Streaming giant inks deal with Indian superstar.
Amazon Video India has signed an exclusive streaming deal with Bollywood star Salman Khan, starting with recently released Tubelight and including all of the star’s upcoming films.
Under the terms of the deal, all films from Salman Khan Ventures released after Tubelight (pictured, below) will stream exclusively on Amazon Prime Video, immediately after theatrical release and two months before satellite broadcast. Older titles starring Khan such as Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Kick, Jai Ho and Hero are also included in the deal.
Directed by Kabir Khan, Tubelight is set during the Sino-Indian War of 1962 and stars Khan, Sohail Khan and Chinese actress Zhu Zhu. It was released in India on June 23.
Amazon signed a similar deal last year with Bollywood studio T-Series, under which titles stream on the platform a few weeks after theatrical release and ahead of their TV premiere.
Targeting India as a priority market, the streaming giant has signed a string of deals with other Indian studios, including Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions, over the past year, as well as commissioning several original Hindi-language series, starting with cricket drama Inside Edge.
James Farrell, head of content, Amazon Prime Video, Asia Pacific (pictured top left with Khan and Nitesh Kripalani, director and country head, Amazon Video India), described the deal with Khan as “one of the biggest star deals to have ever been done in the world”. He added that “the talent of India needs to be on a worldwide stage for global audiences to see ”
Khan said in a statement: “Amazon Prime Video reaches over 200 countries and territories and I am happy to collaborate with Amazon Prime Video and expand the reach of Indian cinema. Fans of Indian cinema will discover my movies on a new platform and the platform will also help new fans discover our cinema.”
At the end of last year, Amazon’s rival Netflix signed a long-term deal with another major Bollywood star, Shah Rukh Khan, and more recently snagged rights to Aamir Khan’s blockbuster drama Dangal.
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