Viacom18 Studios Chief Ajit Andhare Reveals Growth Strategy After Trio of Hits (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Naman Ramachandran Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Viacom18 Studios has just delivered three back-to-back theatrical hits in India.

Now it has plans for further expansion in the market. The company distributes all Paramount titles in India and scored a success with “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One,” which grossed $16 million in the country.

Viacom18 Studios also co-produced and distributed Karan Johar’s “Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani” and “OMG 2,” headlined by Akshay Kumar. “Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani,” a star-studded romcom that addressed a number of Indian societal issues, opened shortly after the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon and grossed $21.7 million in India with a further $20 million overseas. “OMG 2,” a rare blend of religion and sex education, released alongside the juggernauts that are Rajinikanth’s “Jailer” and Sunny Deol’s “Gadar 2” and held its own, grossing $20 million in India and a total of $25.3 million worldwide. “Everybody has become a little reductionist in the film industry now – globally, the general sense is that these large scale action or spectacle films or whatever moniker you give it, that’s the only way to get people to theaters.

That’s generally the maxim, which is ruling various places, be it Hollywood be it here. That kind of thinking doesn’t help creativity a lot, because everybody is going and thinking only one direction,” Viacom18 Studios COO Ajit Andhare told Variety.