Indian Blu-rays?

[singhcr]

I know of Saawriya that has been released in the States, but does anyone know of any Indian imports that are on BD? Many times, the story and visuals of an Indian movie are diminished by a poor DVD presentation. Once I went Blu, I don't want to go backwards!

[pro-bassoonist]

Upcoming...

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=67917

Ciao,
Pro-B

[singhcr]

Thanks for the info!

[Samour]

om shanti om & heyy baby are om blu also. you can get it on amazon( I got heyy baby from eros). i have all three titles(incl saawariya). dunno why bollywood movies are so behind in blu releases.

[Teabaggins]

how about some "decent" hindi movies on BD...like Lagaan?

[azune]

Originally Posted by Samour

om shanti om & heyy baby are om blu also. you can get it on amazon( I got heyy baby from eros). i have all three titles(incl saawariya). dunno why bollywood movies are so behind in blu releases.

As an avid fan of this technology, a massive fan of the US/UK films and also bollywood film releases... I totally agree with your statement Samour.

I believe the Indian film houses have fallen asleep where new technology is concerned. They just concentrate on banging out movie after movie, which is very impressive I must admit and makes tremendous business sense... BUT, out of every 20-odd movies, there is a half decent one... and thankfully EROS were quick to see their biggest release in years - Om Shanti Om was a big global hit, so had to appeal to every market and technology on commercial release. And what a beautiful, sharp, colourful looking film on blu ray. I love it, but the others on release (Sawariya and Heyy Baby), are quite frankly - crap. They look good don't get me wrong, but they're boring.

I hope EROS, YASH RAJ FILMS etc have some 'media/forum watchers' on here, because they need to pull their finger out of their ar*es, and pay attention to technology that was quite rife in Asia many, many years ago.

BIG respect to the American film company's, for bringing out the big releases quick (can't wait for Dark Knight), and getting the old ones re-mastered for blu ray release.

[Mughi]

Hopefully Aditya Chopra's new movie will make it to BD in short order...and Yash Raj will give us new releases of KUCH KUCH HOTA HAI, MOHABBATEIN and DDLJ!

[syncguy]

Unfortunately, Yash Rah Films is well behind on the blu-ray front. They have not announced any movies yet on blu-ray. However, they have a survey on blu-ray for some time now but nothing seems to be happening. It is a shame that they have so many beautiful classics and most of they were released on bad quality DVD

http://www.yashrajfilms.com/bluraysurvey/bluray.aspx

[Mughi]

Thanks for the link...at least it's worth adding another voice to their list!

[mhafner]

I find Saawariya to be anything but crap. Technically one of the finest Bollywood films. And I have no problems with the content either. Much better than the usual 'stuff'.

[azune]

Originally Posted by mhafner

I find Saawariya to be anything but crap.

That's my opinion only... the songs are nice and the film is well filmed.

I believe a popular hindi movie website has similar thoughts to my own.. so I can't be too far off what the movie journalists are thinking?!

http://www.apunkachoice.com/dyn/movi...ya-review.html

[Harvey Dent]

I wrote to Yashraj sometime back asking about their blu ray plans. They wrote back saying they were evaluating their blu ray strategy. Possibly the overseas market for blu rays of Indian movies is not large enough for them to think seriously about the same. They are perfectly happy to pump out DVDs and VCDs for the domestic as well as international consumers

[syncguy]

Indian DVD movies are plagued with piracy. DVDs can be pirated easily andmass produced. Blu-ray is immune to large-scale piracy. They should think strategically and push blu-ray and plan for stopping or delaying DVD releases at some stage. In this way they would be able to expand the market enormously as they will be able to tap into the market currently on pirated DVDs.

They should invest now on blu-ray anticipating market growth in few years time.

[syncguy]

Saawariya is a beautifully made movie with topnotch blu-ray transfer. Beautiful sets, cinematography and songs. Many people have commented that it is a very good movie. However, IMO, it is no way near other movies made by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. e.g. Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Devdas and Black. Due to this reason I expect Saawariya sales will not reach the sales of other Bollywood hits.

Sony should not measure success of Bollywood blu-ray from Saawariya. IMO, they selected the wrong movie as the first blu-ray.

[azune]

Originally Posted by Harvey Dent

I wrote to Yashraj sometime back asking about their blu ray plans. They wrote back saying they were evaluating their blu ray strategy. Possibly the overseas market for blu rays of Indian movies is not large enough for them to think seriously about the same. They are perfectly happy to pump out DVDs and VCDs for the domestic as well as international consumers

I've done something similar, having visited the YRF Studios site... very interesting and impressive site looking at an insight into their recording studios.

I wrote a hefty feedback note, regarding new technology and in particular blu ray. might have pi**ed the recipient off to be honest, I spoke my mind saying how bad it was, that they spend millions on studios, equipment and pre-production, yet when it comes to output, they don't champion the newest of industry standards such as blu ray.

If we all voice an opinion, maybe they (EROS, SONY, YRF) might get moving a little quicker?

You're (syncguy) right about piracy, it's rife in every film sector worldwide, don't think the film studios can do much about it.. even the blu ray copy protection didn't hold out for long, and blu ray rips are all over the place... HA HA, you're right about Sony making the wrong choice with choosing Saawariya on blu ray, where they failed, Eros gained with the magnificent Om Shanti Om... brilliant Bollywood debut on blu ray. Very impressed.

