Deepak Dhar, CEO and MD Endemol India, spoke to Divya Kaushik about promoting debut directors and fresh ideas under their film arm, Eyedentity Motion Pictures
What we heard last from him was that Endemol India is planning to transform its popular reality show Bigg Boss into a feature film for theatrical release. It was reported that the script is almost final and the hunt for director is on. The movie based on the reality show will also be translated into regional languages.
Deepak Dhar, CEO and MD of Endemol India, says that they have plans to promote stories with universal appeal under their film arm Eyedentity Motion Pictures, which released Anaamika directed by National Award-winning director Sekhar Kammula recently. On what kind of stories are they looking forward to promote under Eyedentity Motion Pictures, Dhar said, “We are not looking at presence of stars in a film or specific genres. We are looking at strong stories irrespective from where they are coming. lines between regional cinema and Hindi film industry are already blurring and we are seeing a lot of exchange of ideas and stories happening already. A lot of talent is moving from one industry to the other, which is a very positive sign. We are targeting interesting stories with mass appeal.”
Endemol India ventured into Hindi film production with the remake of Malayalam blockbuster Traffic, starring Manoj Bajpayee and Jimmy Shergill. Eyedentity Motion Pictures marked its entry into regional cinema with Anaamika (Telugu and Tamil), an adaptation of blockbuster Kahaani.
“Eyedentity Motion Pictures aims to bring great stories, adapted and original, to Indian cinema audiences on a national and regional platform. Anaamika is a great example of a content driven, innovative story. Adapted by Sekhar, who has given us blockbuster hits like Happy Days and Anand, this suspense thriller will keep the tension tight with frequent volte-faces and unexpected twists that differ from the original story. The stellar performances by the ensemble cast are sure to keep the viewers on the edge of their seat. The movie features Nayantara in the lead role,” said Dhar.
Endemol India partnered with Fox Star Studios for Traffic and now they will co-produce the sports drama Warrior in Hindi for the Indian subcontinent with lionsgate. “All studios recognise that they need best of creative talent to create a film for the Indian audience, who are exposed to great variety and brilliant concepts. We have been stressing on quality since beginning. To talk about Warrior, sports drama has always kept the Indian audience hooked. Action-filled and emotionally powerful with themes of forgiveness and the enduring bonds of family, Warrior will be a quality film made with top-of-the-line production values that we believe will strike a responsive chord with the Indian audience,” said Dhar.
Endemol India is known for its popular reality shows on TV like Bigg Boss and Fear Factor. As a production house, Dhar says that their philosophy of “creating different content for mass entertainment” won’t change.
“Even when we are working on films, we are sensitive about the Indian culture and the taste and preferences of the audience here. We are taking risks and there are some interesting things in pipeline,” said Dhar.