Joint Venture firm to invest Rs 100 crore in entertainment sector in South India

KOCHI: A joint venture of brand consultant and infrastructure firm is planning massive investment in the entertainment sector in South India. This includes production and distribution of films and setting up a series of multiplex screens in smaller cities and towns.

Push Aeon Consortium formed by Push Motion Picture Company & Aeon Entertainment aims at investing Rs 100 crore in production and distributions of films in four South Indian languages this year.

Push Motion Picture Company is floated by Push Integrated Communication, a brand and celebrity management firm while Aeon Entertainment is an arm of infrastructure and development firm Aeon Infrastructure.

"We have lined up 5 to 6 film projects for the year of which at least half will be bilingual films. Simultaneous shoot of the films can help to cut cost and get wider exposure," said V A Shrikumar, chairman & MD of Push Motion Picture Company, who will lead the consortium.

The consortium plans to put together a team of upcoming as well as established directors and crew, talented script writers and technical team for the film projects. "The shooting of first film, a bilingual in Tamil and Malayalam, directed by Sri Ramana will start in February," he said.

The consortium will set up ten multiplex screens across South India by the end of 2018. This will be increased to 50 by 2020. "We are looking to build mini malls including restaurants, banks and retail shops, in tier 2 and 3 towns starting from Kerala. Each screen may involve an investment of Rs 2 to 2.5 crore," Shrikumar said.

In Kerala, it has shortlisted towns like Manjeri, Perumbilavu, Palakkad, Ottapalam, Mannarkad, Nilambur, Valanchery, Thalassery, Vadakara and Sulthan Batheri for multiplex screens.