[syncguy]

I think blu-ray is immune to large scale commercial piracy and I expect BDA and Sony will ensure that it will stay the same. Hence, I think, it is a strategic move to push blu-ray with the expectation of reducing and eventually stopping DVD releases in some future date.

In order to achieve this, it is important to feed consumer with blu-ray and give them the feel for higher quality and it nicely fits in with the HDTV push. This strategy is more important and relevant to Indian studios like Yash Raj, Eros, UTS, Ayngaran where piracy makes an enormous dent in the bottom line.

[vsidhu]

Originally Posted by Samour

om shanti om & heyy baby are om blu also. you can get it on amazon( I got heyy baby from eros). i have all three titles(incl saawariya). dunno why bollywood movies are so behind in blu releases.

They're just catching up to DVD (mostly pirated). I have visited India twice in the last 7 years and have found that VCD are the popular choice. DVDs have just started to make their impact in the last few years due to cheap media/players/computers and lack of anti-piracy enforcement. Most people there don't really care about surround sound or HDTVs, they are just too expensive for the averge consumer. The only places you will see all the toys that we love are in big cities (Mumbai, New Delhi, Chandigarh). Even here in Canada the majority of the Indian community don't see any reason to purchase a good official release of movie. They prefer to buy a pirated copy for about $2 CAD.

[azune]

Originally Posted by vsidhu

They're just catching up to DVD (mostly pirated). I have visited India twice in the last 7 years and have found that VCD are the popular choice. DVDs have just started to make their impact in the last few years due to cheap media/players/computers and lack of anti-piracy enforcement. Most people there don't really care about surround sound or HDTVs, they are just too expensive for the averge consumer. The only places you will see all the toys that we love are in big cities (Mumbai, New Delhi, Chandigarh). Even here in Canada the majority of the Indian community don't see any reason to purchase a good official release of movie. They prefer to buy a pirated copy for about $2 CAD.

That first comment was funny, about they're just catching up to DVD, which I totally believe myself. Same in Pakistan, things are as bad.

You make some interesting points there, wealth plays a massive part in how people invest in certain things. This technology aint cheap, far from it, and only certain people on decent wages will be able to fork out on expensive items such as Playstation 3's, blu ray players and HDTV's.

I'm wondering why people don't 'respect' the Indian film industry, as much as people respect the American/Euro film... well, piracy is still rife, but people can just pay £5-£10 here in the UK and similar euros in Europe to own decent films, because the standard of living is half decent and a lot of the pirated movies, are generally crappy copies that they watch (not speaking about myself!!), so they'd prefer original copies. But blu ray is 'specialist' if that's the case that we're discussing here.

I do think the original Indian DVD's are very expensive here in the UK, so i'd rather pay a few more £'s and get a blu ray version where my eyes will pop out watching it!!!

[vsidhu]

Originally Posted by azune

That first comment was funny, about they're just catching up to DVD, which I totally believe myself. Same in Pakistan, things are as bad.

You make some interesting points there, wealth plays a massive part in how people invest in certain things. This technology aint cheap, far from it, and only certain people on decent wages will be able to fork out on expensive items such as Playstation 3's, blu ray players and HDTV's.

I'm wondering why people don't 'respect' the Indian film industry, as much as people respect the American/Euro film... well, piracy is still rife, but people can just pay £5-£10 here in the UK and similar euros in Europe to own decent films, because the standard of living is half decent and a lot of the pirated movies, are generally crappy copies that they watch (not speaking about myself!!), so they'd prefer original copies. But blu ray is 'specialist' if that's the case that we're discussing here.

I do think the original Indian DVD's are very expensive here in the UK, so i'd rather pay a few more £'s and get a blu ray version where my eyes will pop out watching it!!!

An original DVD well set you back about 150-400 Rs. in India. The higher end of that range is about the same here in Canada (about $7-10 or up to $15 on sites like eros).

I always buy originals, but even the originals are not in the greatest shape. It's like watching with an old projector (probably due to bad equipment and reusing tapes to make dupes). The "surround sound" is usually poorly mixed, except on major productions (Bhool Bhulaiyaa was impressive).

[Teabaggins]

Originally Posted by azune

I'm wondering why people don't 'respect' the Indian film industry.........!

because 98% of the movies are unwatchable and embarrassing. if you get an Indian actor one on one they will admit it to you themselves. it's only about how many movies you can pump out before your star fades. the "acting" is deplorable, no standards at all. Any established "Star" is treated like a god on the set and the director can't give them any real direction. this happens in hollywood as well. who can tell Pacino to "bring it down a little" and expect more movies?

SRK is like a trained monkey doing his same old expressions one movie after another, which, if you pay attention are merely weak impersonations of a young Michael J Fox(his favorite actor).

Aamir Khan is one stand out with some dignity in the cesspool of Bollywood.

don't even get me started on the female leads.....

there are only a small handful of actors writers and directors who actually care about the end result. watch "Shot in Bombay" to see the horrible conditions the directors have to work under, it's very interesting.

it's ok, I'm a "bhai" so it's not a racist comment. my dad had dinner at Javed Akhtar's home a few days ago, they have known each other since they were children. my parents are leaving mumbai this week for good.