,200 in the next two-three years in India and the GCC

Dubai/Mumbai, April 19, 2011: Indian film industry is betting big on a new 3D trend and production houses are consolidating their mettle to leverage the new wave, with two leading production houses - BVG and DAR - joining hands in a landmark partnership to roll out trendsetter movies in this category.

BVG and DAR, the latter spearheaded by a Dubai-based entrepreneur, unveiled its plan to invest AED 80 million in producing a pipeline of 3D movies in the next two to three years, with the first production - Haunted 3D - all set for worldwide release, including in Dubai, on May 5 2011. The film will play in a total of over 20 screens in the GCC, including 3D and conventional 2D.

The foray into the 3D movies by the production houses follows an extensive research among audience with a majority of respondents voting for the format.

`Haunted,"  India's first stereoscopic film shot entirely in 3D, directed by Vikram Bhatt, is expected to be a milestone in the Indian film industry for its out-of-the-box theme and maverick execution by Bhatt, well known as a master craftsman in the Horror genre. The remaining two movies in the BVG-DAR deal will be edge-of-the-seat action thrillers.

BVG Films (BVG) is a division of ASA Productions while DAR Motion Pictures (DAR) is the film entertainment division of DAR Media Private Limited, a DAR Capital Group Company, with offices in India and across the world including in Dubai. The partnership of BVG and DAR is also joined by the world's largest satellite delivered digital cinema network UFO Moviez India Limited (UFO).

Announcing the partnership, Vikram Bhatt, Movie Director and Board Member ASA Productions said: "A new industry is emerging and this is the dawn of that industry. When various disciplines of the movie making business come together nothing can keep the industry from growing from strength to strength. This is the big coming together of Production, Distribution and Exhibition companies to keep the 3D space alive and kicking!"

"This partnership is a gigantic step towards fast tracking the Indian 3D revolution," said Arun Rangachari, Chairman, DAR Capital Group. "There is no doubt that 3D films are the future not just internationally but in India as well. Given our complete belief in this technology and the chicken and egg situation between the film exhibition and distribution fraternity and producers in India with regards 3D films, we decided to take the plunge with Vikram and UFO, another partner who shares similar views on the 3D outlook."

While BVG & DAR will be spearheading the production and marketing effort, UFO will pioneer the effort in increasing the 3D compliant theatres in the country from the current 130 odd screens to around 250-300 screens for the Haunted 3D release in May 2011. By the time of release of the third movie of this consortium the expected number of 3D screens in India is anticipated to rise to approximately 1200 screens.

Commenting on this significant association, Mr. Kapil Agarwal, Joint MD, UFO Moviez India Ltd said: "We at UFO Moviez are committed to enhance the country's 3D footprint and being a pioneer in this industry's technological revolution, we are focused on bringing in this next wave of change through our innovative business model designed around state-of-the-art 3D digital cinema systems with satellite based delivery to theatres across the country. This initiative of partnering with DAR Motion Pictures and BVG Films, is an important step in our strategy to leverage the future growth potential of 3D technology. UFO's thought leadership and innovation seeks to deliver great services that will provide wider access to audiences to compelling content, whenever and wherever."

Haunted 3D, the Sub-continent's first new wave 3D stereoscopic film will feature the latest digital 3D cinematography and projection techniques seen in Avatar (2009), the James Cameron blockbuster that created box office history and popularised the new format worldwide. Furthermore, filmed by the well-known 3DCC's international team of technicians, including Brent Robinson, Christan Jeams and Cassidey and Micheal Reuben Flax, who have worked on the 3D and horror genre in Hollywood films like Resident Evil - the Afterlife, Saw 7, The Incredible Hulk, etc., the film has been shot with the crew's custom 3D stereoscopic digital motion picture camera system and rigging.

-Ends-

About BVG Films (A Division of ASA Productions and Enterprises Pvt. Ltd):
The raison d'etre of ASA Productions & Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. is to give a great idea the execution it deserves. With Vikram Bhatt, who has directed hit films such as Ghulam, Raaz and 1920 at the fore on the creative and business front, our journey in the entertainment industry began long before it was established in 2006. 

At ASA, we want to strive to make the new ideas come alive. We want to create brands that exemplify great music, define visual presentation and technical brilliance. Our ventures and projects are grounded in this vision, not limited by production of only feature films. Thus, we are simultaneously embarking on aggressively setting up additional business verticals in Entertainment, commencing with Music, Home Video, and Television. ASA has been engaged in the distribution of music & home video in India and will now include motion films for theatrical, non-theatrical and broadcast distribution.

It was launched to fill a gap in the market to spearhead a thrust into the entertainment industry of the largest film making country and aims at being a full service distribution company representing programming for both the domestic and international marketplace, including cable, satellite, free TV, video-on-demand, broadband, Internet, educational and home video/DVD. ASA plans to obtain distribution rights of Indian & foreign films. 

About DAR Motion Pictures:
DAR Motion Pictures (DARMP) is the filmed entertainment division of Dar Media Private Limited, which forms part of the global investment advisory and private equity firm, DAR Capital Group. Established with a firm commitment to develop a range of quality cinema projects in Hindi and other regional languages of India, DARMP aims to take full advantage of the tremendous interest and passion that the country's cinema has generated across the world.

DARMP aims to indigenously conceive and develop bench-mark creative concepts, utilize the best available technical and artistic expertise, deploy comprehensive marketing best-practices and utilize a host of innovative and focused content delivery channels, to reach out to audiences not only in India but globally.

DARMP maiden bi-lingual production (Hindi version titled 'City of Gold', Marathi version was titled 'Lalbaug Parel') received an outstanding response from both critics and audiences. DARMP has developed a production slate of 11 film projects, several of them in multiple languages through 2012.

About UFO Moviez India Ltd.
UFO Moviez, founded by the Valuable Group and jointly promoted in association with Apollo International Limited, is the largest chain of satellite based digital cinemas in the world with close to 2500 theatres across India, including 35% of Multiplex screens. UFO Moviez downloads digitally mastered high quality movie images through satellite directly to cinema halls facilitating wide release of any film without any additional cost in prints for content owners and unprecedented viewing pleasure to movie viewers alike and has till date screened almost 7 Million shows all over India and has released over 3100 movies till date in 23 languages. UFO has revolutionized the way films are distributed and exhibited in India through its pioneering technology and infra-structure. UFO Moviez envisages a 'FIRST DAY FIRST SHOW' regime for film distributors and cinema owners across the country. UFO Moviez has been providing its technology solutions to quality conscious Indian audiences. UFO also demonstrated its capability of showing live IPL matches in cinemas across the country, both in 2D as well as 3D. Currently, UFO is the market leader in digital cinema market with close to 80% of the total market share.

For further information please contact:
For ASA Productions and Enterprises Pvt. Ltd
Jaymin Panchal / Alekhika Tripathy
+919323431343 / +919967589847

For DAR Motion Pictures:
Ashish Raikar / Aarti Jadhav
+919820234202 / +919819993075

For Universal Communications:
Parag Desai / Kavita Prasad
+919820062082 / +919867860167

© Press Release 2011