Bollywood cornered a major share of Industrial Development Bank of India's financing to the film sector, with a total of 23 Hindi movies receiving the institution's funding till now.
Officials said IDBI has sanctioned Rs 166.10 crore (Rs 1.661 billion) to the film industry, after it began lending to the sector in mid-2001.
The Mumbai-based financial institution has disbursed Rs 79.55 crore (Rs 795.5 million) for 28 films, out of which 23 were Hindi movies, the officials said.
After the Hindi movies, only the Tamil and Telugu film industry took advantage of the emerging concept of film financing by the banking sector. While three Telugu movies received funding from IDBI, only two Tamil films got the funds.
Though film financing is considered very risky, IDBI's record has been very encouraging, the officials said.
For instance, out of a total of Rs 79.55 crore disbursed to the film industry, IDBI has been able to get repayment to the tune of Rs 59.15 crore (Rs 591.5 million), they added.