Los Angeles-based Film Finances Inc announced Wednesday it has signed agreements to guarantee the future movie projects of two Bollywood production houses.
"Deals have been finalised with Bollywood's maverick producer-director Ram Gopal Varma and Manmohan Shetty's production house 'Entertainment One'," said Richard Soames, president, Film Finances Inc.
"This is the right time to be in Bollywood and I am happy that the industry is receptive to the concept," he said. The move is a rare step towards adopting a corporatised structure and global standards in Bollywood, the world's largest movie-making industry with an average of 1,000 productions a year.
"Film Finances will take a guarantee for a film project from the producer and sign clauses with actors to ensure that the project is completed in time," Soames said.
Producers will be charged a standard 3.5 percent of the total fee of the film project and stand guarantor for its completion.
Film Finance Inc will look into daily filmmaking progress and stand guarantor if budgets are overshot.
Ram Gopal Verma, who churns out a movie every 8-9 weeks has blockbusters such as "Sarkar" (Lordship) and "Bhoot" (Ghost) to his credit. Shetty's Entertainment One, a division of Adlabs, has produced hits like "Munnabhai MBBS" and "Gangaajal" (Holy Ganges water) in recent years.