‘CHOWRASTA’ HEADS TO INDIA
Biopic on former UiTM vice-chancellor will be dubbed in Tamil for South Indian cinemas soon, writes DENNIS CHUA
FITA STUDIOS’ first movie, Chowrasta, will soon be screened in over 1,000 cinemas in Southern India. The 2015 biopic, based on former Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) vice-chancellor Tan Sri Dr Sahol Hamid Abu Bakar’s childhood, youth and journey to academic success, will be dubbed in Tamil specially for audiences in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
FiTA Studios’ chief executive officer Latiff Mohaideen said the company and co-producer Nation Film Studio Sdn Bhd, together with India’s Modern Media Digitech Ltd, have made this possible following a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed at the recent India-Malaysia Business Forum in New Delhi, India, on April 3.
The MoU signing ceremony was witnessed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.
“Having Chowrasta dubbed into Tamil for distribution in India is a first for a local movie,” said Latiff.
“Chowrasta has all the elements that appeal to Indian audiences — a zero-to-hero story, perseverance and determination, family values, physical action, drama, humanity and the importance of education for social mobility,” he added.
Chowrasta, which landed an entry in the Malaysia Book of Records in 2015 for the largest number of viewers in a single screening (4,416 people at Dewan Agung Tuanku Canselor in UiTM), chronicles the childhood of Hamid who learns martial arts for defence against bullies, and later pursues an engineering degree in UiTM.
Latiff said no date has been fixed for the dubbing process, but it would be completed within a month in India.
“Modern Media Digitech’s representatives will meet us on April 24 for further discussions.
“Southern India has a strong pool of voiceover talents, and I’m sure they will do a great job with the dubbing.
“On our part, we’ll be monitoring the task ahead for quality control, particularly to ensure that the dialogue remains true to the original.
“They’ll be working with an English translation, which we’ve provided.”
If Chowrasta is well-received in Tamil Nadu, FiTA plans to have it screened in other parts of India, and be dubbed in Malayalam, Telugu and Hindi.
Latiff said FiTA was also planning to have Chowrasta screened in Poland, China and the Middle East.
“Our sales agent Silver Wolf International is having discussions with television companies in these countries and regions. We are optimistic that Chowrasta will be screened as a telemovie, especially in China, Poland and the Arab world because of the universal message it carries,” he said, adding that FiTA plans to have more of its movies dubbed and distributed internationally.
“Chowrasta was made available on board Malaysia Airlines flights for three months from last October, and international passengers have enjoyed the movie.
“We are also looking at having our recently-released romantic comedy, Soulmate Hingga Jannah, be screened on flights too. Next month, the movie will be promoted at the Cannes Film Festival’s film market for prospective buyers.”
Established in 2015, FiTA Studios is a wholly-owned subsidiary of UiTM Holdings Group of Companies.