Religare, Vistaar join hands - launch Indias First Film Fund

Chennai, March 4, 2008. Religare Enterprises Limited along with Vistaar Entertainment Ventures today announced the launch of the "Vistaar Religare Film Fund" (VRFF), India's first ever film fund. VRFF will be India's first regulated film fund and the AMC Vistaar Religare Capital Advisors Limited, has filed for an approval with SEBI as a Venture Capital Fund (VCF). The Fund shall, in the first round, have a corpus of approximately Rs. 200 crores and would be close-ended in nature with a lock-in of 5 years.

The Vistaar Religare Film Fund would be a first in market product and would invest in film projects in India and Overseas. The fund shall focus on providing new talent a platform for equality of market exploitation. The Fund will focus on "The Business of Show Business..." and provide ample opportunity for new directors, talent and writers. With a strong investment committee, the key to success is the choice of strong scripts that shall be the touchstone of the funds investment strategy. The attempt will be to create a scenario that offers viewers more choice of selection and looks beyond the traditional "Star" system.

Commenting on the launch, Mr. Sunil Godhwani, CEO and MD, Religare Enterprises Ltd said, "We have always believed in innovations and for us spotting new opportunities for creating and maximizing wealth for our investors is a constant. This Fund will be yet another step from our umbrella in that direction and it's a strong combination of sharp, seasoned financial minds along with experienced and innovative minds from the business of entertainment and films."

Echoing Mr. Godhwani's sentiments in the same breath, Mr. Sheetal Talwar, Chairman & Managing Director, Vistaar Religare Capital Advisors Ltd, commented, "India has always had an immense depth of undiscovered talent. The Vistaar Religare Film Fund will aim to capture this remarkable but untapped potential within the country and produce entertaining, challenging, culturally relevant cinema - cinema with a soul. We will identify and promote new talent, be it directors, writers, technicians or actors and with a partner like Religare, we feel we have a winning formula."

About Vistaar Entertainment Ventures

Vistaar Entertainment Ventures is the holding company of The Friday Fund and WSG Pictures. Their first film venture "Dharm" (2007) redefined the economics of film making in India by recovering its production costs from non traditional theatrical territories. Vistaar Entertainment Ventures is driven by the belief that the Indian Film Industry has to gain its rightful place in world cinema and that shall happen by utilizing the depth of talent that exists in the Indian marketplace, along with creating production processes, financial systems and marketing & distribution that are transparent, mutually beneficial and innovative.

Vistaar Entertainment Ventures has been promoted by Sheetal V Talwar, a well regarded Banking and Marketing Professional with over 13 years of corporate experience. The company is co-promoted by a like minded set of creative thinkers, financial professionals and entrepreneurs like Mr. K. L. Muralidhara, the former Country Head of American Express in India and one of the best known professionals in the retail financial services business and Peter Anshin of AEFA amongst others.

About Religare Enterprises Limited

Religare is one of the leading integrated financial services institutions in the country today, backed by a blue chip promoter pedigree and a proven track record. All its businesses are broadly clubbed across 3 key verticals, the retail, institutional and wealth spectrums, catering to a diverse and wide base of clients spread across the length and breadth of the country. Structurally all business are operated through various subsidiaries held through the holding company Religare Enterprises Limited, which recently concluded its resoundingly successful public offer.

The company offers a diverse bouquet of services ranging from equities, commodities and insurance broking to wealth management, portfolio management services, personal financial services, investment banking and institutional broking services. Religare's retail network spreads across the length and breadth of the country with its presence in more than 1300 locations across more than 400 cities and towns. Religare has also successfully partnered with Aegon, one of the global leaders to launch Life Insurance and Mutual Fund products in India and with Macquarie, for a wealth management joint venture.

The vision is to build Religare as a globally trusted brand in the financial services domain and present it as the 'Investment Gateway of India'. All employees of the group, currently more than 8,500 in number, ceaselessly strive to provide financial care driven by the core values of diligence and transparency.