PVR Pictures expands its footprint in distribution of Indian films

PVR Ltd is expanding in the distribution business of Indian films and expects a substantial jump in the operations of its arm PVR Pictures, said a top company official.

PVR Pictures, which was earlier focusing on distribution of foreign films only, is now also working with leading producers for Hindi and regional movies.

"This is an expansion of business. We have been in this business from 2002 and the focus was on foreign language films and now the company has decided to expand its footprint and to distribute more local language films in addition with foreign films," PVR Pictures CEO Kamal Gianchandani told PTI.

The company has entered into the distribution of vernacular films with Super 30 and has several other films in the pipeline as Batla House, Section 375, Khuda Hafiz.

For 2018-19 financial year, total revenue of PVR Pictures was around Rs 45 crore.

"This year, the business would grow rapidly As compared to last year, the business would scale up considerably in this financial year," Gianchandani said.

He further said,"for steady supply of films, PVR has tied up with several producers like Reliance Entertainment and one more... and a lot of work is done with those two partners.

Earlier, some small Hindi films were distributed by PVR Pictures but now the company is expanding on a big scale in the Indian films segment.

"We were focusing on Hollywood films for a long time... and India is a market which is still dominated by Hindi and non-Hindi Indian films. It's a natural progression You need to involve with Hindi and non-Hindi films," Gianchandani said.

PVR Ltd, which had a revenue of Rs 2,746.69 crore in 2018-19, is the largest film exhibition company in India.

It operates 785 screens in 67 cities in 21 states.