Sony Pictures to distribute Meerabai Not Out
It's a good innings for Pritish Nandy Communications' forthcoming Mandira Bedi-starrer, Meerabai Not Out [Click for stills]. Just when the buzz said the film would probably never see the light of day, comes the announcement that Sony Pictures has acquired worldwide distribution rights of the film. Deborah Schindler, President, Sony Pictures International Motion Picture Production Group in New York announced the new development ahead of the film's summer 2008 release.
Not only that, DQ Entertainment, an internationally known animation and entertainment player, has acquired a 50 percent stake in Meerabai…. This is a first for the animation company, which is currently working on some of the world's biggest animation projects. PNC and DQ Entertainment are all set to pool their expertise to make animation and live action movies for a worldwide audience.
Pritish Nandy, Chairman, PNC, said, "This is a breakthrough production and we are delighted to take it global through Sony Pictures and DQ Entertainment."
Meerabai Not Out is directed by Chandrakant Kulkarni, with a screenplay by Soumik Sen. It stars Mandira Bedi (who else?) as a brilliant maths teacher obsessed with cricket.
Said Schindler, "We could not be more excited to partner with Pritish Nandy and DQ Entertainment on this enchanting romantic comedy. This acquisition is precisely the kind of strong material that is the cornerstone of our local language initiative."
Tapaas Chakravorty, Chairman and CEO, DQ Entertainment, said, "Smart films like this excite us because we believe this is where the future of Bollywood lies and PNC caters to this need well. The fact that a studio of the stature of Sony Pictures has acquired the film for global release shows the kind of credibility that Indian cinema has now acquired. We will add value to such films by bringing in our expertise in animation, gaming and other spin-offs."
Uday Singh, Chief of Sony Pictures in India, was of the opinion, "This is the first of several movies that we want to do with PNC... Sony has several established platforms in India in television, theatrical distribution, music and home videos… We intend to put all these behind the film and make it one of this summer's biggest attractions."
Bowler Anil Kumble makes his Bollywood debut, as himself in the film. The other debutant is TV star Eijaz Khan. The film also stars Anupam Kher and Mahesh Manjrekar. Sandesh Shandilya, who had earlier composed for PNC's film Chameli, scores for Meerabai as well.
