Fox Star Studios signs two-film deal with Vipul Shah

Televisionpoint.com Correspondent | Mumbai
Fox Star Studios, the 50:50 joint venture between Twentieth Century Fox and Star TV, has signed a two-film deal with producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah of the Namaste London and Singh is Kingg fame.

Vipul Shah will make a visual effects-driven fantasy action film and a contemporary romantic comedy for Fox Star. The VFX event film will be supported by a team of top visual effects directors from Hollywood and supervised by Fox's in-house visual effects team.

Jim Gianopulos, chairman and CEO, Fox Filmed Entertainment, said, "Fox will bring its financial strength, marketing and distribution abilities to the joint venture and exploit the local creative talent. We are delighted to announce our creative partnership with Vipul Shah. His talent and demonstrated understanding of Indian audiences, together with our Studio's marketing and financial expertise, will provide audiences of Indian cinema with films that will set new benchmarks in India and around the world."

Vipul Shah said, "I am extremely excited to work with Fox Star Studios India. I have always believed in growing and surprising my audiences with every film I work on. The new deal gives me the opportunity to develop innovative concepts and work with the best talent to create films that will appeal to audiences around the globe."

Said Sanford Panitch, president, Fox International Productions, "We are excited about this first step in our growth and are committed to building relationships in Bollywood with like minded producers and we hope to add value to the creative production process – by bringing the latest VFX and animation technology to Bollywood productions."

Paul Aiello, CEO, Star TV, said, "As the leading broadcaster in India, Star fully understands the importance of partnering with inspired local talent in order to build a strong connection with the audience. e are thus very happy to join hands with leading producer Vipul Shah who has a well established track record of producing high quality box office hits."

"It is just amazing how Indian cinema has continued to reinvent itself and is today the best expression of popular Indian culture. The Indian film industry is expected to double over the next five years — from $ 2.4 billion in 2007 to $ 4.4 billion in 2012. So there is tremendous opportunity to grow.", said Vijay Singh, CEO, Fox Star India.

Fox Star Studios will distribute its own films in India and abroad. Later, Fox Star will make films for Indonesia, China and Korea.