Red Chillies Entertainment


Red Chillies Entertainment is an Indian film production and distribution company established by Shah Rukh Khan and his wife Gauri Khan in 2003. It was transformed from the defunct Dreamz Unlimited.
Based in Mumbai, Red Chillies Entertainment has formed a full-fledged film studio in India. The studio's activities span across creative development, production, marketing, distribution, licensing, merchandising and syndication of films in India and worldwide. They are also a premier visual effects company. Throughout the last several years, Red Chillies has acquired the rights to several Bollywood films.
Apart from film production, RCE has a visual effects studio known as Red Chillies VFX, which is considered as India's leading visual effects company. It started in 2005. The company also has a 55% stake in the Indian Premier League cricket team Kolkata Knight Riders, Trinbago Knight Riders of Caribbean Premier League and Cape town Knight Riders of T20 Global League.
Sanjiv Chawla was the former CEO of the company, while Gauri Khan serves as a producer. In February 2013, Venky Mysore, the CEO of Kolkata Knight Riders took over additional responsibility as chief of Red Chillies Entertainment as well.

History

Red Chillies Entertainment is an Indian film production house and distribution company established by Shahrukh Khan and his wife Gauri Khan. In 2003, choreographer Farah Khan, a good friend of Khan, decided to direct a film with him. He then took over the production company Dreamz Unlimited which he created with Juhi Chawla and director Aziz Mirza and transformed it into Red Chillies Entertainment with his wife Gauri Khan, who became the producer of the first production Main Hoon Na in which Khan starred as well.

Films

2003-2010

The production house released Main Hoon Na in 2003, which did well at the box office, becoming the second highest-grossing film of the year. Khan also starred in the company's 2nd release, the 2005 movie Paheli, belonging to genre of Indian Parallel Cinema, the film was critically acclaimed and was selected as India's official entry to the 78th Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category.
The third film produced by the company was Farah Khan's mega-budget Om Shanti Om, which was released in November 2007. The film was set in the 1970s and 2000s and paid tribute to Indian film industry of both these eras. Upon release, it broke many box office records, grossing over 1.49 billion and thus became the highest-grossing Hindi film of all-time at the time of its release. The 2009 film Billu starring Irrfan Khan and Lara Dutta was the company's next release, the film opened to good reviews, but was a failure at the box office. The film made by Roshan Abbas, Always Kabhi Kabhi, did poorly.

2010 – present

The company continued working on other projects until finally deciding on Ra.One starring Khan himself, Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal. The pre-production work began in 2007 after the release of Om Shanti Om. The film's crew consisted of more than 5,000 members from India, Italy and the US, and was pieced together by more than 1,000 people, working in shifts, in around 15 studios across the world. It saw the inclusion of several visual effects techniques being incorporated in the production which were carried out by Red Chillies VFX. With an estimated budget of 1.25 billion, Ra.One was the second-most expensive film ever produced in Indian cinema, and the most expensive Bollywood film. The film witnessed a level of publicity campaigning previously unseen in India films, with marketing taking place over a period of nine months and involving major brand tie-ups of a 52 crore which set the record for the largest marketing budget in India. Shah Rukh Khan decided to dedicate Ra.One to his friend and former CEO Sanjiv Chawla, since he stepped down due to ill health.
The film released across 3,100 screens in India and 904 prints overseas in both 2D and 3D, making it the largest Indian cinematic release in the world. The film went on to break multiple box-office records and according to its distributors, became the second highest-grossing Bollywood film worldwide at that time, earning over 2.4 billion. Their next production was Karan Johar's directorial venture, Student of the Year, which was co-produced by Johar's production company. The company is reportedly targeting a 25 per cent annual business growth, and is set to roll out four to five films, but the Bollywood superstar says he won't act in them.
"We want to make four-five films without me. As a producer I would like to concentrate on the films and visual effects," Shah Rukh told IANS in an interview.
Badla was one such film that didn't star Shah Rukh Khan. It featured Amitabh Bachchan and Taapsee Pannu in lead roles, and was directed by Sujoy Ghosh. It is a mystery thriller that was produced by Red Chillies Entertainment and Azure Entertainment, in which businesswoman Naina Sethi hires lawyer Badal Gupta to clear her name as a suspect in the murder of her lover.
The production house launched their first collaboration with Netflix India, Bard of Blood, 2019. Based on the 2015 novel by the same name, this espionage thriller starred Emraan Hashmi in the lead role along with Kirti Kulhari, Vineet Kumar Singh, Jaideep Ahlawat and Sobhita Dhulipala. It is a seven-episode series that revolves around the story of an ex-RAW agent. The series premiered on 27 September 2019 on Netflix.
Kaamyaab co-produced with Drishyam Films starring Sanjay Mishra and Deepak Dobriyal was released on 6 March 2020.
Their next upcoming film, Bob Biswas, in association with Sujoy Ghosh's Bound Script Production is currently on floors. Starring Abhishek Bachchan in the lead, the movie is the directorial debut of Diya Annapurna Ghosh. The film is based on a fictional character from Kaahani, ‘Bob Biswas', who is a poker-faced contract killer. Unannounced projects are yet to come such as Latai, directed by Rajkumar Hirani and stars Shah Rukh Khan and Dia Mirza, produced by Khan, Hirani, and Vidhu Vinod Chopra, then the next film is Darbadar, directed by Nishikant Kamat and stars Khan, Aayush Sharma, Ananya Panday, and Amyra Dastur, produced by Khan and Karan Johar, then the other film will be Bijilee Ki Raatein, directed by Vikramjit Singh and stars Arjun Kapoor and Shivaleeka Oberoi.

