Balaji Motion Pictures
 | |
| Private | |
| Industry | Entertainment |
| Founded | 2001 |
| Founder | Jeetendra |
| Headquarters | Mumbai, India |
Key people |
Jeetendra Shobha Kapoor Ekta Kapoor |
| Products |
Films Music |
| Owner | Jeetendra |
| Parent | Balaji Telefilms |
| Subsidiaries | ALT Entertainment |
| Website | Balaji Motion Pictures |
Balaji Motion Pictures is an Indian film production and distribution company established by Jeetendra. Based in Mumbai, it mainly produces and distributes Hindi films. Key people involved are Jeetendra's wife Shobha Kapoor and daughter Ekta Kapoor.
Operations
Balaji Motion Pictures is based in Mumbai in the Balaji House on New Link Road, Andheri West, Mumbai. It operates from its head office in Andheri West and has studios in Film City and other locations in Mumbai. In terms of studio facilities, Balaji Motion Pictures is one of the largest film productions houses in Mumbai.
History
Balaji Motion Pictures (Balaji Films) was set up in 2001 by Hindi television producer Ekta Kapoor with the purpose of venturing into film production. She produced Kyo Kii... Main Jhuth Nahin Bolta, released in 2001 with Govinda and Sushmita Sen as the leads. The film was not a success, collecting ₹13 crore (US$1.9 million).[1] Later, the company produced Kucch To Hai, Krishna Cottage and Koi Aap Sa in 2003, 2004 and 2005 respectively. The movies did not fare well at the box office. In 2005, the company produced and released Kyaa Kool Hai Hum, which grossed ₹21.5 crore (US$3.2 million)[2] and made it to the top three films of 2005.[3] In 2007, the company co-produced Shootout at Lokhandwala with Sanjay Gupta. The film was a critical and commercial hit,[4] collecting ₹68.17 crore (US$10 million) worldwide.[5] In 2008, the company produced and released C Kkompany, which was a commercial and critical failure. In the same year, the company co-produced Mission Istanbul and EMI – Liya Hai Toh Chukana Parega with Sunil Shetty. Both films failed critically and commercially.[6] Also in 2008, the company acquired the distribution rights of Bhool Bhulaiyaa[7] and Sarkar Raj with a deal of almost ₹40 crore (US$5.9 million).[8] The film were both commercially success thereby marking a step further of Balaji. In 2010, the company sub-branded ALT Entertainment, a youth focused brand and produced a low-budget movie, Love Sex aur Dhokha,[9] which proved to be a critically and commercially successful film.[10] In the same year, the company released Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai, which was also a commercial and critical hit.[11] The films also marked the company's successful entry in the films.
In 2011, the company marked its entry into Marathi films by producing Taryanche Bait.[12] The film was a critical and commercial hit[13] and also won many accolades including three awards for Best Film.[14] The company also released Shor in the City, a small-budget critically acclaimed movie.[15][16] The same year also saw the release of Ragini MMS, co-produced with Amit Kapoor and Sidhartha M. Jain. The response to the movie fetched Stardust Award for Best Film and Ekta Kapoor announced the sequel of the film soon to be released in the year 2013 starring Indo-Canadian star Sunny Leone.[17] Later, In the same year, the company released The Dirty Picture starring Vidya Balan as lead on 2 December 2011. The film proved to be a huge Blockbuster and was one of the best films of 2011 thereby winning Vidya Balan her first National Award and all other awards of 2011 for her performance and six awards for Best Film. In the Year 2012, the company released first ever seen Adult Comedy Kyaa Super Kool Hai Hum, sequel to 2005 hit Kyaa Kool Hai Hum which was slammed by critics but was a Box Office Success thereby made at a Budget of ₹13 crore (US$1.9 million) and collecting ₹33 crore (US$4.9 million) itself in its first week.
