Sahara One Media And Entertainment Limited has announced the launch date of its much-awaited Hindi Films C&S channel, FILMY.

Shantonu Aditya, Chief Executive Officer, announced that a multimedia Marketing Campaign of FILMY will break on Republic Day, the 26th of January 2006.

FILMY   a digitally encrypted paid channel to be distributed through Sahara One’s distribution partners will form a part of the Sahara bouquet of channels. It will start with an India feed only, and  plans are on for an international feed within the short term itself. Speaking about the USP of the forthcoming channel, Ashutosh, Business Head FILMY, said, FILMY is a unique entertainment channel with a focus on Hindi movies. It will have strong original programming in innovative formats to complement the movie content. With FILMY,  we hope to   redefine the way viewers have perceived Hindi film channels for years. FILMY will present more than just Hindi movies to its viewers. It will  be  much more than just a Hindi films channel  it will be a FILMY channel, to be enjoyed exactly in the way we have enjoyed Hindi Films with friends and family, with all the fun and entertainment that Hindi films stand for. We hope to recreate the same experience for viewers in their homes.

FILMY will indulge viewers in a mix of narrative and humorous programming, which, is a key USP of the movies and movie-related shows being offered by the channel. This innovative and engrossing aspect of the programming will be created and lived by a flagship set of four characters that are integral to  the FILMY programming formats. The four characters are

1.Rokkky, a veteran who, after having presented over 1000 super successful international television episodes, has now come to India through FILMY,

2.Lal Gulab, a don with whose manic fixation with Hindi movies borders on a bloodlust,

3.Lallan, a young actor from Jaunpur who’s  coveting a place in the shoes of Shahrukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan and all the other established superstars of today, and

4.Ruchi Reporter, whose mission in life is to expose the private lives, deals and doings  of stars whose deadliest weapon is her sting!  (Profiles and pics attached)

Apart from Entertaining India, FILMY is also  poised to reach out and touch the lives of Indian in more than 30 cities across the nation.

Shantonu Aditya said, I am pleased to announce that FILMY is launching a nationwide FILMY Yatra, which will see FILMY floats traverse the length and breadth of the country. This ground promotion will culminate with the floats returning to Mumbai on the  14th March 2006, to coincide with FILMY’s celebration of the day as World FILMY Day.

It will be recalled that it was on the 14th of March that India’s first talkie Alam Ara was released. The FILMY Yatra floats were flagged off in Mumbai on the 24th of Jan and from Delhi on the 25th of January. Ashutosh, Business Head - FILMY, is upbeat on the prospects, Filmy will bring about a paradigm change in the Hindi Movie channel category, which has been stagnating for a while now.

FILMY is clearly No. 1 because of its innovative programming and marketing ideas; the fact that we have a very high proportion of original programming content as compared to what is par for the rest of the Movie channels today; the slick and stylish channel packaging;   the quality of audiences that FILMY will deliver, and more. We are confident that our most important constituents the viewers, trade and media will agree with us when they tune in to FILMY.