MUMBAI: NDTV Lumière, the initiative of NDTV Imagine to bring world cinema to Indian audiences, unveiled its first offering - the theatrical release of The Orphanage. The critically acclaimed Spanish film, produced by Guillermo Del Toro, which has won over 28 international awards, was premiered on 29 May at PVR Cinemas in Mumbai.

Amitabh Bachchan at the premiere of The Orphanage

Announcing the first release from NDTV Lumière, NDTV Imagine SVP - new ventures Dhruvank Vaidya says, "NDTV Lumière will take us beyond television and propel us into the realm of multiple screens, multiple platforms and multiple technologies. We believe that there is a large audience for cinema of this kind across the country and our endeavor is to bring the best from across the world and present it to this audience via multiple platforms from theatrical releases and DVD to a 24 hour television channel, among others. "

NDTV Lumière director Sunil Doshi said, "The foundation of NDTV Lumière is to bring diverse and contemporary world cinema and the works of new and emerging master film-makers to India on a grand scale. We have so far watched 4,500 international movies and have zeroed in on 450 films across genres from horror to comedy and from drama to animation."

NDTV Lumière director Manmohan Shetty added, "I always felt that there was space for cinema from Europe, Latin America, Africa, South East Asia and Arabic countries. NDTV Lumière is bridging this gap by providing contemporary world cinema to the growing and evolving audience in our country."

NDTV Lumière will premier world cinema titles in Indian theatres immediately following their worldwide release. The movies from NDTV Lumière will also be made available across multiple platforms such as home video, a 24 hour TV channel, pay-per-view across DTH platforms and internet downloads.

NDTV Lumière also has plans to organise a host of events and promotions such as lectures by experts from the world of cinema, workshops for film students, and opportunities to interact one on one with the directors and cast of these films - offering audiences insight and a context to the film.