‘Reliance, Universal in talks for Indian theme park’
The park will mix themes from Hollywood with those from Indian films
NEW DELHI (AFP) – Indian tycoon Anil Ambani has begun talks with Universal Studios on building a 1.5-billion-dollar movie-themed amusement park in India, a source with knowledge of the discussions said Saturday.
The park, which would be promoted by Ambani’s company Reliance Big Entertainment, will mix themes from Hollywood with India’s prolific film industry known as Bollywood, the source said.
“It would be unique” to India, the source said.
Anil Ambani has been steadily building an entertainment presence after a highly publicised breakup in 2005 with his elder brother, Mukesh, in which the billionaire siblings carved up the Reliance empire built by their father.
A spokesman for Reliance Big Entertainment declined to comment on the matter while Universal could not be reached for comment on the proposed park, first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
The park could be a joint venture or be an entertainment arm of Reliance Big Entertainment under which Reliance would pay Universal royalties for using movie-related brands, the source said.
An agreement could be finalised later this year between Reliance and Universal, owned by General Electric Corp’s NBC Universal, the source said.
The total cost would be around 1.5 billion dollars, the source said.
The theme park, which would be one of the biggest in the world and have rides such as roller coasters, would resemble ones Universal has in the United States and Japan.
Reliance Big Entertainment, part of the media-to-energy Reliance-Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (R-ADAG), is looking at potential locations in New Delhi and in Mumbai.
Reliance believes there is a good market for a theme park because of India’s rapid economic growth that has created an affluent middle class who already throng malls and cinemas.
Last year, India’s Reliance Big Entertainment and Hollywood director Steven Spielberg signed an 825-million-dollar deal to make half a dozen films every year.
