B4U - The Digital Entertainment Channel

03/03/2024

Rishta Kachche Dhaagon Kaa - B4U - The Digital Entertainment Channel

03/03/2024

Woman’s travails - December 3, 2000

If you are expecting entertainment here, perish the thought. Rehnuma on B4U, Thursdays 8 p.m. is a tear-jerker which euphemistically passes off as ‘intense drama of human emotions’. It revolves around Saher, who has lost her father at a very early age. Her mother, too, abandons her and moves out with her second husband. So she is brought up by her grandparents.

Saher has lived in a hostel most of her life and is happy and contented, until she has to sacrifice her love to marry the man of her grandfather’s choice.

As it happens in all tear-jerkers, this man turns out to be a drunkard and abuses her emotionally and physically. She loses her child and when she can take it no more, leaves him and moves to another town to begin life afresh.

And then starts her fight for existence and right to dignity of life. But there are many roadblocks ahead. No need to stretch your imagination. Everything is predictable around here.

03/03/2024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LECivdUfr0

Karz Pichhle Janam Ka is a fictional serial about the concept of rebirth and re-incarnation. Directed by Prem Soni, the show stars Rajesh Khera, Aashif Sheik...

03/03/2024

'Producers churning out old wine in new bottles' : Arun Frank
The next time you happen to see a star-studded soap on TV, with the story revolving around some high-society family drama, there is a strong possibility the serial will have been directed by Arun Frank - the person who pioneered this concept on satellite TV.

Seven years after Andaz, Arun Frank's enthusiasm is still evident in that he already has two soaps on B4U - Anupamaa and Rishta Kacche Dhaago Ka and is working on two others - Aanch and Aaj.

But if there is one common thread running through these projects it's the starcast, the larger than life portrayal, the filmi style and often the art of playing to the galleries.

It was the bigness, the dreaminess associated with cinema that created such a strong attraction towards such canvasses for young Arun Frank. Such was the determination to be a part of this industry that after school Frank left studies and started assisting Sohanlal Kanwar in films like Beimaan, Paapi Pet Ka Sawaal Hai and Paisa Yeh Paisa. From there he moved on to assist Basu Chatterjee and later made a few ad films.

Andaz, one of the most successful weekly soaps on Zee, marked Arun Frank's debut on TV, and from there, there has been no looking back for him.

But if there is one thing that comes through in conversations is, like his name, his frankness. Frank has no pretensions about creating something classy. He revels in commercial themes and has created a niche not just for himself but for these serials as well. In a way it can be said that Frank has made available on TV what audiences often crave for in commercial Hindi cinema.

Amar caught up with the man in a 'frank' t?te-?-t?te.

What brought you to direction?
Well, the creativity aspect involved in filmmaking always attracted me as a schoolboy. At that age, I didn't specifically know I wanted to be a director, but yes, I wanted to be involved in filmmaking. So after school I assisted Sohanlal Kanwar in direction and gradually realised that that was what I wanted to do in life.

How do you look back to the Andaz days?
Andaz was special for me due to several reasons. It was my first project as director after a very long period of struggle. Secondly, it was a path-breaking and trend-setting serial because, till then TV was a closed medium. With Andaz, so many new things were introduced. We were very clear in our minds that we wanted to create something absolutely larger than life, extremely glamorous, very 'filmi' - something people had not seen on TV before. Even technically, we explored a lot of camera movements - something that had not been done previously.

But somehow, thereafter you got stuck in doing similar high society dramas.
Yeah, Andaz was so successful that producers wanted me to do something similar every time. And I didn't mind it because I liked the bigness, the lavishness associated with these projects. Besides all these serials did well.

What are the factors you take into consideration before starting a project?
A rich star cast for one. Ideally one that has not had much exposure on TV. The script and the possibility of shooting at unused locations.

You've always worked with popular stars. How much do you depend on your actors?
Well, for me a good star cast is very important because I have always liked doing things on a lavish scale. Having popular names ensures audience interest and this makes my task simpler. Besides, experienced actors know what is expected of them and they deliver on these expectations.

