Red Chillies Entertainment

Red Chillies Entertainment

Type	Private Limited Company
Industry	Motion picture
Predecessor	Dreamz Unlimited
Founded	7 May 2002
Founder	Shah Rukh Khan Gauri Khan
Headquarters	Mumbai, India
Key people	Shah Rukh Khan (co-chairman, former CEO) Gauri Khan (co-chairwoman) Venky Mysore (CEO) Blesson Oommen (CFO)[1]
Products	Film production Film distribution Visual effects Television production Equipment leasing
Divisions	Red Chillies VFX Red Chillies TVC Red Chillies Idiot Box
Website	www.redchillies.com

Red Chillies Entertainment (RCE) is an Indian motion picture production and distribution company, based in Mumbai.^[2] The company was founded on 7 May 2002^[3] by Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan and his wife Gauri Khan. It was transformed from the now defunct Dreamz Unlimited. The actor mostly acts under his home production company Red Chillies and distribute the film under YRF.

The company has five sub divisions: apart from film production, RCE has a visual effects studio known as Red Chillies VFX, a studio for TV commercials known as Red Chillies TVC, a Television programs production division under the name of Red Chillies Idiot Box and an equipment Leasing division. The company also has a 50% stake in the Indian Premier League cricket team Kolkata Knight Riders.

Sanjiv Chawla was the Executive Producer of the company, while Gauri Khan serves as a producer. In February 2013, Venky Mysore, the CEO of Kolkata Knight Riders took over additional responsibility as CEO of Red Chillies Entertainment as well.^[4] Red Chillies Entertainment was ranked as the third, fifth and seventh most powerful production house in Bollywood in 2007, 2008 and 2009 respectively.^[5][6]

History

Films

Khan, Kapoor and Rampal (l-r) during the premiere of Ra.One in London

In 2004, choreographer Farah Khan, a good friend of Khan, decided to direct a film with him. He then took over the production company Dreamz Unlimited which he created with Juhi Chawla and director Aziz Mirza and transformed it into Red Chillies Entertainment with his wife Gauri Khan, who became producer of the first production Main Hoon Na in which Khan starred as well. The movie did well at the box office, becoming the second highest grossing film of the year. Khan also starred in the company's 2nd release, the 2005 movie Paheli, belonging to the genre of Indian Parallel Cinema, the film was critically acclaimed and was selected as India's official entry to the 79th Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category.

The third film produced by the company was Farah Khan's mega-budget Om Shanti Om, which was released in November 2007. The film was set in the 1970s and 2000s and paid tribute to Indian film industry of both these eras. Upon release, it broke many box office records, grossing over 1.48 billion and thus became the highest-grossing Hindi film of all-time at the time of its release.^[7] The 2009 film Billu starring Irrfan Khan and Lara Dutt was the company's next release, the film opened to good reviews, but was a box office failure. The latest film produced by the production company is Roshan Abbas's Always Kabhi Kabhi, the film did poorly.

The company continued working on other projects until finally deciding on Ra.One (2011) starring Khan himself, Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal. The pre-production work began in 2007 after the release of Om Shanti Om. The film's crew consisted of more than 5,000 members from India, Italy and the US, and was pieced together by more than 1,000 people, working in shifts, in around 15 studios across the world.^[8] It saw the inclusion of several visual effects techniques being incorporated in the production which were carried out by Red Chillies VFX. With an estimated budget of 1.25 billion, Ra.One was the second-most expensive film ever produced in Indian cinema, and the most expensive Bollywood film.^[9] The film witnessed a level of publicity campaigning previously unseen in India films, with marketing taking place over a period of nine months and involving major brand tie-ups of a 52 crore (US$9.88 million) which set the record for the largest marketing budget in India.^[10]

The film released across 3,100 screens in India and 904 prints overseas in both 2D and 3D,^[11] making it the largest Indian cinematic release in the world. Upon release, while the Indian critics gave mixed reviews, the overseas film critics received it warmly. The film has been widely praised for its visual effects and action, though criticism has been generated regarding its script and direction. Subsequently, the success of the effects and the 3D version of the film prompted multiple other Bollywood filmmakers to consider technology as a part of film-making, especially in view of the success of Ra.One and the inordinately higher returns generated from 3D ticket sales.^[12] The film went on to break multiple box-office records and according to its distributors, is the second highest-grossing Bollywood film worldwide earning over 2.4 billion. Their next production will be Karan Johar's next directorial venture, Student Of The Year, which will be co-produced by Johar's production company.

