Balaji Telefilms forays into event programming

Balaji Telefilms Ltd, the country’s leading television software producer, is enlarging its scope of operations by foraying into "event programming" (different from event management).

To begin with, it is organising the ‘Millennium Mast 2001’ to be held at Goregaon, a northern suburb of Mumbai. This extravaganza is a show that promises performance from some of Bollywood’s better known filmstars like Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, Govinda, Twinkle Khanna, Sushmita Sen and Malaika Arora-Khan. The program is based on various festivals celebrated in the country and each star is said to be performing on one theme.

According to a company spokesperson, the program will mark the unison of all cultures of our country, with each culture boasting of its festival in all its religious grandeur and splendour.

Announcing the company’s foray into event programming, Ms. Ekta Kapoor, creative director said, "We have bagged the coveted program amidst competitive bidding by many other software producers. We were invited to produce the show, though a lot of producers bid for the program. It is very prestigious for Balaji to host the show."

The company, which plans to spend anything between Rs 4-5 crore on the program, hopes to make descent profit on it. Revenues will come through sponsorships and advertisements.

Ms. Kapoor, in response to a question from domain-B, said that the company had absolutely no plans to get into event management. With TRPs’ (television rating points) for event programs being high, the company sees a lot of scope is this area and plans to stick to it. She also clarified that the company had no plans to get into a television channel with Australian media baron, Kerry Packer.