But haven't any of these big names insisted on doing things his or her way?
See, I always have an open mind and am open to all suggestions. As long as it does not change the context of a scene what an actor does is fine by me.

Tell us about your experience of working with Shabana Azmi.
To be frank, initially I was apprehensive about working with her because she belongs to a totally different medium of cinema and I didn't know how she would adjust to the ways of TV. But once we started working, my apprehensions were soon allayed. It's been very enjoyable and enriching working with her.

the budget of the producer ever imposed constraints on your creativity?
Always. In fact from time to time I get calls from producers asking me to take over the direction of their ongoing projects. When I ask them why their director has quit, invariably it is because he has overshot the budget. So, it's a problem I've got used to.

What do you feel of the trend of daily soaps? Hasn't it created a monopolistic situation wherein a few big production houses are dominating the prime time slots?
See, everything on TV is a passing phase and sooner than later it has to wear out. But yes, at present it has created a monopolistic situation wherein a lot of producers who don't have the resources to produce a daily are not left with any time slot. But things are not that good for producers who are producing dailies either. I know of channels who have approved up to 16 dailies. But do you think they have that many time slots? Ultimately, four to five dailies will get to be on air, the rest will be nowhere.

Most of your projects are with Zee. Any specific reasons for this?
No, its sheer coincidence that most of my projects have been with Zee. It's just that they got approved fairly easily. But now, I'm working with B4U and am also negotiating a forthcoming project with Sony and Sahara.

How different is the quality of production-thematically and technically vis-a vis the Andaz days?
Technically, its much improved now. There is more polishing to the end product because of the channel wars. But thematically there has hardly been any difference. Producers keep churning out old wine in new bottles.

What has been the happiest moment in your career?
The telecast of the first episode of Andaz. It was a dream come true.

Who are your favourite actors on TV?
Kanwaljeet, Kiran Kumar, Farida Jalal, Kartikarani Devi and Bhagyashree.

Any project which is close to your heart and which you would like to do in future?
I would love to make an action serial. Again the first of its kind on TV.

And your favourite director?
At one point of time it used to be Ramesh Sippy. Now it's the duo of Abbas Mastan. They've proved that they can do a good job out of any plot.

Today, would you direct a daily soap yourself?
At present, I already have three offers to direct dailies but I'm sceptical. Ideally, I wouldn't mind directing a daily soap if we can have a storyline ready for 200 to 250 episodes before starting work and a bank of 100 ready episodes before the telecast begins.

How do you instruct your actors? Do you act out a scene and advise them to follow suit?
No, no. I'm a poor actor. I just instruct them on the emotions that I want and the movements.

Okay, lets take a specific case. Navneet Nishan in Andaz who played the vamp to the hilt. What were your instructions to her?
I just asked her to go wild and berserk. I told her to forget what is right or wrong, what is logical or illogical, just portray something absolutely alien, unseen on TV, so far. Initially she found it difficult to convince herself about the character but eventually it came through very well.

It is often seen that in these soaps the story often does not move and the entire focus is on sub plots.
See. After a serial has had a run of six to eight months, a time is bound to come when the story begins to sag. This happens with all soaps. It is then that the channels do their own analysis and survey and often tell us what is likely to click with the viewers. But again the sub plots have to be executed intelligently and woven into the main story.

The next time you happen to see a star-studded soap on TV, with the story revolving around some high-society family drama, there is a strong possibility the serial will have been directed by Arun Frank - the person who pioneered this concept on satellite TV.

03/03/2024

B4U to introduce six new programmes - Nov 18, 2000 | exchange4media Staff

B4U Entertainment channel has announced an expanded prime time band by adding six new programmes to its existing programming-mix.

The prime-time band from Monday to Thursday has now been extended from the one-hour (8 to 9 pm) slot to a three and a half hours slot (7:30 to 11 pm). The six new programmes include sitcoms, dramas and talk show genres of programming. The six serials which form part of prime-time viewing include: Sukanya— a true-to-life saga written by Shobha De, Apne Paraye with film star Rajesh Khanna in the lead role, Khushi— portraying woman’s sensitivity, directed by Lekh Tandon, Kinare Milte Nahin a love story, Saas pe sava saas a comedy and In Conversation with Zeenat, a talk show hosted by Zeenat Aman.

