Owing to huge corrections happening in the market, high production costs are likely to keep the buyers away, feel Manish Dutt and Krishi Dutt, Directors at VR Films & Studios, which is the first dubbing company in India to be listed on BSE SME platform and is looking to play a larger role in the industry in coming years
Manish Dutt along with his brother Krishi Dutt runs India’s biggest dubbing company, managing over 900 artistes who lend their voices in several languages to keep his pipeline engaged. Even after clocking 50,000+ hours of dubbing and witnessing 80 percent year-on-year growth, Manish’s VR Films is hungry for more.
“India is emerging as a hub to dub for Hollywood and European language
films,” says Manish, Managing Director, VR Films. “We are positioning ourselves to be a one-stop shop for all dubbing and sub-titling requirements. Our dubbing company is making Hollywood in India.” VR Films is a “Limited” company now… with shares listed on BSE SME Platform first dubbing company in India and second in the world to achieve this.
Yes we are back from AFM. The market was very slow with not so interesting content. There is a huge correction happening in the market. Buyers are very price sensitive at the moment, a fact which the sellers/content creators are beginning to realize. Anything overpriced remains unsold. It is high time content creators and sales companies get realistic on the production costs, as high costs will keep the buyers away. I have never seen sellers requesting buyers to help them out and were willing to cut their asking price by 50-60%. It is an interesting phase where long-term players and actual buyers will only co-exist.
Co-production tie-ups and sourcing/funding interesting scripts at the Film Bazaar Producers Lab is our main focus. There are lots of interesting projects being pitched. If the price is right and expectations are reasonable, it can be a fruitful market.
We are working on a few projects at the moment. These include an international co-production in English to be shot in Ukraine. We are negotiating acquisition of another international project (Academy Awards and Golden Globe nominated film) remake in Hindi for the Indian audience. Also in development are a few scripts. We are looking to start production in the third quarter of 2020. But it depends on the scripts getting locked and availability of cast accordingly.
Dubbing and localization services are doing extremely well at the moment.
There is a huge demand for localization due to the OTT platforms and quest for maximum reach by all concerned platforms. Besides, just the three popular local languages — Hindi, Tamil, Telugu (for Theatrical)– there is a huge demand for localization in Native English, Kannada, Malayalam, Bangla, Marathi, Urdu, and Bhojpuri on digital platforms.
Sub-titling and close captioning is another service getting very popular with the OTT platform majors.
International content is getting dubbed/ localized in the above-mentioned languages for sure. For the global market, Indian content besides the local language is getting dubbed in international languages as well as Mandarin (Putonghua), Spanish, Thai, Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Malaysia, etc, to name a few.
2019 is a milestone year for VR Films and Studios Limited. Getting listed on BSE SME platform (oversubscribed 1.70 times) was a dream come true. Being the first dubbing company in India to be listed is a big achievement. Feel happy to have unlocked our assets and created wealth for our investors with double the listed price in a short span of five months. With this exposure, we are looked upon as a serious player in the market and are the first choice of clients for localization.
Suddenly we realize it has been a long journey from a single dubbing studio to 65+ studios across India attached to us clocking 400+ odd hours of dubbing per month and with over 50,000+ hrs dubbed exposure since the year 2000; it surely is a huge achievement.
We have a three-year plan to work on… We will add up a few more studios in Bengaluru (around 5 studios) for Kannada dubs. We also plan to roll out at least two Hindi film productions every year starting 2020, besides our Hollywood acquisitions (10 -12 films a year). Plans are afoot to start our own Pay/Free TV and integrated OTT platform. In 2022, we plan to migrate to NSE Main Board and get listed among the major players to supplement and fund our activities multi-fold.
A challenging vision, but true to our name Visual Reality, ‘We Visualize You
Realize.’
