Eskay Movies

Eskay Movies is an Indian media and entertainment company which started in 1988 by Ashok Dhanuka and Himanshu Dhanuka. The expanded Eskay Movies into becoming one of the biggest media and entertainment houses in eastern India. In the film industry, Eskay Movies has following divisions: Production, Distribution, Exhibition, Digital Cinema and Music and Online Store. The production house is headquartered in Kolkata, West Bengal and prominently produces Bengali language films. Digital movie distribution firm United Mediaworks (UMW) has expanded its operations into Bangladesh by distributing and co-producing films with Bangladeshi companies, such as Jaaz Multimedia. Under the new partnership, United Mediaworks will provide its digital cinema production and distribution technology to over 256 screens in Bangladesh. With this expansion, UMW claims to have a distribution chain present across 550 screens in both India and Bangladesh.

History

1988–2009: Early years and initial releases

Eskay Movies was founded by Ashok and Himanshu Dhanuka in 1988. In 2005, Eskay released their first feature film, ''Chore Chore Mastuto Bhai'', starring Mithun Chakraborty, Chiranjeet Chakraborty, Jisshu Sengupta. From 2008, Eskay would begin to release films every year, such as ''Bhalobasa Bhalobasa'', ''Dujone'', and ''Jamai Raja''.

2010–2013: Commercial successes

Eskay Movies released two films in 2010, ''Kohono Biday Bolo Na'' and '' Wanted'', the latter of which became popular for its director-actor duo of Rabi Kinagi and Jeet. After releasing ''Hello Memsaheb'', Eskay would go on to release ''Fighter'' and ''Shotru'' in 2011.

Eskay began 2012 with the critically acclaimed film ''Khokababu'' starring Dev and Subhashree Ganguly, which became one of the highest grossing Bengali films. Eskay would go on to release '' Bikram Singha: The Lion Is Back'' and ''Idiot''. After the successful release of ''Kanamachi'', Eskay released ''Khoka 420'' and ''Khiladi'', with the former becoming a box office success. Eskay has also acquired the rights to remake the hit youth-centric romantic comedy Kannada movie ''Googly''.

2014–present: India-Bangladesh joint ventures and critical acclaim

Eskay Movies' sole release in 2014 was ''Ami Shudhu Cheyechi Tomay'', which was co-produced with Bangladeshi film company Action Cut Entertainment. The film, which won the award for Best Bengali Film at the 2015 Kalakar Awards, would go on to spark a trend of Indo-Bangla joint venture films, most of which would be a co-production of Eskay Movies and Jaaz Multimedia.

Aside from their film ''Mayer Biye'', Eskay Movies co-produced three films with Jaaz Multimedia in 2015 : ''Romeo vs Juliet'', ''Agnee 2'' and ''Aashiqui: True Love''. Despite having initial success with the audience, ''Romeo vs Juliet,'' a remake of the film '' Jatt & Juliet'', was panned critically. ''Agnee 2'', a sequel to the Bangladeshi film ''Agnee'', was released to commercial success but mixed critical reception. ''Aashiqui: True Love'' would launch the career of actress Nusrat Faria in both India and Bangladesh.

Eskay Movies released seven films in 2016, all of which were co-produced by Jaaz Multimedia: ''Angaar'', ''Hero 420'', ''Niyoti'', ''Badsha – The Don'', ''Shikari'', ''Prem Ki Bujhini'' and ''Rokto''. The year began with two films starring Om, ''Angaar'', a drama, and ''Hero 420'', a romantic comedy. ''Hero 420'' was released for the occasion of Valentine's Day, releasing on 12 February in India and 19 February in Bangladesh. After debuting in ''Angaar'', Jolly starred alongside acclaimed actor Arifin Shuvo in the film ''Niyoti'', which released in India in June and in Bangladesh in August. ''Badsha – The Don'', a remake of the film ''Don Seenu'' starring Jeet and Nusrat Faria, received commercial success and mixed critical reception. ''Shikari'', which stars Shakib Khan and Srabanti Chatterjee, was a commercial success and received critical acclaim, leading to a Best Film win at the Kalakar Awards, where Srabanti Chatterjee also won Best Actress. ''Shikari'' also led for two Best Actor wins for Shakib Khan, at the Tele Cine Awards and Bangladesh's Meril Prothom Alo Awards. ''Prem Ki Bujhini'' received negative reception while ''Rokto'' received mixed reception.

In 2017, Eskay Movies released two Indian films, '' The Bongs Again'' and ''Byomkesh O Agnibaan'', and two films co-produced with Jaaz Multimedia, ''Nabab'' and '' Doob: No Bed of Roses''. ''The Bongs Again'', a sequel to ''The Bong Connection'', received mixed reception. ''Byomkesh O Agnibaan'', a sequel to ''Byomkesh O Chiriyakhana'', also received mixed reception. Both ''Nabab'' and ''Doob'' were a box office successes and received critical acclaim, but ''Doob'', starring Irrfan Khan, received international praise, competing at the Shanghai International Film Festival and winning at the Moscow International Film Festival.

Films

Released

References

{{Eskay Movies

Entertainment companies of India
Companies based in Kolkata
Mass media companies established in 1988
Film production companies of India
1988 establishments in West Bengal
Indian companies established in 1988