Popular Indian actor Mohanlal to set up TV company

If Malayalam matinee idols Mammootty and Suresh Gopi could do it, it was just a matter of time before Mohanlal also followed suit.

That move has now materialised, with Mohanlal launching a new company that will produce television serials that could be a direct threat to the serials of Mammootty and Suresh Gopi that are now on the "mini screen channels".

"Not necessarily", says Mohanlal. For one, the TV serial that Mohanlal is planning to produce will be targetted at children. For another, he does not want to see his venture as an attempt to take on Mammootty or Suresh Gopi.

Mammootty's serial Jwalayai has apparently made a fortune for the star, and has turned out to be one of the bigger successes on the small screen in recent times.

Suresh Gopi recently got into the mini screen act, launching a serial titled Indraneelam. Incidentally, both Mammootty and Suresh Gopi have set up their own studio facilities, too.

Mohanlal says he will outsource the production facilities and that he will not have his own studio to start with.

Fielding questions from the press here, Mohanlal denied that the downturn in fortunes of the mainstream film industry had anything to do with his decision to start a television serial.

"A venture for children was on my mind for a long time, and now it is materialising," the actor said. He plans to serialise the late Kottarathil Sankunni's Iytheehya Maala, a collection of folklore. The script of the serial is by P. Balachandran and B.R. Prasad.

Mohanlal has launched a separate company, Visual Magic (P) Ltd with "contributions from friends" to produce the children's serial and take up other such ventures.

According to the actor, the serial will be different from all others in several respects. One key difference is that the serial will be directed by the top directors in the Malayalam film industry, with each director directing five episodes of the serial.

Simultaneously, Visual Magic will join hands with Asianet Communications Ltd to produce a feature film for children. Asianet officials said the film would have a tentative budget of Rs6 million. "If the film clicks, we would consider doing more such films," they said.

Mohanlal himself would play the lead role in the children's feature film that Asianet and Visual Magic will jointly produce. The film will be directed by T.K. Rajeev Kumar.

Visual Magic and Asianet are planning to have a long-term association, taking up innovative projects in the future. Visual Magic will, besides producing the feature film and television serial, host websites with video streaming facilities.

The company has already had discussions with numtv.com. The latter has good exposure in the European and the U.S. markets, and a tie-up will enable Visual Magic to help promote its products in the western markets.