Visual effects

The company also has a visual effects studio known as Red Chillies VFX which flagged off in 2005.^[1] Apart from home productions, the VFX team had been involved with many major movies like Chak De India, Krrish 3, Don - The Chase Begins Again, Dostana and De Dana Dan.^[13] The division has won accolades for its work in India and abroad. Don: The Chase Begins Again won European accolades for Best Special Effects in 2006. A year later, Om Shanti Om won best visual effects from Filmfare, Zee cine, IIFA, Star Screen, Indy's and Apsara Producer's Guild Awards and in 2011, Ra.One swept all major awards in Bollywood for visual effect, including a National Film Award and Filmfare Award for Best Special Effects and was nominated for the Asian Film Award as well.^[1] The division has the largest manpower among the group companies with a staff strength of over 130.^[14]

Television content

The company have also ventured into television content production under Red Chillies Idiot Box. It produced its first television show in 2009, since then, the company has made twelve chat shows and serials.^[15] They are also responsible for the conception of Coke Studio, a popular music TV show featuring live music performances by renowned artists.^[16] In 2010, the company co-produced Living with an actor -Shah Rukh Khan with Discovery Travel and Living. The 10-part series was the biggest Indian show on TV, with a budget of nearly 20 million.^[1] The same year, they created along with Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, the popular Teen drama Ishaan. The show received positive response and was a very successful show in Disney channel India and in recent times.^[17]

In 2011, the production company collaborated with UTV for their newly launched channel UTV Stars, first with the celebrity based chat show Up Close & Personal with PZ with actress Preity Zinta as host. Shot at her own penthouse in Mumbai, the show stated airing on September 2011.^[18] Then through the reality TV show Live My Life, the show became one of the first big shows on the channel and also one of its longest running series. It completed more than 25 episodes in a span of six months. The show received good feedback, especially from the youth.^[19] and Superstar Santa, a show that deals with issues relating to life featuring one celebrity each week solving the issue at hand.^[20] In May 2012, the production house introduced a new show titled Inside Indian Television which narrates the history and transformation of the medium of television in India thought out the years. The show will air on Discovery Channel.^[21]

(L-R)Shahrukh Khan, Juhi Chawla and Jay Mehta co-owners of KKR.

Commercials

Red Chillies TVC, the sub-division of RCE responsible for producing television commercials has been active since 2001. The company has produced over 250 commercials (with an average of 45 commercials yearly) for various national and international brands, such as TAG Heuer, Lux Cozy, Sprite, Pepsi, Dish TV, Airtel & Videocon.^[22]

Sports

In 2008, Red Chillies acquired ownership rights for the franchise representing Kolkata in the a Twenty20 cricket tournament Indian Premier League, for a price of USD 75.09 million, and have since named the team Kolkata Knight Riders. KKR is the richest team in the IPL and it has been ranked as the most valued with a brand value of $42.1 million.^[23] Financially, the KKR are the most profitable and successful franchise in the IPL as well.^[24][25] The home of the Kolkata Knight Riders is Eden Gardens, the largest and most iconic cricket stadium in India. It is also one of the largest stadiums in Asia. In 2011, they introduced the Mumbai franchise in the motorsport racing league i1 Super Series.In 2012 SRK shown his interest to buy 50 percent share of Dempo S.C. Indian football club of I League.^[26]

Film production

References

External links

• Official Website
• RedChillies VFX Website