Bollywood invades the mobile screen
The GSM Association (GSMA), together with Indian content developer Hungama Mobile and global roaming provider Roamware, announced Monday a partnership with film maker Sanjay Gupta to create three Bollywood short movies for mobile devices.
Slated to screen at this year's 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona--which runs from Feb. 12 to 15--the made-for-mobile movies form part of a new Mobile Bollywood Initiative designed to bring the buzzing Indian film industry into the mobile entertainment space.
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Bollywood, the world's largest movie industry, produces more than 1,000 movies a year and boasts a global audience of more than 2 billion viewers across 127 countries, including USA, the UK, Germany, Australia, South Africa and Singapore.
And with the rising number of mobile subscribers in Asia-Pacific, film makers like Gupta are viewing mobile devices as another platform to spread Bollywood's influence in the region.
The film-maker, who is well-known for directing several Bollywood blockbusters like 'Kaante' and 'Musafir', said in a press release: "Bollywood is a massive presence in the world movie industry, and South Asia represents the fastest growing mobile market in the world."
"Our project 'Dus Kahaniyah' has been made [specifically] with the mobile and digital medium in mind," added Gupta, referring to one of the three mini movies slated for screening at the 3GSM premier.
Craig Ehrlich, chairman of the GSMA, described the Bollywood community as "representing some of the most creative, vibrant and diverse talent in the movie world".
"We are delighted to be able to showcase these extraordinary films in Barcelona and we are very excited by Roamware and Hungama Mobiles' commitment to bring the spectacle of Bollywood to mobile phones--the fourth screen," said Ehrlich in the same press statement.
"In doing so, we hope to catalyze a truly compelling mobile entertainment experience for mobile users globally."
Farihan Bahrin is a freelance IT writer based in Singapore.