The Hindu Business Line : Bollywood producers entering pre-sale deals to derisk business

NEW entrants into Bollywood are seemingly profit-savvy as is evident in Balaji Telefilms Ltd's plan to sell its films before the completion of the projects.

Television software producer Balaji Telefilms, which has embarked into film-making, is in talks with various entities including broadcasters to enter into pre-sale deals for its first film.

Negotiations for pre-sale deals have commenced even before the first scene of the film is shot. This is being done to de-risk its film business.

This method of pre-sale deals before the completion of the film is usually possible for big names - Subhash Ghai or Yash Chopra - in the Hindi film industry. Typically, the deals commence once the post-production work is completed.

Balaji Telefilms has embarked on two projects - first of these to be directed by Partho Mitra of Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki and second to be directed by Sanjeev Sivan.

The first project, which is yet to be named, will include Aftab Shivdasani, Himanshu Mallik and Natasha. The Rs 3.5-crore project will be funded entirely through internal accruals. The second project at a similar cost is likely to include Dino Morea and Udita Goswami.

According to a company official, both the projects are slated for release around August-September 2004.

The company's move into film production is primarily meant to de-risk its business model. Within the television software business, it has commenced the process of diversifying into other genres. "Our core focus will remain on social drama," said an official of the company.

Currently, Balaji Telefilms has 10 programmes in Hindi, two in Telugu and two in Kannada. During the fourth quarter of the fiscal, the company is expected to improve its top line as two of its weekend shows — Kayamat and Koi Dil Mein — have commenced in December 2003.

The company has reported a net profit of Rs 43.07 crore for the nine-month period ended December 31, 2003 against Rs 45.45 crore in the year-ago period.

It is also in the process of producing programmes for Times channels, MTV and UTV's Hungama.

Mid-Day Multimedia Ltd, yet another entrant into film-making, has opted to release its first film Black Friday initially in the overseas markets before an Indian release. This method of release is to ensure that losses if any are kept under control. The success of this film will be the deciding factor for Mid-Day getting into this business.