Tech Shout!

We had earlier reported about Bollywood going the mobile way. And now there’s further development.

In a strategic move, Bollywood – the world’s largest film industry teamed up with the global mobile communications spectrum to premiere its first feature films for mobile viewers at the 3GSM World Congress (February 12-15) in Barcelona.

The Bollywood Mobile Initiative is driven by Roamware, the global leader in roaming and mobile connectivity solutions; Hungama Mobile, the world’s largest aggregator, developer and publisher of Indian entertainment and Bollywood content; Sanjay Gupta, a leading Bollywood director; and the GSM Association (GSMA), the global trade association for mobile operators.

Roamware’s Media Call technology is offering the ability to incorporate the cinematic content into the everyday mobile experience for film fans.

Bobby Srinivasan, CEO of Roamware said, “Media Call redefines mobile communications from voice to visual media, enabling the sharing and promotion of film clips to accelerate the growth of the mobile movie market.”

Two Bollywood short films “Zahir” and “Matrimony” were premiered in Barcelona today. These films are a part of the feature film ‘Dus Kahaniyaan’ (10 Stories) produced by Sanjay Gupta of White Feather Films, starring more than 20 leading Bollywood stars such as Dia Mirza, Suneil Shetty, Sanjay Dutt, Neha Mandira Bedi, Aftab Shivdasani and many others.

“Bollywood today is the world’s largest movie industry, producing more than a thousand movies a year with an audience of more than two billion viewers across 127 countries. Formatting that content for the mobile audience and ensuring simplicity of delivery and accessibility provides staggering reach and revenue possibilities,” continued Srinivasan.

“The GSMA is delighted to welcome the stars and directors from the Bollywood world to the world’s largest mobile event,” said Bill Gajda, Chief Marketing Officer of the GSMA. “We are excited by the tremendous potential for Bollywood entertainment on mobile phones, and delighted to support the efforts of Roamware and Hungama Mobile in their commitment to bringing a rich array of Indian film entertainment to the fourth screen for a global audience of millions.”

“India is the fastest growing market in the mobile world, and the world’s fourth largest market. It has the potential to be the largest market globally by 2010. It is the most logical market from which to launch the mobile movie industry and present a brand new avenue of cinematic entertainment for mobile users everywhere. The potential is truly amazing. Hungama Mobile has already launched a Bollywood channel directly on operator decks around the world in nearly 30 countries, with over 70 operators. This channel contains music, imagery, video and games from Bollywood. Showcasing Bollywood movies on mobile is a natural extension both as a tremendous new marketing opportunity as also revenue for all the stakeholders,” said Neeraj Roy, Managing Director & CEO, Hungama Mobile.

The dramatic advancement of communications technology, from download speeds and battery life to compact form factors, screen sizes and resolution, as well as memory improvements, means mobile devices are now capable of delivering a compelling, high quality and uniquely personal viewing experience. For a fact, Bollywood and cricket are the two biggest addictions in India. And in the past few years the mobile fever is also catching up the nation. The present move is certainly going to somewhere redefine the entire movie and mobile experience.