Highlights
CII BIG PICTURE SUMMIT 2012: Growth Triggers From Ronnie
Uday Shankar forms New Tech and Media Venture with James Murdoch
CII Seeks Industry Status for M&E in Union Budget
15 Films Compete for Golden Peacock at #IFFI51
Top IFFI Picks: Another Round, Mehrunisa, Wife of A Spy
Hybrid IFFI From January 16
51st IFFI Will Capture New Narratives in Cinema
What Media Guru Amit Khanna Said in CII BIG PICTURE SUMMIT 2012
LATAM Market Ventana Sur from November 30
Blue Efficience Roped in For Ventana Sur
Films to watch @ Ventana Sur
India Rolls out Red Carpet to Foreign Filmmakers
Ramesh Sharma’s New Documentary Film on Gandhi at AFM
The Warrior Queen of Jhansi at AFM
With Film Visa, Global Producers Can Now Shoot in India
www.cinemarket.io – Buy, Sell & Engage
Embracing Cinema Through Screens of all Sizes
Nomadland wins People’s Choice at Toronto
MIPCOM 2020 Goes Entirely Online
South Korea will be MIPCOM 2020 country of honor
India, the Window of Opportunity
Get Ready for Hybrid IFFI
Film Making Centres of India
Get Your Film Take Wings at Virtual Film Bazaar
Make at least Ten co-productions in a year
Filmmakers Should Make use of India-Canada Treaty
TIFF: The Show and Business Goes on
Navigating Toronto Film Festival and Industry
Make in India, Show the World
Be Part of the Pickle India Focused Toronto Edition
ads2OTT set to Launch in Oct 2020
MovieSaints to release Memories of a Forgotten War
Truth Is Dead
Submissions Open For Berlinale Co-Production Market
Gender Equality-Berlinale Eliminates Silver Bear for Best Actor and Best Actress
All3Media, A+E Networks, BBC Studios, ZDF Join MIPCOM 2020 Global UPFRONTS Lineup
NürnbergMesse’s Content India Show from October 29-31
Berlinale 2021 Will be a Physical Festival; EFM in Hybrid Format
Best of 2020: A Dazzling Dozen
Striking the Right Chord
Ishaan Khatter looking ‘beyond clouds’ with promising upcoming projects
IFFI 2020 Adopts Hybrid Online-Physical Edition
India Unbound
20 Films That Make us Believe Freedom is Priceless
Krishna Janmashtami Special
National Education Policy: Game Changer
18 Must-See Films at Venice 2020
Ayushmann Turns Athlete
Indian Trio in Venice
Blockchain: The Future is Now
Not right time to open cinema halls: Ravi Kottarakara
Meet, ERICA. AI Actor in a SCI-FI Film
Vidya Balan Set to Shine as Shakuntala Devi
Straight Answers From Alexander Shulgin
Content is king for Saregama’s Yoodlee
Nuggets From Animation Thought Leaders
NYIFF Takes Virtual Route
From The Heart Of Disney
New Model of Filmmaking in India
My Journey: How I Did It
Animation in the Age of Art & Tech
Gaurav Banerjee: Star Unveiled
FDI cap of 26% for News Aggregators Under Consideration
The Changemaker
COVID-19 has Accelerated Digital Shift Towards Across Sectors
No Business as Usual for Film Industry
What’s Wrong With our News Media Today ?
The Fire Inside Regina
Gaming Industry Braves Covid
Disney +Hotstar Leads the Disruption
Taapsee’s takes on OTT, Nepotism & Covid
Oscar Invites QUBE’s Senthil Kumar to be its Member at Large
What’s New Search Engine Neeva Can Do That Google Cannot?
The New Oscar Award Date April 25, 2021
India to Offer Incentive Package for Film Shoots and Co-Production
Strings of Genius
A Ray That Still Lights The Way
Best of the Cannes Official Selection 2020 Films
Most Awaited Films of India
56 Films: Cannes Reveals 2020 Lineup
The Making of Cannes 2020 Film Selection Process
Cannes Virtual Film Market Extends Earlybird Registration to June 12
Take a Look at Annecy Competition Lineup
Getting Back to Business, Reveals Media Consumption Pattern
Cannes 2020 to Announce Festival Selection Lineup on June 3
20 Work in Progress Tiltles Unveiled for Goes to Cannes
Annecy VR Works Selections for Digital MIFA Market
Film Bazaar’s Work in Progress Films from India Goes to Cannes Virtual Market
Navigating Virtual Cannes Film Market 2020
Meet the Streamers: HBO Max & Quibi Keynotes at Cannes Virtual Film Market
Dedicated Cannes XR Virtual Edition from June 24-26
Screen Moms; Best Movies to Stream on Mother’s Day
Vijay Deverakonda: The Lovable ‘Rowdy’
Sai Pallavi: Natural Beauty is a Natural Actor Too
Cannes Virtual Film Market Registration Opens May 13
COVID-19: Nuggets from Netflix’s Ted Sarandos on Filming and Safety Protocols
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan is New Sensation in Netflix Original Series Never Have I Ever
