Former Netflix India executive Abhishek Vyas forms JV with Royal Family of UAE to launch content studio

“We are launching this studio, AVS Filmworks, in Dubai, in partnership with the Royal Office of HH Sheikh Ahmed Bin Faisal Al Qassimi. As a part of this collaboration, we will invest about $150 million in the Indian content business,” Vyas said. “We will be producing content across Indian languages and this joint venture is focused on bringing top notch stories and talent to the Indian audience and Indie cine lovers across the world.”

Vyas joined Netflix in May last year. Prior to that, he was head producer at Zee Studios and senior producer at Eros International. He has also worked at Network18 and Star India previously.

“I have had the opportunity to be deeply entrenched in the Indian film industry, having worked with some of the leading studios and OTTs in the country. The experience has allowed me to be in the middle of the filmmaking process, right from the idea to its release. With this new venture, I shift gears as move to becoming an independent film producer, ” he said.

While Vyas has already started scouting for stories, he said details on the first set of projects will be announced next month.

“I have personally been a fan of Indian films and we are so happy to get into this collaboration with Abhishek and totally support his vision. We hope to bring the best stories to the audience in the near future,” said Salwa Abdul Aziz Zein, CEO at the private office of HH Sheikh Ahmed Bin Faisal Al-Qassimi.

Tomaz Zaleski, chairman of the Royal Office, added, “We are pleased to partner with AVS Filmworks, wherein we will be jointly producing Indian cinemas in different languages. We have signed a partnership agreement and will be announcing our projects by mid-January 2022.”

With video streaming services looking to invest heavily in original content in India, many media executives have either become independent producers or partnered with family offices of industrialists to float content studios. Most notable among these is Applause Entertainment, a venture by Kumar Mangalam Birla and headed by media veteran Sameer Nair.