Films produced

YearFilmDirectorProducerNotesRef
2000Phir Bhi Dil Hai HindustaniAziz MirzaShah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla, Aziz MirzaProduced under Dreamz Unlimited
2001AsokaSantosh SivanShah Rukh Khan, Juhi ChawlaProduced under Dreamz Unlimited
Won 1 Filmfare Award
Won 2 IIFA Awards
2003Chalte ChalteAziz MirzaShah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla, Aziz MirzaProduced under Dreamz Unlimited
2004Main Hoon NaFarah KhanGauri KhanThe studio's first release as Red Chillies Entertainment
Won a Filmfare Award
2005KaalSoham ShahShah Rukh Khan, Karan JoharCo-produced with Dharma Productions
2005PaheliAmol PalekarGauri KhanIndia's official entry to the 78th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer
2005The Outer World of Shah Rukh KhanNasreen Munni KabirGauri KhanDirect-to-video
2007Om Shanti OmFarah KhanGauri KhanNational Film Award for Best Art Direction
Won 2 Filmfare Award
2009Billu BarberPriyadarshanGauri KhanRemake of the Malayalam film Kadha Parayumbol
2010My Name Is KhanKaran JoharGauri Khan, Karan JoharCo-produced with Dharma Productions and Fox Searchlight Pictures
Won 3 Filmfare awards
2011Men Will Be MenGorkySamar KhanProduced under Red Chillies Idiot Box
2011Always Kabhi KabhiRoshan AbbasGauri Khan
2011Ra.OneAnubhav SinhaGauri KhanNational Film Award for Best Special Effects
Won a Filmfare Award
2011Don 2Farhan AkhtarShah Rukh Khan, Ritesh Sidhwani, Farhan AkhtarCo-produced with Excel Entertainment
2012Student of the YearKaran JoharHiroo Yash Johar, Gauri KhanCo-produced with Dharma Productions
2013Chennai ExpressRohit ShettyGauri Khan, Ronnie Screwvala, Siddharth Roy KapurCo-produced with UTV Motion Pictures
Won 1 Filmfare Award
Won 3 IIFA Awards
Won 4 Zee Cine Awards
Won 5 Screen Awards
2014Happy New YearFarah KhanGauri KhanWon 4 Stardust Awards
Won 3 Screen Awards
2015DilwaleRohit ShettyGauri Khan, Rohit ShettyCo-produced with Rohit Shetty Productions
Won 2 Screen Awards
2016Dear ZindagiGauri ShindeKaran Johar, Gauri Khan, R BalkiCo-produced with Dharma Productions and Hope Productions
2017RaeesRahul DholakiaGauri Khan, Farhan Akhtar, Ritesh SidhwaniCo-produced with Excel Entertainment
2017Jab Harry Met SejalImtiaz AliGauri Khan, Imtiaz AliCo-produced with Window Seat Films
2017IttefaqAbhay ChopraGauri Khan, Karan Johar, Abhay ChopraCo-produced with Dharma Productions and BR Films
2018ZeroAanand L RaiGauri Khan, Aanand L RaiCo-produced with Colour Yellow Productions
Won 1 Filmfare Award
Won 2 Zee Cine Awards
2019BadlaSujoy GhoshGauri KhanCo-produced with Azure Entertainment
2020Class of '83Atul SabharwalGauri Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Gaurav VermaNetflix original film
2020KaamyaabHardik MehtaGauri Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Gaurav Verma, Manish MundraProduced by Drishyam Films, presented by Red Chillies Entertainment
2020Bob BiswasDiya Annapurna GhoshGauri Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Gaurav VermaIn association with Bound Script Production

