Brokerage firm Religare Enterprises has entered into a partnership with Vistaar Entertainment Ventures to launch India’s first regulated film fund — Vistaar Religare Film Fund (VRFF).
It has filed for approval with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) as a Venture Capital Fund (VCF). The close-ended fund is expected to have an initial corpus of about Rs 200 crore, with a 5-year lock-in period.
The plan is to look at funding and green-lighting various films, and each film will have a special purpose vehicle (SPV) with the stakeholders being the fund along with the producer, director and writer. The attempt is to provide a platform for new directors, talent and writers.
Religare Enterprises CEO and MD Sunil Godhwani said, “We are spotting new opportunities for creating and maximising wealth for our investors. We look at the media and entertainment space as huge potential and want to cash in when the sector is still nascent.” He said this would bring in more transparency in the sector and also build it as a viable asset class.
Vistaar is promoted by Sheetal V Talwar, who has banking and marketing experience of over 13 years, and has also made films such as Dharm and Mixed Doubles.
Source: Economic Times