The Best Movies of 2001-2019 Not Streaming in OTT Platforms
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Best Movies of the New Millennium Streaming Now
Best Movies of the New Millennium Streaming Now
Best Movies of the New Millennium Streaming Now
Best Movies of the New Millennium Streaming Now
Annecy Unveils Virtual Film Festival and Market in June
Roskino to Host Russian Virtual Digital Content Market from June 8
27 Rishi Kapoor Films to Stream at Home Now
Virtual Nab Show Express will Take Place May 13-14, 2020
51 International Film Festival of India, Goa ( 20 -28 November, 2020)
Films to Watch in 2020
Christopher Nolan Films Tenet in Mumbai
A Call From Uttarakhand For Filmmakers Of The World
FFO Rolls Out Red Carpet For Foreign Filmmakers
INDIA@BERLINALE-Indian Cinema’s Voices Emerging
51st IFFI TO Mark Satyajit Ray’s Centenary Celebrations
Infusing Life With Dubbing AT VR Films & Studios
Sailing well in Animation Waters
Berlinale 2020: India’s Laila Aur Satt Geet Selected for ‘Encounters’ Section
Prateek Vats’ Eeb Allay Ooo! in Berlinale Panaroma
Berlinale Shorts: Ekta Mittal’s ‘Gumnaam Din’ to showcase of pain of separation
Berlinale Talents: Seven Indians Make It to the List
My Salinger Year is the Opening Film at 70th Berlinale
GET READY for EUROPEAN FILM MARKET 2020
BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL 2019 WINNERS
Berlinale Forum Celebrates Golden Jubilee in 2020
Berlinale 2020 Poster Unveiled
British Actor Jeremy Irons Will Be the Jury President of Berlinale 2020
Amit Khanna: The Renaissance Man
Fantastic Friend
THE MEDIA GURU-AMIT KHANNA
STRAIGHT ANSWERS FROM AMIT KHANNA
THE DEFINING DECADE -THE 1990s
10 Achievements of Amit Khanna
Reflections on Amit Khanna
Valuable Moments
India Enchants John Bailey
The Big Bachchan of Bollywood
ETERNAL SUPERSTAR: RAJINIKANTH
IFFI 50 & Fantastic-Lifetime Achievement Award to Isabelle Huppert
INDIA’S FLAGSHIP FILM FESTIVAL TURNS 50
BACK IN BUSINESS WITH A BANG
GET THE BEST OUT OF FILM BAZAAR 2019
Transforming Hollywood from pixels to voxels
Government of India committed to Safeguard IP content: Commerce Secretary
Must do Things at AFM
Why India Attracts Foreign Filmmakers
Pickle at MIPCOM 2019
INDIAN COMPANIES AT MIPCOM
Super Audio: Licensed to Thrill
Jungle Book Season 3 Ready
Issuance of VPL in India
Editor’s Note: 44th Toronto International Film Festival Pickle Sept 2019 Edition
The OSCAR RACE begins HERE…
Seven Indian Indie Filmmakers To Watch
Indian Cinema Of Today: A Culturally Responsive Artifact
Indie Resurgence
Indian Films At Toronto a Sparkling Quartet
IFFI Matters @ 50
Four Indian Films at the Toronto International Film Festival 2019
India Pavilion at Toronto International Film Market 2019
Made in Afghan Film ‘Hava, Maryam, Ayesha’ To Compete at Venice Festival
Keerthy Suresh: The Mahanati of Mahanati. Best Actress, National Film Award
Uttarakhand Bags National Award for Most Film Friendly State
66th National Film Awards Winners for 2018
Watan Adds Colour to Indian Independence Day
dream hampton and Brie Miranda Bryant to Feature in MIPCOM’S Women in Global Entertainment Lunch 2019
Making a Song and Dance of it
NFDC Invites Applications for Production of Films in Indian Languages; Deadline September 8, 2019
IFFI Calls for Entry for Indian Panorama in 50th Edition
Ease of Filming in India
Come, Film In Inida
Why TikTok wants to invest $1 billion in India?
Priyanka Chopra’s The Sky is Pink Set to Premiere in 2019 Toronto Internaitonal Film Festival’s Gala Section
Gitanjali Rao’s Animation Feature Bombay Rose to open Critics’ Week at Venice International Film Festival
76th Venice International Film Festival to Open With Hirokazu Kore-eda’s ‘The Truth’
Indian Cinema’s Soft Power Misses the Mark in Nirmala Sitharaman’s Maiden Budget Speech
Shahid’s Kabir Singh Becomes Top-Grossing Film of 2019
Finance Minister Proposes FDI Norm Relaxation in Media
Media & Entrtainment as Champion Sector Figures in the Economic Survey 2018-19
Indian Cinema’s Steady Rise on Global Stage
Glimpses of the future
IFFI Marching Towards 50th Edition
Cannes or Netflix? Is Netflix an acceptable remediation for Cannes’ decades-long little regard for Indian Cinema?
Play Small & Live Long Did Wonders for Me
US SVoD Subscriptions Likely to Reach 208mn in 2023
Making Filming in India More Easy
Pickle October 2013 Edition
Adding Colour to Content
Pickle Feb 2018 Berlinale EFM Edition