In 2013, the company released its Horror Film Ek Thi Daayan, co-produced with Vishal Bhardwaj. The film received mostly positive response. It was well-accepted by critics and received 3 out of 5 on an average. Jinson John of Indian Box Office also stated "Ek Thi Daayan is not that regular Bhootiya Isshtoorry, the plot stands out of them all, it's surely is an Experimental Plot, but not written by an Idiot." The film opened Ek Thi Daayan opened at around 30-40% occupancy with better opening in multiplexes rather than single screens netted around ₹18.07 crore (US$2.7 million) over the first weekend. In May 2013, released by the company was Shootout at Wadala. The film opened with great reviews from many quarters. Bollywood Hungama, rated the film with 
stars whereas The Times of India rated it with 
stars.[18] Made on the string Budget of ₹26 crore (US$3.9 million), the film grossed ₹54.6 crore (US$8.1 million) worldwide. The film was declared Average by Box office India. In July 2013, the company released Lootera, starring Ranveer Singh & Sonakshi Sinha as leads. The film opened with best reviews from many critics. Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama rated the film with Stars, describing "On the whole, LOOTERA is an intrinsically earnest and profoundly heartwarming story that stays in your heart. An absolute must for those who love romantic films or are romantic at heart. This one's a cinematic gem!".[19] Raja Sen of Rediff.com rated stars and noted, "Lootera is a gorgeous, gorgeous film, one that uses its period setting affectionately, with loving detail, and not exploitatively, as our cinema is wont to do."[20] Meena Iyer of The Times of India assigned the film Stars and noted, "Lootera is a love saga of yore." She added, "You may find this film boring if state-of-the-art, slow romance is not your idea of a movie outing."[21] The film was made on the Budget of ₹27 crore (US$4.0 million) and netted ₹38 crore (US$5.6 million) worldwide in its lifetime .[22] In August 2013, the company released Once Upon ay Time in Mumbai Dobaara! the sequel to one of its most successful film, Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai.[23] The film opened with mixed reviews from all the critics and was also slammed by many critics for its poor drafting and execution of story line.[24] The film was made on the high Budget of ₹85 crore (US$13 million) to ₹100 crore (US$15 million) and collected ₹70 crore (US$10 million) worldwide, thereby contributing the loss and was declared "Flop". In 2014, On February 28, the company released Shaadi Ke Side Effects starring Farhan Akhtar & Vidya Balan. The film opened with positive reviews from various quarters and collected ₹5.7 crore (US$850,000) on its day one. The film went on to gross ₹21.2 crore (US$3.2 million) in its opening weekend. The film grossed ₹70 crore (US$10 million) worldwide during its lifetime run and was declared "Below Average" by Boxoffice India.[25] In the same year, On March 21, the company released Ragini MMS 2 starring Sunny Leone, the sequel to yet another successful film of the company Ragini MMS. Made on the budget of ₹18 crore (US$2.7 million), the film opened with mixed reviews from the critics and went on to collect ₹65 crore (US$9.7 million).[25] The film was a major commercial success and was declared "Hit" by Boxoffice India.[26]
On April 4, 2014, the company released Main Tera Hero starring Varun Dhawan as the protagonist, directed by David Dhawan. The film released with positive reviews from critics. Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama rated 
Stars, & wrote "On the whole, Main Tera Hero is a wild, wacky, madcap entertainer that has the unmistakable stamp of the master of entertainers -- David Dhawan. An over the top plot, humor quotient and performances are three aces the film stands on. The film should work well with admirers of typical Bollywood masalathons, also because Varun Dhawan pulls off the act with flamboyance and bowls you over with an uproarious act in this zany entertainer. Go, have fun and laugh out loud!".[27] Srijana Mitra Das of The Times of India gave the movie stars saying, Main Tera Hero is a pav bhaji picture, quick, spicy, hot. It has the depth of a comic strip but it also has its neon-shaded fun. For those who want a light laugh, here's your boy." Made on the budget of ₹42.5 crore (US$6.3 million), the movie went on to collect ₹77 crore (US$11 million) worldwide[25] and was declared "Hit" by Box office India. On May 30, 2014, the company released small Budget film Kuku Mathur Ki Jhand Ho Gayi which was co-produced by Bejoy Nambiar. The film opened with mixed reviews from critics and also failed to collect at Box office. The film collected a mere ₹3 crore (US$450,000) from Boxoffice thereby recovering its costs. In June 2014, the company released Ek Villain co-starring Sidharth Malhotra & Shraddha Kapoor. The film opened with positive reviews from its critics. Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama awarded the movie 4/5 stars and wrote that, "On the whole, Ek Villain is a stylish, spellbinding and terrifying edge-of-the-seat thriller. It's a step forward in this genre, without doubt. A sure-shot winner!"[28] Raedita Tandon from Filmfare gave the film stars and noted that, "Though indulgent in parts, Ek Villain packs in a punch. Copy of a Korean film or not, it’s ‘good’ paisa vasool entertainment. Make it your weekend watch." Meena Iyer of The Times of India gave the film Stars, stating that "You cannot fault the scale of Ek Villain or berate its lead star cast. But you wish you could celebrate this thriller like you did Suri's last movie outing Aashiqui 2. The film made on the budget of ₹35 crore (US$5.2 million) went on to collect ₹105.05 crore (US$16 million) from India[29] and grossed ₹135 crore (US$20 million) (approx) with a distributor share of ₹49.75 crore (US$7.4 million) itself in India.[30] The film was declared "Super Hit" by Boxoffice India.
