DAR Capital Group, a global investment advisory and private equity firm, plans to launch a Rs 250 crore 'film fund' for investing in Bollywood and regional cinema in the country.
The fund, to be launched in the second half of the year, will invest across regional cinema like Tamil, Telegu and Bengali, besides Bollywood.
"The fund would be about the size of Rs 250 crore and would be launched in H2 of this year. We already have received commitments from HNIs and large companies for about Rs 120 crore and DAR would also invest some amount as the anchor investor," DAR Capital Group (DCG) Chairman Arun Rangachari told PTI.
The fund would also be used for investing in alternative content like gaming and sports, he added.
DAR Capital-owned Entertainment and Sports Direct had also won a 10-year theater rights for the Indian Premier League.
DGC works through its Mumbai-based subsidiary DAR Media, which plans to produce a minimum of 11 films by 2012. These films, budgeted between Rs 15-20 crore each, will also be in various languages.
"This is a separate investment being made by the group and the profits from one film would be used for the next production," he said.
The company has already signed a three-film deal with filmmaker Mahesh Manjrekar and is also currently in the process of negotiating with at least two other filmmakers, he said.
"Our overall investment strategy is of identifying and investing in strong content. The regional cinema market has been constrained in its growth but it also offers a better recovery model and involves a much lower investment risk," Rangachari said.