Britain bound: Abhishek Bachchan and Rani Mukherjee in Bunty Aur Babli.

Adlabs Films Limited, a part of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani led Reliance group, will acquire a majority stake in the Siddharth Basu-helmed Synergy Communications in its first serious foray in television business.

Synergy, of course, has been a pioneer in TV software production, making such cult small-screen shows as Kaun Banega Crorepati, University Challenge, Mastermind India, Kamzor Kadi Kaun and even the new dance show on Sony, Jhalak Dikhhla Ja. In addition, it has done Live shows — Channel [V] Awards 97-98 — and successfully published the Mastermind series.

The Adlabs investment will be used for enhancing Synergy’s financial strength, production operations and scaling up content to include popular fiction and non-fiction software including reality and lifestyle shows.

Manmohan Shetty, chairman and managing director, Adlabs Films, said: “We are very excited with the beginning of the association with Synergy. The quality of content they have created consistently over a period of time is truly of international standards. We believe in Siddharth Basu’s vision and approach, and he would continue to manage the company. While Adlabs is acquiring 51 per cent controlling stake in Synergy Communications, operational control will remain with the original promoters of Synergy.”

Siddharth Basu, on his part, said: “The alliance with Adlabs would allow Synergy to not only consolidate its ability to deliver fine TV programmes with world-class production values in different genres, but would also enable us to develop an exciting range and depth of content for emerging opportunities in a variety of media.”

Chopra time

Channel 4, one of the more popular channels in the UK, is paying tribute to Yash Chopra through a special film festival. Starting Monday, September 18, and continuing right up to November 6, The World of Yash Chopra will air on Mondays on Channel 4.

Each of the eight movies will have a special introduction either by Chopra or the director and star of the movie. Included in the festival will be films both directed by Chopra or produced under the banner of Yash Raj Films.

The festival aims to introduce a wide section of British television audiences to the more contemporary creations of Yash Raj Films, as well as the later-day hits directed by Yash Chopra. So, besides Veer-Zaara, Dil To Pagal Hai, Darr and Lamhe, the festival will air Dhoom, Hum Tum and Bunty Aur Babli. The show wraps up with the Aditya Chopra-directed Mohabbatein.

“I am truly grateful for this honour,” said Yash Chopra. “It has always been my belief that at Yash Raj Films we make movies for the entire world, and this special festival simply reaffirms this belief.”

Feluda abroad

Brain and brawn: Sabyasachi Chakraborty (right) and Tota Roy Chowdhury on the sets of Tintorettor Jishu

Feluda is all set to nail the thieves who stole a Tintoretto painting from a house on the outskirts of Calcutta, and the chase is going to take the strapping sleuth to Hong Kong this September.

Film-maker Sandip Ray and his team leave for Hong Kong on September 18 to shoot the climax for Tintorettor Jishu. Apart from Feluda Sabyasachi Chakraborty, Topshe Parambrata Chatterjee and Jatayu Bibhu Bhattacharya, there will be Tota Roy Chowdhury and Paran Bandopadhyay in pivotal roles for this schedule of the film being produced by Kamal Bansal.

Sandip has zeroed in on Hong Kong and Kowloon. “We will shoot on both the islands. The city of Hong Kong will be very much a part of the film,” he said. “Hong Kong has a very unusual topography. It has mountains, sea and skyscrapers, and is visually dazzling, which is a sharp contrast to Kowloon.”

Tota, who plays Robin Chowdhury an ally of Feluda in the Tintoretto investigation, will get to show off his martial arts skills in some action scenes. “Paran Bandopadhyay will be Feluda’s local contact in Hong Kong,” added the film-maker whose last Feluda film, Bombaiyer Bombete, had beaten a few box-office records.

The Hong Kong shoot will be wrapped up in 10 to 12 days, with help from local artistes. “We will have to take some artistes from Hong Kong. We will decide on the cast soon; their pictures will be sent to us over e-mail,” said Sandip, who is yet to finalise the casting of the villain.

“It’s a big help that we will be carrying our equipment. We will also need a production assistant from Hong Kong. The only problem in Hong Kong is language because not too many people are conversant in English… A very small portion of Calcutta shooting is left, but that will be dictated by the Hong Kong schedule.”

The Tintorettor shoot had begun in the dacoit-infested forests of Jhargram in early February, where a palace was turned into Baikunthapur, a sprawling house in Ray’s text from where an original Tintoretto painting is smuggled out to Hong Kong.

Back to 9/11

Terror trek: A scene from The Path to 9/11.

It is being touted as the first ever official version of what happened on September 9, 2001. On Sunday, Zee Studio premieres The Path to 9/11, a dramatisation of the events leading up to the fateful morning. The mini-series is based on the report of the 9/11 Commission published in July 2004.

Writer Cyrus Nowrasteh uses this historic document as the basis for a powerful story with action as gripping and far reaching as the source material itself. Shot in Toronto, Morocco, New York and Washington DC, actors portray the famous and infamous, along with the formerly anonymous and often-heroic people thrust onto history’s stage.

The five-hour mini-series will be divided into two parts on Sunday, September 10, from 9 pm to 12 midnight and on Monday, September 11 from 9 pm to 11 pm.