Hombale Films, the producer of the blockbuster Kannada movies KGF-Chapter 1 & 2, and Kantara, has announced that it will invest ₹3,000 crore in the entertainment sector over the next five years.
In a tweet on Monday, Vijay Kirangadur, Producer and founder of Hombale Group, said: “As we embark into the new year, we promise to produce compelling content with an immersive experience that can have a lasting memory and can leave and indelible impression upon you. With this interest in mind, we pledge to invest ₹3,000 crore in the coming five years for sustainable growth in the entertainment sector.”
Terming India as a land of diversity, he said the country presents a wide opportunity to unlock the vast potential that is available in the youth of the nation.
He said cinema entertainment has been there since time immemorial and it has been viewed, lived and appreciated by everyone.
“Whether good times or bad it has been a huge medium of relief and joy. It has also been a strong carrier of our culture, tradition and history through which we have been showcasing our identity to the world at large,” he said in the tweet.
KGF – Chapter 2 remained the highest grossing movie of the Indian film industry in 2022. Originally produced in Kannada, the movie was released in other languages, including Hindi, in April 2022. By collecting ₹434.70, the movie has emerged as the highest grosser in Bollywood last year. The movie collected over ₹1,200 crore from all the languages.
On its opening day on April 14, the movie collected a record ₹54 crore. Ticket booking platform BookMyShow said that it sold 2.14 million tickets for the opening day of the movie.
Similarly, Kantara, grossed around ₹400 crore so far. In fact, the net box office collection of the Hindi version alone was around ₹79 crore. The movie was produced with a budget of around ₹15 crore.
Taking to Twitter, Kananda actor and producer Ramya, Sapthami Gowda (who played the lead female character in Kantara), Karthik Gowda (producer and distributor of KRG Studios), and the Malayalam actor Prithviraj Sukumaran welcomed the Hombale Films’ investment plans.
Hombale Films is producing Salaar, a Telugu movie starring Prabhas. The movie is set for release in 2023.
Its other productions in the pipeline are Raghu Tatha (Tamil) starring Keerthy Suresh, and the Malayalam movie Dhoomam starring Fahadh Faasil and Aparna Balamurali.