Tollywood eyes big ticket releases in 2008

Tollywood is likely to see at least five multi-lingual movies in 2008 and investment in excess of Rs 50 crore.

With 10 movies slated for release this year, Tollywood in 2008 is ready to see actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Priety Zinta, Arjun Rampal, Jaya Bachchan, Sameera Reddy, and others, working across English, Bengali and Hindi dialects.

According to industry bodies, with producers such as Saregama Films, Planman Motion Pictures, BAG Films, Adlabs, and Moxie Entertainments, Tollywood box office is expected to rake in over Rs 70 crore this year.

According to a spokesperson of Eastern India Motion Pictures Association, till 2007, Tollywood would make movies with a budget of Rs 1 to Rs 3 crore, with one or two exceptions a year which would be made with a budget of Rs 8-12 crore.

Directors like Rituparno Ghosh and Goutam Ghose are among the fore-runners in making multi-lingual movies with budget in excess of Rs 10 crore, primarily with Bollywood stars.

Movies like Raincoat and Chokher Bali, directed by Rituparno Ghose, and Yatra directed by Goutam Ghose, are reportedly made with a budget of Rs 8-12 crore which was recovered within the first one month of their respective release dates.

In sync with the trend, 2008 will also see at least five multi-lingual movies with an average budget of Rs 8-10 crore per movie.

For one, Rituparno Ghosh-directed 'The Last Lear' is slated for February release. Made with a budget of Rs 11 crore, the movie casts Amitabh Bachchan, Priety Zinta, Arjun Rampal, Shefali Shah, Divya Dutta, and home-grown Prosenjit and Jisshu. Produced by Planman Motion Pictures, The Last Lear is Bachchan's first film in English quoting Shakespeare and mouthing Bengali words.

Rituparno Ghosh and Planman Motion Pictures are also making 'Sunglass', starring Konkona Sensharma, Jaya Bachchan, R Madhavan, and home-grown Tota Roy Chowdhury. The movie has a mix of Hindi dialogues between Konkona and Madhavan, and Bengali dialogues between Konkona and Tota.

A third movie by Rituparno Ghosh - 'Khela' - stars Manisha Koirala, Prosenjit and Raima Sen.

Saregama Films, at the same time, has signed on Aparna Sen to make 'The Japanese Wife', a Rs 8 crore movie, slated for release this year.

Moxie Entertainments- the new Kolkata-based production house- is making not one but two Hindi films out of Kolkata. The first, Via Darjeeling, an 'unconventional suspense drama', being directed by one of the creative minds of Bengal- Arindam Nandy (creative head of Response, an ad agency) is under production and the second, called BBD, being directed by actor-director-singer Anjan Dutt will go on floors in March.

At the same time Adlabs Films will produce Jayabrata Chatterjee-directed 'Lovesongs "� yesterday, today and tomorrow' that stars Jaya Bachchan, Om Puri, June, Doel Basu and other Tollywood stars.

The movie will be co-produced by Handmade Films & Inner Eye Communications. Slated for February release, the movie revolves around Jaya Bachchan, who is a grandmother when she meets Om Puri, her old flame.

Satyajit Ray's son Sandip Ray is also shooting 'Tintorettor Jisshu', produced by R D Bansal. The film was abandoned midway in 2006. The remaining portions is being shot in January. The film stars Sabyasachi Chakraborty, Parambrata, Bibhu Bhattacharya and Tota Roy Chowdhury.

Buddhadeb Dasgupta, another reputed Tollywood director is making three movies this year with an average budget of Rs 2 crore.

These include 'Ami Yasin Aar Aamar Madhubala' which would be produced by BAG Films, 'Swapner Din' being produced by Jhamu Sughand, and 'Kalpurush' that stars Rahul Bose, Mithun Chakraborty and Sameera Reddy.