B4U Entertainment channel has announced an expanded prime time band by adding six new programmes to its existing programming-mix.

03/03/2024

We want to reversethe entire talk ofcultural invasion. - 13 Nov 2001 | Reshma Gandhi

For 49-year-old Ravi Gupta setting up B4U is, in a way, a return to what he is best at - setting up projects ground up. As the chief architect of NFDCnet, Gupta pioneered e-commerce in India. But then film and television has always been close to his heart. Gupta is on the governing boards of the Film & Television Institutes at Mumbai and Pune. In an exclusive interview to Reshma Gandhi of agencyfaqs!, Gupta said that it was B4U's unique packaging and product differentiation that has helped the channel carve a niche for itself in the competitive music and entertainment channel market in the country.

B4U entered India with a music channel and a general entertainment channel. What was B4U's rationale given India's relatively rich C&S culture in the music and entertainment segments?
You have to remember that India is a very large country. It is wrong to consider this as one large community. Today we talk of communities and sub-communities and we talk of ... say building communities on the Net. In India itself we have hundreds of thousands of websites. Each web site addresses a certain community/target audience. Given this scenario there is a lot of scope for a lot of channels also.

We, at B4U, believe in reaching out to our audience in a meaningful way. I believe music is the heart of India. India as a nation cannot do without music and dance. Since B4U happens to be in the movie business, music is a natural by-product for us. The rationale is that we have to have something which touches the heart of the audience. We realise that the Indian mind is one which bonds easily at an emotional level. Therefore our entire approach has been an emotional approach.

B4U launched its network in India a very short while ago. How has the company fared vis-à-vis competition?
The B4U Music channel was launched in India on May 6, 2000. B4U Entertainment was launched on September 3 this year. I hope you've been watching B4U's performance. You would have noticed that B4U has taken off well in India. B4U Music is the leading music channel in the country. This has been achieved in a few months only. We have managed to displace some leading international players who have been in India for a very long time.

B4U has positioned itself as a channel for the youth of this country to a great extent. What is important is that our lead is established in the young audiences. It does show in the kind of packaging and differentiation we have. This is reflected not only in the agency reports, but also in the fact that advertisers have strongly endorsed it. In fact, we're so choc-a-bloc with advertisers that I have no time to offer them anymore. I think that this is as healthy a situation one can hope to be in.

B4U has an audience, which likes its feel and content. Our audience appreciates our content and has the time and money to subscribe to and enjoy our channel. Our more popular serials on air are Sangharsh, Rehnuma, Manthan, Tanhaaiyaan and Bahuraniyaan. Bahuraaniyan is fetching us a TRP of 4 and Papa a TRP of 2. This is remarkable, as these serials have topped the charts in such a short span of time. This is quite heartening for me.

Consistency in quality and reach are vital to the success of any channel. What sort of infrastructure has B4U put into place? What about distribution?
We were the first Indian channel to have gone digital from day one - globally. I think that is very evident in the technical quality of our channel. Secondly, we did all our up linking from London, a quality- conscious city. All our work is done in digi-beta. Digi-beta is being as state-of-the-art as one can. Our studios are state-of-the-art studios as well.

It is not only the digi-beta broadcasting but the entire processing that has to be good. We have ensured investments at every stage of the entertainment process. The investments are not only in the technical arena, but are also in the creativity. It is a good blend of technical and creative quality that endears us to our audiences. Our advertising campaigns have been appreciated by agencies themselves. This is very flattering as they know we have an in-house advertising department.

As far as distribution goes, we have tie-ups with MSOs (multiple service operators) such as In Cablenet and distributors likes Modi Entertainment Network, which do our distribution work in India. We have our own internal set-up that oversees this distribution. The tie up is to ensure carriage on prime band in most places.

