Duniyadari

Marathi film ‘Duniyadari’, directed by Sanjay Jadhav and starring Swapnil Joshi, Ankush Choudhary, Urmila Kanitkar and Sai Tamhankar, is enjoying unprecedented levels of critical acclaim and commercial success as the highest grossing film in the Marathi film industry till date.  The film, which debuted in 37 UFO digital theatres on 19th July, 2013, has witnessed a more than four-fold jump in the number of theatres in its second week, as its UFO theatre count increased to 153.  It is also in the unique position of being the Marathi film which has screened in the highest number of UFO theatres till date (213 UFO digital theatres and counting).  Together, UFO Moviez and Scrabble Entertainment (India’s first and only 2K DCI compliant Digital Cinema deployment entity in which UFO Moviez has a majority stake) comprise 86% of the digital screens that the film released in its first week.

UFO’s Digital Cinema solutions have enabled films like Duniyadari to enjoy widespread first day first show releases across geographies.  Apart from Maharashtra, Duniyadari released in theatres across Goa, Karnataka and Gujarat.  The film has had a 100% digital release and was also shot on Alexa.

Buoyed by the widespread digital release and distribution phenomenon, the Marathi film industry has witnessed a major transformation.  384 Marathi films have released on the UFO digital network till date, including 70 films in 2013.  Some of the big Marathi releases on the UFO network are ‘Mee Shivaji Raje Bhosle Boltoy’, ‘Balak Palak’, ‘Faqta Ladh Mhana’ and ‘Kaksparsh’.

Commenting on the occasion, co-producer of Duniyadari Nanik Jaisinghania said “Duniyadari’s success has exceeded our expectations beyond imagination and we are extremely happy with the response to the film.  Since its release, we’ve screened 3000 shows of the film per week on average.  I’ve met people who’ve watched the film upto 14 times and enjoyed it tremendously each time!  This is also the first time that a Marathi film has relied primarily on trailers for promotions, as early as six months prior to the release date. I highly appreciate the support provided by UFO Moviez as our digital partner.  I think I can safely speak on behalf of all producers of Marathi films when I say that the widespread release of films like Duniyadari enabled by UFO’s Digital Cinema technology has gone a very long way in helping us make that much-needed connect with our audiences.”

Pankaj Jaysinh, COO, UFO Moviez India Limited added, “UFO would like to congratulate the makers of ‘Duniyadari’ for the tremendous success of the film.  We have focused on bridging the geographic and digital divide in theatres across the country.  In the last 8 months, UFO has digitized 91 theatres across Maharashtra, taking the total count of UFO digital theatres in the state to 371.   The film industry is reaping the benefits of the digital distribution of films today, including higher footfalls in theatre premises and renewed popularity of regional cinema.”

Swapnil Joshi, lead actor of Duniyadari, adds his inputs, “I’m extremely excited about the response to Duniyadari.  We’ve made a great film that has touched many hearts and UFO has made sure that the film reaches audience on the very first day of release.  UFO has brought about a revolution in the average Marathi filmgoer’s movie experience.”