Value blockbuster

ENTERTAINMENT: Pritish Nandy Communications gets its brand valued, a first-ever in the film industry.

Besides awaiting the release of Just Married, a film starring Fardeen Khan and Esha Deol, directed by Meghna Gulzar, Pritish Nandy Communications (PNC) has done something that no other Indian production company has done so far.

PNC engaged Brand Finance (India), a UK-based brand valuation consultancy, to provide an independent valuation of the company's branded business.

"Brand valuation like this helps stakeholders in our company understand the intangible assets of PNC," says Pritish Nandy, founder.

For the purposes of valuation it was assumed that the definition of brand includes trademark together with intangible assets and intellectual property rights (IPR) that help produce its "associated goodwill".

"There was a risk in case the company had undervalued us, we would've had to to answer some hard-hitting questions from our share holders," says Nandy.

The process started six months ago with Brand Finance (India) getting in touch with actors, distributors, multiplex owners, audiences "" "everybody involved in the business of Indian films in some or the other way," Nandy explains. Based on the responses, Brand Finance provided an independent expert opinion that the PNC's business value is Rs 265.3 crore.

"We are happy with the results. Our company is associated with new generation films in a budget bracket that varies from Rs 5-40 crore," says Nandy. "This gives a thrust into diverse revenue possibilities for the production house to go forward." While the past five years have witnessed stable revenues for PNC, the forecast indicates a higher growth possibility of 27 per cent over the next five years.

In the process of raising funds through debt and equity funds, PNC will be releasing three films in 2007, including Just Married, Meera Bai Not Out (a cricket film that will release to coincide with the World Cup, and have a cameo by Anil Kumble), and Bow Barracks (starring mother-daughter duo Lillete-Neha Dubey, Moonmoon Sen and Victor Banerjee).

The company, known for films like Jhankaar Beats, Hazaaron Khwaishen Aisee and Pyar Ke Side Effects, will dip its hands in the mammoth Sahib, Biwi aur Ghulam).

There are talks of a sequel to Pyar Ke Side Effects, besides PNC's first Bengali film by Rituparno Ghosh called Khela. By next year, the company hopes to release 6-7 films. That's quite a handful.