Concept forays into entertainment; launches Concept Productions

Concept Communications, which has interests in animation and special effects via a joint venture with filmmaker and screenplay writer Ketan Mehta (the outfit is called My Entertainment), has forayed into entertainment in its latest bid to conquer new avenues. The group, whose turnover from advertising and PR stands at Rs 75 crore, has launched Concept Productions with a single-point agenda of capitalising on the growing opportunities in the entertainment sector. "Packaging and promoting an entertainment product is crucial to its success," says Vivek Suchanti, managing director, Concept Productions. "Using our expertise in the required areas, we hope to give audiences a taste of good production values and healthy entertainment," he says.

The company is set to release two movies and a play in the month of November titled Ek Din 24 Ghante, Jodi Kya Banayi Wah Wah Ramji and Uncle Samjha Karo. Ek Din, starring Nandita Das and Rahul Bose, is a co-production with Channel Nine. The film has been directed by the late Anant Balani and has "a unique storyline".

Jodi Kya Banayi, on the other hand, is a comedy featuring Paresh Rawal, Amarr Upadhyay and Gulshan Grover. Anand Raaj Anand has composed the music while Times Music is set to distribute it. The movie will be released on November 14, a week after Ek Din is released on November 7.

Meanwhile, Uncle Samjha Karo, a Hindi play starring Vrijesh Hirjee and Shweta, will be staged on November 1. Apart from these ventures, Concept has three movies under production, one of which goes by the title of 3 Large 1 Small. Suchanti claims that the company is on the lookout for a sponsor for this film primarily in the areas of publicity and in-film placements. "However, we are looking at a fit in terms of the client and product," he says.

The next rung in Concept Productions' evolution will be distribution, which will happen next year. "We hope to add distribution by the second half of next year," says Suchanti. In the pipeline are plans to not only distribute in-house ventures but also external projects.

Regarding its production initiatives, the company intends having three to five releases a year. "Though churning out is the essence, we will be choosy with our projects focusing on good scripts," he says. "At the same time, a movie with a big star cast is ruled out since it would entail prolonging the duration of production on account of availability/non-availability of dates of stars and so on," he adds.

The company will work within "deadlines and budgets" and hopes to achieve a turnover of close to Rs 20-25 crore in the first year of operations. "This is minus our distribution initiative," says Suchanti. "With distribution, our turnover will dramatically go up," he adds. © 2003 agencyfaqs!