After a strong showing at the National Film Awards for Queen and Mary Kom , production and distribution house Viacom 18 Motion Pictures is keen for a repeat performance this year with a strong slate of Hindi, English and regional films.

Ajit Andhare, Chief Operating Officer of Viacom 18 Motion Pictures, said: “Last fiscal has been a profitable year which was led by a carefully driven slate of films. Our strategy has worked both in terms of creative returns, because of the audience appreciation, as well as financial returns.”

Though he did not reveal specific figures, Andhare said: “We are focusing on making films which are economically favourable but also finding great connect with the new age audience. With our unique slate of films, there is a strong drive towards shoring up our bottom line.”

The production house has already released three movies this year which include Dharam Sankat Mein , Gabbar is Back and Margarita with a Straw . The company has three-four additional Hindi movies in the pipeline, which includes projects such as Ajay Devgn starrer Drishyam and Pyaar Ka Punchanama-2 . The company also has a strong slate of English movies with films like Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation and the next instalment of Terminator, set for release this year.

“We also have plans to launch four-five regional movies in Marathi, Kannada and Bengali. The idea is to leverage our network’s broadcast assets besides tapping into the regional theatrical box office,” Andhare said.

About the strategy behind Margarita with a Straw , Andhare said: “The real purpose of making this movie was to make a project which is made in India but can be sold to global markets and be the global face of Indian cinema with its sophisticated story telling. In fact, the India theatrical release is just the first leg of the movie’s revenue cycle. We have sold the movie’s rights in 22 countries and it will be released across various markets in the next few months.”

On satellite rights, Andhare said only integrated studios with a strong broadcast arm are able to leverage on satellite rights at the right price. But the industry has not yet seen price recovery on the satellite rights front. However, he said with the launch of 4G and emergence of strong digital platforms, the film industry will in the future see digital rights as an important revenue stream.

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