Vivah becomes first Indian film to premiere on internet

New Delhi, Nov 10: Even as it releases in cinema halls across the country and the world today, Sooraj Barjatya's 'Vivah' will also become the first Indian film to premiere on the internet.

In an unprecedented move, the Rajshri Group will make the eagerly awaited movie available online simultaneously on the day and time of its theatrical release.

'' Beginning tomorrow, at 1200 hours, 'Vivah' will be available on the internet in both streaming and download versions, at a cost of 9.99 US Dollars per download,''Rajjat A Barjatya, son of filmmaker Sooraj Barjatya and the managing director of Rajshri Media, the digital and entertainment arm of the Rajshri Group told mediapersons here.

However, wrapped around the downloaded file will be a unique DRM software which prevents the film from being copied on a DVD or a VCD, a measure designed to prevent piracy of the film.

The release of 'Vivah' on the Internet is part of an initiative to launch Rajshri.com, a website from where net surfers can stream and download hundreds of full length feature films including blockbusters like 'Phir Hera Pheri', 'Hera Pheri', 'Amar Akbar Anthony', 'Ek Duje Ke liye', 'Love In Tokyo', 'Hum Aapke Hain Kaun' and many move.

Also available on the net will be film and non-film music videos, concerts, humour clips, short films and documentaries licensed from the most respected individuals and organisations in their fields.

''Vivah will be the first Indian film to premiere on the Internet.

Conceptually, it is the first initiative of its kind not only in India but also in the world,''Rajjat said.

Released on the Internet will be three versions of 'Vivah' - the Hindi theatrical version, the Hindi theatrical version with English subtitles and its Telugu version, 'Parinayam', which is being released in theatres across Hyderabad.

Consumers will be offered options to stream the movie on their Personal computers (PC) or download the movie with a limited 72-hour license. Consumers can further choose to stream either high or low bandwidth versions of the movie, depending on the speed of their broadband connectivity.

''Vivah's premiere on the Internet marks the beginning of a new era in film distribution in Bollywood. It is a giant step in the field of digital entertainment in India which promises to put the power of what you watch, when you watch and which device on which you watch it in the hands of the consumer rather than the broadcaster. The initiative enables a consumer to watch a movie at a time and date of his convenience by just clicking the mouse,''Rajjat said.

''Broadband, or digital media as it is commonly called, is rapidly making inroads into the homes and lives of Internet users Worldwide, predominantly in the developed economies. No longer restricted to text and graphics, broadband opens up a hitherto unexplored and unimaginable universe of multimedia, video content, interactive in nature, which a user can access and pay for from his PC at a time of his/her choice on demand,''he added.

The initiative is aimed at millions of non-resident Indians settled across the Globe, most of whom do not have the opportunity to watch the film at a theatre. ''With this move, we are hoping to reach out directly to almost 25 million Global Indians around the World, most of whom do not have the opportunity to watch the latest Bollywood films at the theatres with even the DVDs of the films hitting the market at least two months after the film's theatrical release,''Rajjat said.

The aim of the initiative is to distribute content that showcases Indian entertainment, the treasure of Indian wisdom, 5000 years of Indian heritage (history, culture and knowledge) to the World.

''For the Global Indians, the desire to connect with the Indian culture and its tradition is very strong.

In this context, 'Vivah' is an ideal film to start the service as it is so Indian,''he said. In the near future, Rajshri also hoped to attract the millions of non-Indians across the Globe to the service.

''There is a growing interest in Indian entertainment among non-Indians with an estimated 25 million non-Indians today consuming Indian content on a regular basis which is sure to give a major fillip to the digital revolution in India,''Rajjat said.

While ten per cent of the content available for download on the website would be films from the stable of Rajshri including blockbusters like 'Hum Aapke Hain Kaun' and 'Maine Pyar Kiya', the rest of the 90 per cent would be films from other production houses.

Rajjat, however, dismissed apprehensions that the move to make available Bollywood movies on the Internet would affect theatrical collections of the films.

'' I firmly believe that the experiences of watching a film in a cinema halls cannot be replicated by watching it on any other medium, be it Television, Internet or mobile. Rather, the proceeds earned from screening the film on the net will only complement earnings from screening it in other mediums like theatre, TV, DVD and mobile, Rajjat said.

Rajjat said that with the convergence of technologies, the same content could be made available on the cell phones and TV sets.

''With billions of dollars being poured into research and development and with continuous hardware and network upgradation in progress, next generation mobile phones are evolving into smart phones - personal devices with capability of handling voice, data, interactivity and infortainment. With digital media, networks and devices slowly but steadily gaining critical mass around the World, the day and age of on-demand content is round the corner,''Rajjat added.

UNI