New service offers Bollywood over broadband
13th October, 2005
A group of dancers performed at the Cinnamon Club restaurant yesterday, possibly the first time in its history, to launch a Bollywood film rental service over the internet.Two British entrepreneurs (pictured) have launched Bollywood.tv, the first broadband service to offer Bollywood films to subscribers over the internet.
For a monthly fee of £9.95 or $16.95 a month, users get unlimited access to the company's online archive of films. Around 65 are currently offered with hundreds more waiting to be added.
Content director Mohan Thariyan said: "We are delighted to be unveiling a unique service that will make the best of Bollywood available to millions of fans in living rooms around the world."
His business partner Nigel Regan added: "The quality of the movies is superb, and you would never know you were not watching a DVD. Without any doubt at all, this makes Bollywood more accessible than ever before."
As the films will be streamed over a broadband connection, they say that DVD quality films can be seen without the need to wait or download glitches. The company has devised its own software to deliver the films.
Will potential subscribers be willing to watch Bollywood films on their computers however? The company says that the films can be watched on TV using a standard VGA cable and therefore should be no hinderance.
The idea for Bollywood.tv was born when Mohan Thariyan, 48, and Nigel Regan, 31, met by chance in London in November 2002. The fomer was an executive at B4U network, while the latter provided the technological know-how.
Mohan Thariyan added: "It was clear to us from the beginning that by marrying Nigel’s technological know-how with my access to Bollywood movie rights we were going to deliver the best of Bollywood in a completely unique way that would appeal to millions of fans around the world."
The website is likely to prove attractive to fans who do not have access to local Bollywood rental shops, in the UK and worldwide. Whether it will eat into the current rental or DVD market however remains to be seen.
