Enterprise: VR Films & Studios Pvt Ltd

Founders: Manish Dutt & Krishi Dutt

Year it was founded: 2000

Sector: Media, Events & Entertainment

Based out of: Mumbai 

With a vision statement of ‘We visualise, you realise’, VR Films & Studios Pvt Ltd brings experience, flair and professionalism to the art of dubbing and film distribution in the Indian subcontinent. Led by Manish and Krishi Dutt, and founded in April 2000, VR Films has grown to be a force to be reckoned with in the world of dubbing both nationally and internationally. The company has 65 studios across the country and over 800 people who are resources on call who work as dubbing artists, sound recorders, mixing engineers etc. Krishi’s big business dream is to showcase Indian talent and work to the world, bringing it the recognition he feels it deserves. Watch this video to learn more:

Starting out

The business has two major verticals. The first is where they acquire and distribute hollywood and international content in the SAARC nations - the nations of the Indian subcontinent. The second vertical is the one which deals in the dubbing of shows. These shows are made available to audiences in local Indian languages and sometimes the dubbing is in foreign languages.

The business was set up 18 years back with one studio. From one, today they have grown to 65 studios. As Krishi humbly puts it, “We were able to find clients in the initial stage and were lucky to start with multinational platforms and leading TV channels. God was kind to us and we built up a good team. We churned out good quality content and that’s how we grew.”

Challenges

VR Films started with one studio. The main challenge at the time was getting established as a mainstay. They focused on being professional and providing quality services to their customers. Financing was necessary to start the business and ensure growth. Obstacles were dealt with as they came and overcome one step at a time.

Manish comments about the challenges in starting up, “In the beginning it looked quite easy. But ensuring deliverables was hard. Initially, I secured a contract for a show for 150 episodes. At that time, it was hard to find studios that would work under my style and meet the deadlines like I wanted them to. But we have come a long way and now have 65 studios across India.”

Key differentiator

In a marketplace that is brimming with competition, VR Films differentiates itself with its quality. Krishi explains, “Our USP is the quality. The second is our teamwork and the services we provide to our clients. We deliver well before time and are very professional to work with.”

They have amassed a storied clientele in 18 years of their existence. They have worked with Paramount Studios, 20th Century Fox, Universal Studio, Turner, Sony Aath, Sony Live, Zee, Zee Anmol and Zee Cinema. They have also worked with Discovery, TLC and Doordarshan.

The company has about 30 people on its payroll in Mumbai and a roster of over 800 freelancers all over India from diverse fields who are resources on call.

Milestones

Asked about the milestones his company has achieved along the way, Krishi said, “I don’t have one milestone. Every day something significant happens and we have an excellent repertoire of clients. The building up of the team, the acquiring of creme de la creme national and international clients and the growth of the business are the greatest milestones over the last 18 years.”

Manish shares a more recent milestone. “We have completed 450 hours of dubbing in a month for an internet platform in four South Indian languages and Bengali. Along with this we dubbed 26 movies in 5 languages, which is effectively 130 movies. It’s a very big task and not many people can achieve what we did.”

GlobalLinker Advantage

Manish’s thoughts on the GlobalLinker advantage are, “It is not just a platform to avail of offers reduce cost. It’s basically a platform that offers a lot of networking with high profile people like MDs and CEOs of SMEs from other fields. It is a networking platform that lets you connect with a lot of people and add value to your business.”

Krishi says, “I heard about GlobalLinker from my brother. I went on to GlobalLinker and found it a very nice platform that was a meeting place for entrepreneurs. I made friends with a few entrepreneurs from different fields where we learned about each other’s business. The platform helps entrepreneurs in their endeavours.”

Future plans

The VR Films team has big future plans. They plan to grow and establish the firm internationally. Krishi believes that India has a lot of talent that should be showcased to the world and VR Films is uniquely placed to do that in the coming years. He also wants to get more involved, directly, behind and in front of the camera.

Advice to aspiring entrepreneurs

Manish’s message to budding entrepreneurs is, “Network as much as you can. You will meet a lot of people along the way who will be willing to help you. Besides just networking, ‘time’. Learn to be time. Respect time. It will pay you gloriously in the future.”

Krishi also has a poignant message. “Always be persistent and never give up on your hope. Dream a lot and work towards realising your dream. Keep working and you will get there one day.”

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