It has been reported that B4U Music has managed to outperform both CHannel [V] and MTV in TRP ratings. Can you corroborate this? What factors do you attribute to the success of B4U music?
B4U Music has some vital tie-ups which account for its exclusivity. Since we are producers of movies ourselves we have access to content. This puts us ahead of our competitors. And as we own content, we can show full songs as opposed to the clippings provided by audio companies. Our opportunities and infrastructure make it possible for us to remain ahead in the music scenario.

B4U Entertainment has also been doing quite well. What, in your opinion, has been the channel's USP? How does it compare with Sony, STAR Plus and Zee?
Our USP is Bollywood. Bollywood is also our strength. The relationship with Bollywood stars is our USP. Take our Zeenat Aman show. Manthan is a Neena Gupta serial. We have Rajesh Khanna in a serial called Apne Paraaye. We also have Shahrukh Khan working on our forthcoming serials. We have Bhagyashree acting in Bahuraniyaan.

Then there is a show called Star Bite - which is a cookery show. In this show, we have stars cooking their favourite recipes once a week. The association with cine stars is our forte.

Which are the other channels that B4U is planning to launch? Is B4U playing a wait-and-watch game before introducing new channels?
We certainly have a B4U South planned for the overseas market. Thus, we will be launching a South Indian Movie channel. We are an Indian Multinational operating globally. We want to reverse the entire talk of cultural invasion. We believe that we can invade cultures abroad with our culture. We don't need to be apologetic for our own culture. In fact, we have to reveal the richness and diversity of our culture, for the world to see and appreciate.

B4U has invaded foreign cultural space successfully. Part of the reversal is taking place in mainstream channels, internationally. We put Indian content into them. For example, MCM, which emphasised American, European, African, Latino music, now shows Indian music too. B4U also has slots for Hindustani classical music.

You mentioned in an earlier interview with agencyfaqs! that once the B4U movie channel is commissioned, you will pull out the movie slots from B4U entertainment. I have two questions here: One, when will you launch B4U Movies in India? Two, if you pull out the movie slots from B4U Entertainment, wouldn't this cripple B4U Entertainment? What measures are you taking to sustain the popularity of the entertainment channel?
If we do have a B4U movie channel in India it will be at a stage when B4U Entertainment is fairly strong - even without the movies. Starting November 13, B4U Entertainment has introduced 10 new programmes. These will be spread across the week. You will find that we are strengthening our general entertainment band in the prime time slot (7.30p.m-11.00p.m). We will be getting some major stars with their shows on our channel. But this will happen over a period of time. We will be making those announcements.

If B4U does launch a movie channel in India, it would be up against some formidable competition. There's Zee Cinema, Max and STAR Gold. How do you plan to draw eyeballs and greenbacks in this highly competitive and fragmented scenario?
The other movie channels that you just mentioned do not have the reach that B4U movies has in London, Europe, Scandinavia, South-East Asia etc. We have not announced the B4U movie channel in India as yet. This may happen someday though. Besides Zee Gold which shows movies in the United States, no other movie channel can be said to be even close to B4U. Frankly, this is a hypothetical question.

The success of B4U's movie channel abroad is a function of the NRI's inability to lay hands on new Hindi films. However, in India, audiences are not starved of new films. So, is it realistic to expect as resounding a response here? Isn't B4U being too optimistic vis-a-vis movies?
Every movie lover, be it a foreigner or Indian would have access to Hindi films in theatres. This is true of some foreign countries such as the United States, London etc. However, one would love to watch and re-watch a Hindi film in the comfort of one's house. This holds true for you and me as well. People usually end up watching movies they missed or, could not get tickets for, at home. Certain well-made Hindi films grow on you and strike an emotional chord. Television has made sure that good movies can be recycled and viewed umpteen times.

B4U movies, overseas, has been positioned as a new movie channel. Most of the movies, in the prime-time slot are new Hindi films. However in the day you might catch a film of the seventies or eighties as well.

