Vikram Malhotra

THE OUTSIDER

- Arun Janardhan

In his early years, Vikram Malhotra didn't have any special connection to cinema, besides occasional viewings with family. It had never been a career option as such nor did he know anyone from the industry.

Except for one esoteric connection. Malhotra, founder and chief executive officer of Abundantia Entertainment, was born on 11 October, which happens to be the birthday of the “first gentleman of Indian cinema”. The period between 1975-79 was one of Amitabh Bachchan's most successful, which worked out as a neat coincidence. Every time there was a party or an evening out during his birthday, Malhotra would be asked to recite a verse from a song or a dialogue from a Bachchan movie.

Several years later, Malhotra, 50, finds himself in the same industry as the Big B, as the head of a content company focused on “developing and producing progressive, insight-based and uniquely Indian stories” for a global audience.

The former chief operating officer of Viacom18 Motion Pictures has built a reliable inventory at Abundantia, with films like Baby, Airlift, Toilet-Ek Prem Katha, Sherni, among others to be followed by the first film of its partner company, Opening Image, called Subedaar with Anil Kapoor. At Viacom, Malhotra had a hand in other successful ventures, including Kahaani, Gangs of Wasseypur, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Queen, Pyaar Ka Punchnama and Tanu Weds Manu.

Abundantia recently announced their artificial intelligence division, aION, to bring in “the game-changing power” of AI to their business. Malhotra believes a combination of data and instinct comes in useful in an under-researched, under-analysed industry, which cannot predict audience choices.

Abundantia has been profitable over the last five years, with revenue consistently crossing ₹200 crore. It also has an AI division now