MUMBAI — Relativity Media has revealed a slew of plans for the Indian market as part of its wide-ranging deal with B4U Network.
Delivering the keynote at Indian entertainment industry conference FICCI Frames that began Wednesday in Mumbai, Relativity CEO Ryan Kavanaugh said that first up would be three to five remakes a year of Relativity’s U.S. titles in the Tamil, Telugu and Hindi languages, suitably adjusted to suit local sensibilities.
Apart from the previously announced Bollywood remake of “The Best of Me”, part of a three film deal with India’s Balaji Telefilms, Relativity has announced a remake of Kevin Costner starrer “3 Days to Kill”, casting for which has already begun in India.
In addition, Relativity will remake upcoming summer release “Masterminds”, starring Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson and Kristen Wiig.
Kavanaugh also revealed that the B4U remake of another Relativity title, “Oculus”, is already in production. Titled “Zahhak”, the film is directed by Prawaal Raman (“404: Error not Found”) and toplines Huma Qureishi (“Gangs of Wasseypur”).
While not making an official announcement, Kavanaugh and B4U CEO Ishan Saksena also said that they were in discussions to shoot the entirety of the “Immortals” sequel in India, with an Indian star in a major role.
The Relativity-B4U combine will also distribute films from other studios in India. An agreement has been concluded with EuropaCorp for Indian distribution of their titles.
The combine also plans to target India’s 70 million smartphone users with content aimed at them.
“The Indian content engine must be made here in India, and we want to help build it,” said Kavanaugh.