You claim that B4U Movies' USP vis-a-vis its rivals is the brilliant rapport that it shares with top Bollywood stars. How does this rapport translate into the channel's success?
At the end of the day we realise that we share a common vision with the stars. By providing a platform for the stars to reach out to their fans, we reach out to our audiences. I think we could not do that earlier due to inadequate marketing. Our effort is to market the popularity of the stars and our serials and movies as far and wide as we can. We want to go beyond the NRIs. We want the Arabs, Europeans, South-East Asians, Americans, the English et al to be aware of and appreciate our Indian culture. They should know that there is a different and vibrant cinema in India too. It is very strong. Our Indian directors such as Satyajit Ray, Mira Nair, Shekhar Kapur are already known in Hollywood circles.

B4U is not going to sit back and allow Hollywood to invade our cultural space. B4U will instead leave no opportunity and space to spread Indian culture via movies. Wherever there are people and emotions, B4U will go! We are already present in 50 countries, internationally. The number will only increase with time

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03/03/2024

B4U also known as B4U Entertainment or B4U TV was an Indian television satellite channel that was launched on 3 September 2000.

B4U Entertainment programming consisted of many genres of television programs, including family dramas boasting female protagonists, comedy series, and shows starring Bollywood celebrities.

The channel was converted into B4U Movies on 27 October 2001.

Following is a list of programs that were broadcast by B4U TV at the time it was on-air. Some of these shows have also been re-aired on other Indian television channels.

Tanhaiyaan
Starring: Anju Mahendru, Mohan Bhandari, Shama Deshpande, Radhika Menon, Natasha Sinha, Rajeev Paul, Naresh Suri, Gauri Karnik, Poonam Narula, Kanchan Mirchandani, Rajeev Gupta, Anita Wahi, Shishir Sharma, Saroj Bhargav, Balvinder Singh, Gayatri, Sunil Dhawan, Veena Kapoor, Rohit Bakshi, Madhu Amli, Sahil Chaddha, Vivek Mushran, Ravee Gupta, Anant Jog
Episodes: 42
Director: Chitrath
Genre: Drama

Sukanya
Starring: Rupali Ganguly, Shishir Sharma, Gauri Karnik, Anju Mahendru, Sushmita Daan, Rakesh Paul, R. S. Chopra, Dash Saxena, Manav Kaul, Hiten Tejwani, Hussain Kuwajerwala, Rohit Bakshi
Episodes: 150
Director: Sanjay Surkar, Ravi Raj
Genre: Drama

Khushi
Starring: Mohan Joshi, Lillete Dubey, Sangeeta Ghosh, Aarati Murjhani, Kamalakar Sontakke, Seema Bhargav, Sujata Vaishnav, Neha Pendse, Gargi Patil, Radhika Menon, Siraj Khan, Pawan Malhotra, Mandeep Bhandar, Romi Jaspal, Abhay Chopra, Anita Wahi, Vinod Raut, Mitul Bhattacharya, Vijay Anand, S. M. Zaheer, Sarosh Khan, Vandana Sajnani, Madhumalati Kapoor, Shamal
Episodes: 36
Director: Lekh Tandon
Genre: Drama

Anupamaa
Starring: Shabana Azmi
Genre: Drama

Apne Paraye
Starring: Rajesh Khanna
Genre: Drama

Papa
Starring: Kiran Kumar
Genre: Drama

Kinare Miltey Nahin
Starring: Shahbaz Khan
Genre: Drama

Rishta Kachche Dhaagon Kaa
Starring: Mandira Bedi,Sulabha Arya,Sudesh Berry,Kumar Gaurav,Achint Kaur
Genre: Drama

Saas Pe Sava Saas
Starring: Bindu, Anju Mahendru, Mahesh Thakur
Genre: Comedy

Rehnuma
Genre: Drama

Sangharsh
Genre: Drama

Thoda Sa Gum Thodi Khushi
Genre: Drama

Bahuraniyaan
Genre: Drama

Karz Pichhle Janam Ka
Genre: Drama

Club 10
Genre: Music

Dahshat
Genre: Horror

Double Sawari
Genre: Comedy

In Conversation with Zeenat
Genre: Talk Show

Manthan
Genre: Talk Show

Star Bite
Genre: Talk Show

B4U also known as B4U Entertainment or B4U TV was an Indian television satellite channel that was launched on 3 September 2000.[1]