The Other films that are in pipeline unscheduled for release includes Badtameez Dil and Milan Talkies. Balaji Motion Pictures ranks in the top five[31] film production companies in India.
Film production
Upcoming
| Year | Title | Director(s) | Cast | Genre | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Great Grand Masti | Indra Kumar | Ritesh Deshmukh, Aftab Shivdasani, Vivek Oberoi | Comedy | Co-Produced with Ashok Thakeria & Indra Kumar |
| 2016 | Vishwaroopam II | Kamal Hassan | Kamal Hassan, Rahul Bose, Pooja Kumar | Spy, Thriller | Upcoming Co-Produced with Aascar Films |
| 2016 | Udta Punjab | Abhishek Chaubey | Shahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Alia Bhatt, Diljit Dosanjh | Romance Drama | Upcoming Co-Produced with Phantom Films |
| 2016 | Azhar | Tony D'Souza | Emraan Hashmi | Biopic | Upcoming Co-Produced with Sony Pictures Networks |
| 2016 | XXX | Ken Ghosh | TBA | Horror Thriller | Upcoming |
| 2016 | A Flying Jatt | Remo D'souza | Tiger Shroff, Jacqueline Fernandez | Romance, Dance | Upcoming |
| 2016 | Half Girlfriend | Mohit Suri | Arjun Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor | Romance | |
| 2016 | Bhoole Se Naam Na Lo Pyaar Ka 2 | Tigmanshu Dhulia | TBA | Drama | Upcoming |
| 2016 | Badtameez Dil | Akshay Roy | Emraan Hashmi, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Kritika Kamra | Romance Drama | Upcoming Co-Produced with Karan Johar |
Film distribution
| Year | Film | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Bhool Bhulaiyaa | Priyadarshan | |
| 2008 | Sarkar Raj | Ram Gopal Varma | |
| 2013 | Vishwaroop | Kamal Haasan |
Awards & ceremonies
- The Global Indian Film and Television Honours
References
- ↑ "Box Office Report of 2001.".
- ↑ "Kya Kool grossess Rs 21.5 crores".
- ↑ "Kya Kool in 3 Top hits of 2005".
- ↑ "Shoot Out is the biggest hit of Balaji till date".
- ↑ "Box Office report of Shootout At Lokhandwala".
- ↑ "Mission Istanbul fails at Box Office".
- ↑ "Balaji acquires Priyadarshan's Bhool Bhulaiyaa".
- ↑ "Balaji acquires Ram Gopal's Sarkar Raj".
- ↑ "Ekta to produce up a different film".
- ↑ "LSD a rare to see hit film".
- ↑ "Once Upon a Time is Superhit.".
- ↑ "Ekta's next in Marathi".
- ↑ "Ekta's Taryanche Bait takes Extraordinary opening".
- ↑ "Ekta's marathi venture bags top accolades".
- ↑ "Lifetime Box-office collection of Shor in the City.".
- ↑ "Review:Shor in the City is a terrific Film.".
- ↑ "Sunny Leone signed for Ragini MMS 2".
- ↑ Review:Shootout At Wadala- The Times of India
- ↑ Lootera is a terrific gem - Taran Adarsh
- ↑ Lootera is an absolute masterpiece - Raja Sen
- ↑ Lootera is Lovesaga of yore - Meena Iyer, The Times of India
- ↑ Lifetime collections and Economics of Lootera
- ↑ Once Upon Ay Time in Mumbai Dobaara: Another film to hit the jackpot?
- ↑ Anupama Chopra's review: Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai Dobaara!
- 1 2 3 Box office collextions Jan to April 2014
- ↑ Ragini MMS 2 is one of the major commercial success of 2014
- ↑ Main Tera Hero is the masala entertainer of 2014 - Taran Adarsh
- ↑ Ek Villian is stylish and a sure-shot winner - Taran Adarsh
- ↑ Ek Villian is first for Balaji to enter 100 crore club
- ↑ Ek Villian makes 49.75 crore share for its distributors
- ↑ "Balaji ranks one of the top 5 Film companies of India".
External links
- Balaji Motion Pictures on Facebook
- Balaji Motion Pictures on Twitter
- Balaji Motion Pictures on Instagram
- Balaji Motion Pictures on YouTube
- Balaji Motion Pictures at the Internet Movie Database