MUMBAI: Barfi! has earned the distinction of being the first Indian movie to get a mainstream release in the Turkey market, in close to 40 screens on 10 May in the country.
Directed by Anurag Basu, the film has award winning performances by Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Ileana D‘Cruz and music composed by Pritam.
"Turkey is a place where my grandfather has a great following even today. To see my film getting a wide theatrical release in the same country is a huge compliment. I am very excited about this," said Ranbir Kapoor - lead actor and winner of Best Actor award at Filmfare, Screen, Zee Cine, Apsara Producer‘s Guild awards for his role in Barfi!
"I am extremely happy that a story I have lived with over so many years, has in the last few months, received global recognition and now is geared towards greater opportunities including mainstream releases in non-traditional markets," says Anurag Basu, who has won several accolades at all major awards in the country for his direction of Barfi!.
"At UTV, great stories are at the heart of everything we do. We believe that a memorable story finds resonance wherever it travels and Barfi! is one such story, which has appealed to a global audience much like its success in India, North America, UK, Middle East. After its screening at the prestigious Busan and Marrakech film festival last year, the film continues to receive accolades from all quarters including the Grand Jury Award at the prestigious Okinawa Film Festival in Japan. Barfi! is the widest release for any Hindi film in Turkey and we are thrilled at the prospect of around 40 theatres showcasing Barfi! This is as wide a release as Hindi movies get in one of our largest markets like Middle East", said Disney UTV international distribution, syndication and Disney media distribution executive director Amrita Pandey.
Turkey‘s film exhibitors Cinemajestic Firat Dilbaz said, "The trailer was truly wonderful and the film an even more beautiful experience for us. For many years Turkish audiences have not watched Indian movies in theatres and we are excited to have a critical and commercial success such as Barfi! as the first on this scale. We are currently trailering the film in over 200 screens and the response from the audiences has been extremely encouraging. The story is truly heart-warming and we believe it will touch a chord with our audience irrespective of language and the location where it was created."
The film witnessed immense success at the box office as well as critical acclaim in the form of top honours at all key awards in India this year and is expected to echo the same success in newer markets. The film was India‘s official entry to the Academy Awards 2012.
