From the Ramayana that includes Rama, Lakṣmaṇa and Ravaṇa. The painting is framed by a red, green ... [+]
One of the most highly anticipated animated films of the year, “The Garfield Movie,” is set to release on May 24 bringing a beloved character and a bit of nostalgia to the big screen. However, audiences may not have had the opportunity to see this film if it wasn't for producer Namit Malhotra. In the middle of the pandemic, he got the ball rolling with a call to Alcon Entertainment and the pieces came together to get a film about everyone’s favorite lazy, lasagna-eating cat off the ground. Over the last 30 years, Malhotra has been a magic maker in both Hollywood and Bollywood.
A third-generation filmmaker, Malhotra’s journey began in 1995 with a garage start-up in Mumbai, a single Apple Mac computer, and a vision that convinced three tutors from a computer graphics course he was taking to join him, creating Prime Focus. Within 10 years Prime Focus became India’s largest independent media services company pioneering a series of technology firsts in the Bollywood film industry. Malhotra’s success in India led him west, first to the UK followed by the US. A series of acquisitions quickly followed, giving way to the creation of a global footprint for Prime Focus, bridging the gap between east and west.
In 2014, Prime Focus acquired the British visual effects company Double Negative, where Malhotra became CEO of the newly rebranded DNEG. Prior to the acquisition Malhorta worked on epic 3D movies like “Avatar” and “Journey to the Center of the Earth.” The acquisition allowed the company to create a global network of premier visual effects and animation studios, growing the company's headcount from 700 to over 9,000 and adding new services and divisions.
Namit Malhotra, Producer and DNEG Chairman and CEO.
“Those movies really gave us the impetus to step up to the next level. ‘Avatar’ then led to a whole bunch of projects from “Star Wars” to ‘Transformers” and “Harry Potter”,” he said. These achievements successfully set up DNEG for the next stage of explosive growth. In August 2021, Malhotra oversaw an investment of $250 million by Novator Capital Advisers, LLP in subsidiaries of Prime Focus Limited, positioning DNEG to capitalize on the high demand in the content services marketplace and to explore opportunities in adjacent categories and formats, including gaming and original content and IP creation.
DNEG has been recognized by the industry with seven Academy Award wins for Best Visual Effects and continues to work with iconic filmmakers to help bring their visions to life. Recent work includes the upcoming “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” as well as “Oppenheimer” and “Dune: Part Two,” to name a few. Malhotra's next act is to fuel more diversity in American content with a feature film capturing Hindu mythology as a Hollywood production by bringing the Hindu scriptures known as the Ramayana to life on the silver screens.
Malhotra has always been at the forefront of intersecting film, innovative solutions, and technology. With his experience of cross-intersecting Bollywood and Hollywood, he felt it was time to bring the story of “Ramayana” to the world. The Ramayana is one of the great epic poems of India composed in Sanskrit by the poet Valmiki. The poem describes the royal birth of the god Rama in the kingdom of Ayodhya (Oudh), his tutelage under the sage Vishvamitra, and his success in bending Shiva’s mighty bow at the bridegroom tournament of Sita, the daughter of King Janaka, thus winning her for his wife.
King Dasaratha and His Retinue Proceed to Rama's Wedding: Folio from the Shangri Ramayana Series ... [+]
“Again this is something that we spent a lot of years developing, building it towards this opportunity. We feel the time has come where we can bring an original Hindu story to the masses. We have not seen this story being told visually to its greatest potential like a Marvel or ‘Dune’ movie. We are taking that same approach, or the philosophy, while having extra reverence for the belief system and for the people of India, for them to see their story and their culture be presented in a way that no one ever has done. It's a great opportunity. The glue that can help shape and connect the two sides of the world to appreciate each other's culture much more closely,” he shared.
Malhotra shows no signs of slowing down. In addition to Producer credits on “Ramayana,” and “The Garfield Movie,” there are more high-profile projects in the pipeline including the upcoming feature film, “Animal Friends” for Legendary Entertainment. Whether he’s securing financing, collaborating with directors, or building a brand new VFX studio to accommodate production as he did for “Furiosa” in Australia, Malhotra is also the ultimate storyteller committed to creating content for a global audience.
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