HBO brings The Mummy trilogy in Hindi; season two of Sex and City in June

The idea behind the Hindi dubbing of popular Hollywood trilogy The Mummy is to “thank the Indian viewer”, and make HBO relevant to non-regular viewers

The first reaction to HBO's announcement of airing The Mummy trilogy (on the channel) in Hindi is one of complete bewilderment. Why would a 24-hour English movie channel decide to feature a three-installment Hollywood blockbuster dubbed in Hindi, when HBO loyalists in India view the channel for its all-English content? Will the move set a precedent, and will the channel subsequently dilute its English fare to broadbase appeal, are questions that swarm in the mind.

But company brass is quick to assuage all such concerns, adding that the idea behind the Hindi dubbing of the popular trilogy is in no way a means of testing the water for the potential of dubbed Hollywood movies on HBO. "This is a one-time offering from HBO… just our way of thanking the Indian viewer, and in the event, making the channel relevant to the non-regular HBO viewer," says Shruti Bajpai, country manager (India), HBO South Asia. Branded as the ‘Maha Family Event of the Year', the first movie in the trilogy, The Mummy, would premiere on April, 25, 2004, with The Mummy Returns and The Scorpion King being aired on the subsequent Sundays at 2.00 pm. "The only mileage that we hope to get is encouraging the family-viewing experience. There are no sponsors or advertisers for the trilogy," Bajpai clears all doubts emphatically, insisting that the Hindi dubbing is one-off that will have no bearing on the channel's programming strategy in India.

In addition to the trilogy, HBO is launching the second season of HBO Original series, Sex and the City, in June, 2004. Prior to the premiere of the second season of Sex and the City, the channel will air a re-run of the first season, starting 25, April, 2004. The channel also has a special line up for the summers - under its ‘Summer is HBO' programming initiative - and beginning April 2004, the channel promises 12 weeks of entertainment. "‘Summer is HBO' is a specially-created destination comprising tailored entertainment offerings that cater to different tastes of Indian viewers," states a channel communiqué. "With the colossal annual offering ‘HBO Summer Action Marathon', two ‘Big Ones' that include Men In Black II, 30 episodes of the world-wide cult HBO Original series Sex And The City, nine huge Saturday and Sunday night blockbusters, five popular movies as part of ‘HBO Sizzling Nights' and four blockbusters as part of ‘HBO Kids Summer Action', there is something for everyone as part of ‘Summer is HBO'."

Under HBO Summer Action Marathon 2004, HBO is screening 16 action movies from Monday to Thursday, all through the month of May. Black Hawk Down, The Matrix, Eraser and Terminator 2 are some of the movies in the line-up. And after Spider-Man in January, in May the channel has a ‘Big One' in Men In Black II, and another in Spy Kids III in June.

As part of the ‘HBO Original Movies', Emmy Award-winning drama Hysterical Blindness (directed by Mira Nair of Monsoon Wedding fame) and the critically acclaimed Live From Baghdad are scheduled for airing. Coinciding with the school vacations, HBO Kids Summer Action will offer movies such as Hank Ketcham's famous comic strip big screen makeover Dennis The Menace, and comedy House Arrest. © 2004 agencyfaqs!