UK's Langhard to invest $20 million in Divinity Studios for Indian content

Langhard Ltd will be headed by Terry M. Rigarlsford, known for his work on Hollywood action blockbusters such as Die Another Day, The Bourne Ultimatum and Oceans Twelve as risk management specialist. He comes with over 20 years of experience in the film and TV industry.

“We are excited about our new venture in India as it vastly expands our content-led approach, strengthening our studio’s proposition and audience engagement globally," Rigarlsford said in a statement. “We are certain that with Langhard’s backing and global reach we will set new benchmarks in the industry. We are looking ahead on creating inspiring and distinctive content for the Indian diaspora across the world," he added.

The newly launched entity created as a result of the joint venture aims to specialize in development, acquisition, production, distribution, and sales of entertainment content within India and around the world, the two companies said in a statement. They are looking at developing, producing, and distributing five to six movies each year, in the country and across the globe.

Langhard and Divinity Studios had been in talks to start a JV even earlier this year. While the terms of agreement had been finalised by March, the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic delayed the signing of a formal agreement. Divinity has appointed film producer, distributor, marketing expert and trade analyst Girish Johar as chief executive officer.

“India is an extremely exciting market with a host of avenues, opportunities and most importantly, an experimental and diverse growing audience. In this country which has a lot of compelling stories to tell, our focus will lay in specializing in development, acquisition, production, financing, co-partnering, distribution and sales of entertainment content worldwide," Johar said in a statement.