Aries Group initiating formation of consortium to set up high end screens in India

The company expects around 2,000 investors to join and total investment required is $10 billion

Dubai-based Aries Group of Companies is initiating setting up of a consortium of corporate firms and non-resident Indian (NRI) investors under a project to build 10,000 high quality cinema screens in various parts of the country. The project is estimated to require an investment of around $10 billion in five years.

In an event to be held from September 24-27 in Hyderabad, it is expected that around 2,000 companies which are being briefed about the plans, will meet to finalise the project, titled Project Indywood, said Sohan Roy, founder chairman and CEO of Aries Group of companies. The group also owns a multiplex in Thiruvananthapuram with 4k technology. Roy is listed as the 40th top Indian business leaders in The Arab World in 2016, by Forbes Middle East.

"We have invited the top companies from various industries, who can put in the money which could be similar to their corporate social responsibility spent for the cause. The mode of investment and other details will be discussed in the Indywood Film Carnival we organise in September in Hyderabad," he said.

The plans would be to establish 10,000 new 4K Projection Multiplexes and another one lakh 2K Projection Home Cinemas, Film Studios, Animation/VFX studios and Film Schools conforming to international standards. Roy said that the quality of cinemas in the country is catching up the growing international industry standards and this is affecting the industry as a whole.

"When the first part of Bahubali was released there were very few screens available to show it at that quality. Now, we are expecting there would be around 300 screens with this technology when the second part of the film would come out," added Roy.

Commenting on the plans of Aries Group in near future, he said that the company is in talks with ed-tech firm Byju's to launch a new education programme, in which the lessons will be visualised in high end technology and shown in its 4k screen in Aries Plex, in Thiruvananthapuram.

The company will develop the content along with the education firm and will be shown in the morning slot of 7-11 am, for which it would tie up with various schools to sell the tickets. He said that the company can also sell copies of the content it generates to other theatre owners, if they are interested to cash in the opportunity.

The Group is also working on a movie Burning Well, based on the Kuwait war, in several languages including English and Arabic, at an estimated cost of $25 million (Rs 168 crore)