Visual effects

Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. has a visual effects studio known as Red Chillies VFX which started off in 2005. Apart from home productions, the VFX team had been involved with many major movies like Chak De! India, Krrish 3, Don: The Chase Begins Again, Dostana and De Dana Dan. The division has won accolades for its work in India and abroad. Some of the major awards won by the team:
The Studio was involved in following projects.
An extended five episodes miniseries version of Aśoka aired on Star Plus from 28 May 2002 to 25 June 2002.
A TV production arm Red Chillies Idiot Box was launched in 2009. The unit produced 10 shows, 2 Television films and 1 Theatrical film Men Will Be Men before it was shut down in 2012.
In 2017 it was announced that Red Chillies Entertainment will produce an eight episode series for Netflix based on the novel The Bard of Blood by Bilal Siddiqi starring Emraan Hashmi, Vineet Kumar Singh, Kirti Kulhari, Sobhita Dhulipala and Jaideep Ahlawat.
YearShowChannelNotes
2002Asoka:The SeriesStar PlusExtended miniseries version of film
2009Knights & AngelsNDTV ImagineReality Show to pick six cheerleaders for Kolkata Knight Riders for the Second season of Indian Premier League
2009Ghar Ki Baat HaiNDTV ImagineSitcom
2009Tere Mere Beach MeinStar PlusCelebrity chat show Hosted By Farah Khan
2009First Ladies with Abu Sandeep NDTV Good TimesChat show hosted by fashion designers Sandeep Khosla and Abu Jaani
2010–2011Disney Channel IndiaMusical Teen drama
2010Living With A Superstar: Shah Rukh KhanTLC IndiaA ten-part docu-series on Shah Rukh Khan.
2010Like I Love YouMTV IndiaTelevision Film Directed by Somnath Sen and produced by Samar khan
Part of "MTV Luv Reel" series
2010Love Ho Jaane DoMTV IndiaTelevision Film directed by Gorky and produced by Samar Khan
Part of "MTV Luv Reel" series
2011Filmy Dabba PartyFood FoodChat show hosted by Delnaaz Irani which showcased food habits of film personalities
2011Up Close & Personal with PZUTV StarsCelebrity chat show hosted by Preity Zinta
2011–2012Coke Studio @ MTVMTV IndiaSeason 1 and 2
2011–2012Ye ParindeyChannel V India26 episodes series
2019Bard of BloodNetflix
2020BetaalNetflix4 Episodes

Sports

In 2008, Red Chillies acquired ownership rights for the franchise representing Kolkata in the Twenty20 cricket tournament Indian Premier League, for a price of US$75.09 million, and have since named the team Kolkata Knight Riders. KKR is the richest team in the IPL and it has been ranked as the most valued with a brand value of $42.1 million. Financially, the KKR are the most profitable and successful franchise in the IPL as well. The home of the Kolkata Knight Riders is Eden Gardens, the largest and most iconic cricket stadium in India. It is also one of the largest stadiums in Asia.
In 2011, they introduced the Mumbai franchise in the motorsport racing league i1 Super Series. In 2012, SRK showed his interest to buy a 50& share of Dempo S.C. Indian football club of I League. He also has a 50% stake in the Caribbean Premier League franchise Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel from 2015 onwards. The team had many popular former players and the current coach of Kolkata Knight Riders, Jacques Kallis and other well-known players like Kamran Akmal, Dwayne Bravo, Johan Botha, Darren Bravo and Cameron Delport etc.
The team cinched their maiden Caribbean Premier League title in 2015, right after Shahrukh Khan became the owner of the franchise. He changed the name and logo of the team the very next season to Trinbago Knight Riders, with the name and the logo being almost identical to KKR.