Ultra Group, a pioneer in the domestic home video sector, is planning to list itself on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) by the second quarter of 2009.
The capital raised from the listing will be invested in the regional movie-production business which it is entering in 2008. The company is foraying into the production of Marathi and Gujarati films and will be producing around 10 films including one small-budget Hindi film. In 2008, the total investment in film production will be to the tune of Rs 20 crore and will increase by 150% in 2009.
Sushilkumar Agrawal, managing director, Ultra Group, told FE, “In the last few years, regional language cinema has grown exponentially.” For example, in the Marathi film industry where a producer spent an average of Rs 15 – Rs 30 lakhs for a film, the expense now ranges to anything between Rs 50 lakh – Rs 1 crore. Even the number of films produced per year has gone up.
In 2005, around 30-35 films were made, in 2006 it increased to 50-60, In 2007, there were around 90-95 films and in 2008, the number is slated to be than 100. “However, there is a lack of good content,” added Agrawal.
In 2008, Ultra will invest in six Marathi movies, three Gujarati movies and one movies in Hindi. In 2009, the company plans to increase the number to 12-15 movies in Marathi , 5-6 movies in Gujarati and 2 Hindi movies. The company will also enter the Rajasthani movie market in 2009. Among regional languages, movies in Bhojpuri have even witnessed rapid growth. “But the return on investment in Bhojpuri is very low,” said Agrawal.
Besides this, the company is also entering the film-merchandising business and is in discussion with Yashraj Studios for their forthcoming venture with Disney. The company is in discussion with various international media houses for merchandising rights. Ultra also makes movie-toys at a production unit in Dadar. The company has made toys for movies including Koi Mil Gaya, and Love Story 2050. The company also plans to enter into distribution of regional language cinema. Production of content regional language television, especially in Marathi, is another sector that Ultra plans to foray into.