Anil Ambani's Reliance Entertainment to partner with Phantom Films

The Reliance Entertainment and Phantom Films joint venture plans to develop and produce at least 5 to 6 films every year

Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Entertainment today said its film production and distribution business will partner Phantom Films, a company formed by leading directors Anurag Kashyap, Vikas Bahl, Vikramaditya Motwane and Madhu Mantena.

The two will form a 50:50 joint venture to create a powerful new force in Indian cinema, Reliance Entertainment said in a statement.

"The proposed combination will leverage the proven creative and production capabilities of the Phantom team, while enjoying access to the established domestic and international sales and distribution infrastructure of Reliance Entertainment," it said.

The Reliance Entertainment and Phantom Films joint venture plans to develop and produce at least 5 to 6 films every year, apart from distribution of films in India and overseas, and syndication of rights from the over 175 films strong library.

Reliance will own 50 per cent shareholding of the combined business, while the balance 50 per cent will be equally held among the four promoters of Phantom Films.

The day-to-day operations of the Joint Venture will be managed by Phantom Films.

Amitabh Jhunjhunwala, group managing director, Reliance Group, said, "This partnership is in line with our evolving strategy in the media and entertainment business, of aligning with like-minded people who are trail-blazers in their own field, and playing the role of supportive investors on our part."

Reliance's network includes the wide reach of IM Global, a Reliance Entertainment company based in Los Angeles, with operations in North America, UK and Europe, Asia Pacific, China and Latin America.

"Phantom Films will also be in a position to leverage the world-class and world-leading capabilities of the recently announced Reliance MediaWorks-Prime Focus combination in digital, visual and special effects, pre and post-production, physical studio, etc., with facilities in Mumbai, London, Los Angeles, Vancouver, etc., and including Double Negative, the UK-based digital and visual effects powerhouse, a two time Academy Awards winner for its work in Inception and Interstellar," it added.

Reliance Entertainment has produced, distributed and released more than 170 films in multiple Indian languages, including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Bengali.

It includes highly successful commercial films like Singham, Singham Returns, Bodyguard, Don 2, 3 Idiots, Singh is King, Sarkar, Guru, Attarintiki Daaredi (Telugu) and Singham (Tamil).