Mr Purohit was not willing to divulge details on the cost of acquiring the movies. "The investments required will be generated internally", he said. He added that recovery for this investment would start from 2002 onwards.The first set of movies is scheduled to go on air from April 2001. "We have already had primary talks with ATN World and ATN Bangla to telecast these movies", he said.

He added that proposals also have been offered to these channels. Warner will also be approaching ETV Bengali shortly. On the time slot, Mr Purohit said the movies will be telecast in the afternoon followed by a repeat telecast.

Warner Multimedia, initially, will acquire the rights to movies made by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and that of the leading Tollywood director, Bimal Roy. Mr Roy will also be directing two Bengali serials - Pratibad and Adhikar to be produced by Warner.

Warner Multimedia to acquire satellite telecast rights of 100 Bengali moviesThe satellite rights to these movies will be acquired for a five-year period. Mr Purohit did not rule out the possibility of acquiring rights to more movies. "This will depend on how the first set of movies perform", he said. The movies to be telecast will consist of classics and social dramas. He elaborated that a large chunk of these movies were still in the negative form and will have to be worked on if they were to be telecast.

Warner Multimedia produces two Bengali serials - Sanket and Chorebali - which are on air. Other television plans on the anvil include serials on the music heritage of India and travel destinations.

The company also has music interests where it will be launching eight albums. This will be in the devotional and folk categories to cater to the markets in Bengal and Rajasthan. A recent foray has been in the area of streaming videos for which Warner has entered into a tie-up with Allied Technologies Inc. Warner, eventually, proposes to integrate its music and video operations to offer a comprehensive entertainment package.