03/03/2024

A passage from India - Oct 19th 2000

Kishore Lulla is on a mission to bring Indian movies to the world. Can his brand of cultural imperialism succeed?
THE founder of Bollywood For You (B4U), India's biggest global network of Hindi movies and music, is not an obvious media tycoon. For a start, Kishore Lulla has an endearingly unguarded manner—a treat after slick American bosses. He is friendly with his main business rival, lives in London because he admires “conservative English values” and puts family lunch on Sundays before work. At last week's glitzy New York party—hosted by Miss India USA—to promote B4U's recent American launch and to flag a flotation of the group in 2001, he looked rather overwhelmed.

But beneath this gentle exterior lurks a truly ambitious vision. The 38-year-old Mr Lulla wants to bring Indian culture and Indian family values to an increasingly cynical, Americanised world. And his chosen weapons are the films of Bollywood—India's movie capital in and around Mumbai (Bombay), which churns out more than 800 films a year, with costumes as colourful as the plots and relentlessly happy endings.

Mr Lulla's initial targets, understandably, are the 30m South Asians who live outside India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and who are willing and able to pay for a reminder of home. That is why B4U—Mr Lulla calls it an “Asian HBO”, a reference to the popular American cable movie channel—chose Britain, with its large first-generation Indian population, as the launch pad for its subscription film channel in August last year. The Middle East, America and continental Europe followed and B4U now has 170,000 subscribers across six continents—20,000 more than Zee TV, its giant Indian rival, has outside its home market after four years.

At the same time B4U has launched two free, advertising-financed music and entertainment channels as bridgeheads into the huge Indian market, where it claims to have captured a third of music-television viewers in five months. Mr Lulla says this is just the beginning. With plans for more channels in more places—a news channel and a foray into Russia are priorities—he aims to reach far beyond his own ethnic group. The business plan calls for B4U to have 500,000 paid subscribers outside India within two years and 1.5m by 2005.

Born into a Bollywood family, Mr Lulla's love of Indian movies is not surprising. He and his brother run Eros Entertainment, a highly profitable firm started by his father 30 years ago, which holds the international rights to 2,000 Bollywood films—60% of the market and the core of the B4U film library. But his belief in the wider appeal of Hindi films came when, as a young lawyer, he went to live in Tel Aviv. “Nine out of ten Israeli girls had a picture of Amitabh Bachchan [one of Bollywood's biggest stars] in their lockets,” he claims.

Even more popular than the stars, he argues, is an emphasis on families and traditional values that increasingly chimes with audiences tired of western machine-gun violence and sexual mores. “Hollywood used to make wholesome films like ‘Gone with the Wind' or ‘The Sound of Music'. Now they are rare. ‘Titanic' had romance, tragedy and family drama. That is really a perfect Bollywood movie,” he says. The recent success of “Taal”, an Indian film that was a hit with white Americans, has convinced him that his idea is right.

But is the world really ready for Bollywood's saccharine view of life? B4U certainly has the firepower to find out. Its backers include Bharat Shah, a leading financier of Hindi movies, and Lakshmi Mittal, a steel magnate and one of the world's richest men. Indeed, it was on a 370-foot yacht rented by Mr Mittal for his daughter's birthday in 1998 that Mr Lulla dreamed up B4U. So far the backers have invested $100m. That would be a trifling sum with which to set up a global media empire, but for the fact that B4U is a pure content business, which rents space on cable and satellite networks around the world, rather than building its own. This should mean quick returns: the firm hopes to make net profits of $4m in 2001, its first full year of operation, rising to $110m by 2005.

East is east
Making impressive predictions is the easy bit, however. B4U will increasingly face larger, more entrenched competition, including Sony's Asian arm, Rupert Murdoch's Star TV and Zee TV itself. And B4U relies heavily on Eros, Mr Lulla's family company, for its film rights. Although he says Eros transfers these licences at cost, B4U has set up its own film-production arm to reduce dependence on Eros. This is one relationship that Mr Lulla will need to make transparent ahead of any public offer.

