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Movies on your mobile

You can watch B. R. Chopra's Mahabharata on your cell phone soon

MOBILE MARVEL Video footage of the Mahamastakabhikheka festival circulated through mobile

Of late, short films have had an increasing number of takers across the country. Nevertheless, these filmmakers have lamented the lack of viable platforms to make their movies reach wider audiences.

Can the ubiquitous mobile phone solve their problem? It seems so, going by the fact that some leading players from the film industry have ventured into making short films and video footage exclusively for mobile phones.

Film on phone

Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur was reportedly offered $2million by an international telecommunications firm to make a five-minute film that will be shown on mobile phones. Kapur had argued that digital devices would emerge as the new medium for cinema.

Recently, a Colarado-based student, Mike Potter, won $5,000 prize money at the first ever CellFlix Festival, for his 30-second film shot on the mobile phone.

Taking a cue from the globally emerging trend, the Rajshri Group has come out with a series of 30-second video clippings targeting mobile phones. The select clippings are footages of the Mahamastakabhikheka festival of Lord Bahubali at Shravanabelagola, which is held once in 12 years.

Rights for Mahabharata

"To coincide with the event, we chose clippings of the earlier festival held in 1993 and made 10 clippings of 30-seconds each," informs Nitin Kalra, head of content development, Rajshri Media.

There's more in the offing. The company has acquired the rights for B. R. Chopra's television series, Mahabharata, and is working on creating short episodes that can be distributed through mobile phones.

"B. R. Chopra's Mahabharata has 96 episodes, each with a duration of 46 minutes. We will be bringing out one-minute episodes to suit mobile phone viewing. We are also in the process of making serials for cell phones," adds Nitin. The episodes will be made available to users through cell phone service providers at subscription rates.

A viable option

Rajjat A. Barjatya, managing director of the production house, adds, "Mobile phones have now become a way of life and the cell phone screen is powerful, personal and the most watched screen today. According to estimates, the cell phone user base in India has crossed 70 million. Distributing a movie through this medium is a viable option."

Just when actresses across the country dreaded mobile phones equipped with a camera, thanks to morphed MMS clippings, producer Pritish Nandy set a precedent by distributing MMS promo clippings of his film Ek Khiladi Ek Hasina. Now, filmmakers turn their attention to making movies for mobile phones. What next?

SANGEETHA DEVI K

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