By Syed Bilal Hasani
The writer is the alumni of Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Sweden and an electrical engineer by profession. He has a keen interest in stock market and finance. This is the first article by the writer for Galaxy Lollywood.
Where all the electronic media is revolving around ratings of political talk shows fueling the nation’s depression, Hum Network is actually doing the job to entertain the people and relaxing the nerves. Run by the most talented and creative management, drama production of Hum Network clearly stands out from the crowd of the entertainment segment of other entertainment channels. This Eid, they have entered into box office business again and so far, have received a warm welcome by film spectators. “Bin Roye” has impressed the viewers and critiques while carrying all the goodies we could expect from a Hum Network production. It is indeed a great beginning by Hum Network and we have some good reasons to believe that they will take film industry much more aggressively in coming days.
Read More: Read Galaxy Lollywood’s review of Bin Roye here.
In Pakistan, all the media houses are privately owned and they often come under allegations of tax evasion and dubious financials. Many of the viewers may not know the fact that Hum Network has distinction of being a publically held business open for investment from local and foreign investors with transparent financials, booming turnover and lucrative prospects. In 2013 and 2014, Hum Network’s net profit showed staggering growth of 98% and 53% mainly due to the launch of new channels and production of a number of blockbuster TV serials, most notably Fawad Khan starrer “Zindagi Gulzar Hai”. Final numbers of the recently ended year are yet to come and they will certainly surpass the profits of the previous years.
In the recently ended fiscal year, Hum Network management had made some major financial decisions while continuing their growth journey. In November 2014, THS Kingsway Fund, a Luxembourg domiciled investment firm, raised its stake in Hum Network Limited from 5.85% to 21.28%. This transaction took place at time when company stock was rallying sky high due to stock split announced by the Hum Network’s management, a strategic move to increase the market float of the company. THS Kingsway Fund is not a new name in corporate circle of Pakistan. They have a history of investing in leading businesses in Pakistan, especially in companies who are expanding the business and exploring the international markets. Prime examples are National Foods and Murree Brewery which came into the fund’s radar soon after these companies decided to expand their business beyond the local boundaries. Had they similar expectations from Hum Network? Back in November 2014, it was not as clear as it is today.
The things started to pick up the pace recently when Hum Network signed a deal with Eros International and gave them rights to access HUM TV’s entire library and gives ErosNow subscribers in India an exclusive opportunity to view the content. This deal
tuned out to be a game changer causing an overwhelming response from the Indian viewers. After success of this step, Hum network decided to go for a big leap by announcing a worldwide release of “Bin Roye” including in Indian circuit, something no other Pakistani movie dared in recent days. To accomplish this, Hum Network collaborated with international film distributor B4U Motion Pictures. So far, the movie is capturing the attention of desi movie lovers all over the world, although its journey into the Indian circuit has been full of obstacles so far. Hopefully we might see fruitful outcomes from such collaboration when the Indo-Pak relationship would settle to a calm level.
Is that all for Hum network’s recent box office adventure? Most of the keen movie followers would already know the answer. With “Bajrangi Bhaijaan”, Hum Network has officially entered into film distribution business and the results are exceptional so far. In local circuit, “Bajrangi Bhaijaan” is currently capturing more screens than “Bin Roye” and “Wrong Number” and has proved to be a blockbuster hit here and worldwide. Hum Network could have avoided the competition between “Bin Roye” and “Bajrangi Bhaijaan” by delaying one for the sake of the other, but for them, it is still a win-win situation if viewers go for any of the two movies.
This would be Good for both countries. As mostle all our Bollywood movies are releasing in Pakistan. We Indians also want to watch the Pakistani movies as there is no any language problem. The cultures and livings are the same.
We are eagerly awaiting Bin Roye and others movies.
Jasbir Singh
Ludhiana. (India).