More critical is whether B4U can extend its audience as far and as fast as Mr Lulla predicts. Most of the early growth has come from capturing first-generation, middle-class Indians who live abroad and still have a real connection with their homeland. Their children, who may not even speak Hindi and who have grown up with western culture, will be a much harder sell. At last week's party, an Indian living in America confessed that while he and his wife enjoyed B4U, “our kids don't want to watch it.” The best answer Mr Lulla could muster was: “don't you teach them Indian culture?”

As for broadening the ethnic range of customers, the signs are mixed: already, 12% of B4U's subscribers are non-South Asian, but most of these are Arabs. Mr Lulla has big hopes for Eastern Europe—Hindi movies have long been popular in Russia, for instance. But to attract a significant following in the West, Bollywood's films will inevitably have to become more like Hollywood's—which would make this cultural imperialist just another movie mogul. Mr Lulla may end up rich, but fail to change the world.

Kishore Lulla is on a mission to bring Indian movies to the world. Can his brand of cultural imperialism succeed?

03/03/2024

London-based Indians set sights on Bollywood - April 24, 2000

A group of wealthy Indian businessmen based in London is set to shake up India's booming entertainment sector, creating what they aim will be the country's largest movie production and distribution firm.

The company, B4U -- an acronym of Bollywood For You -- already has a satellite television channel feeding Hindi movies to Indian expatriates in Europe, the Americas and the Middle East.

"Now we think the time is right to put money into India in this business," said B4U chief executive Kishore Lulla.

London-based Lulla controls the international distribution rights of about 70 percent of films produced in India's film capital Bombay, also known as "Bollywood."

Lulla launched B4U, which has some 100,000 pay-viewers and several million non-pay viewers, with two London-based metal magnates, L N Mittal and Gokul Binani, who also have interests in the Hindi movie production and distribution business.

They recently joined hands with Indian diamond exporter Bharat Shah -- also a domestic film producer and financier.

"We have decided to merge our individual movie-related businesses into B4U, making it the country's largest film production and distribution company," Lulla said.

"Our motive and mission is to provide quality entertainment using present and future digital technologies. B4U now integrates all the sectors in the entertainment industry in which we were individually involved," Lulla said.

B4U currently has 10 Hindi language films "on the floor" at various stages of production.

"Besides financing the production of some 20 films at a cost of about Rs 4 billion a year, we plan to buy up the world distribution rights for an additional 30 or 40 films," Lulla said.

B4U is also planning a Tamil language movie channel aimed at the overseas market and eventually five entertainment-related Internet portals.

"Two of these are ready. One is a Bollywood business-to-business and business-to-commerce portal and the other is a fashion portal.

"We have tied up with France's Fashion TV for the fashion portal. We have also begun broadcasting from April 15, on Fashion TV, one hour daily of Indian fashion."

B4U is also planning to begin broadcasting a one-hour Indian music band on the French-based global music channel MCM from May 1.

"We will have Indian pop, film music, classical music and fusion music some of which will be sourced from South Asian groups in London and the United States," said Ravi Gupta, the head of B4U's Indian operations.

B4U will launch itself in India next month with a 24-hour free-to-air music and entertainment television channel that will reach out to 20 million homes.

Having spent the past three months buying the domestic rights to around 1,000 Bollywood films, the company also plans to launch a movie channel here in July.

"The movie channel will be aired during premium viewing time, with at least one blockbuster being shown once a week," Gupta said.

According to Lulla, the Indian entertainment market is ripe for a major investment.

"It is good times now for the domestic entertainment industry. The market now is just right. The business is now getting corporatised," he said.

India, with 75 television channels and about 900 films produced annually is passionate about film and television entertainment, and Bollywood stars are rivalled only by cricketers in the celebrity stakes.

A slew of Indian film and television entertainment companies are set to raise the equivalent of more than two billion dollars from the domestic and overseas markets in the next six months.

A report prepared by international consulting firm Arthur Andersen forecasts domestic film revenues rising five fold to around Rs 340 billion by 2005, while television software exports are forecast to go up 17 times to Rs 58 billion.