ADAG likely to buyout Karjat movie studio

Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG's) is believed to be in advanced negotiations with film director Nitin Desai to acquire either a majority stake or a complete buyout of his movie studio - N D Studio, located in Karjat (near Mumbai).

If the deal gets through, this will fill in a major gap in ADAG's overall strategy to enter the film business as unlike other big production houses, such as Yash Raj Films, it does not have a movie studio to produce films.

The sprawling 52 acre, two-year-old N D Studio is equipped with two state-of-the-art studios, outdoor locations and make-up rooms.

Currently, Ashutosh Gowariker's Jodha Akbar, starring Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai, is being shot there. Earlier, Madhur Bhandarkar's Traffic Signal and Endemol's popular reality show, Big Boss, among others, were shot there.

A Reliance ADAG spokesperson declined to comment on the issue. Nitin Desai's was also not reachable. Nitin Kulkani, an executive with ND Studio said, "We are unaware of the development. But, call Nitin Desai later."

ADAG has positioning itself as a one-stop entertainment giant with footprints in the entire TV, cinema and exhibition space.

Currently, the company's film production, distribution and exhibition businesses operate under Adlabs Films, in which it had bought a majority stake from Manmohan Shetty and his family earlier.

The company also runs FM radio business. It is also setting up a company, Big Motion Pictures, which will foray into movie production.

Adlabs Films has recently produced Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag which released last week. This year it will have two more releases Johnny Gaddar and God Tussi Great Ho. Also, it has signed nearly six film projects with filmmakers for its new arm, Big Motion Pictures.

Through Reliance Entertainment, the group runs its home entertainment business under the Big Music label for audio and Big Home Video for DVD/ VCDs. It has recently launched BigFlicks.com, the online and retail video rental business.

The group is also making a foray into TV business and is expected to roll out entertainment as well as news channels as part of forward integration. ADAG has also received permission to roll out its direct-to-home channel.