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		<p>December 10, 2008</p>







        <p>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE</p>





		<p><b>PRESS CONTACT FOR IFFLA:</b><br>

		John Wildman <br>

		Director, Press and Public Relations <br>

		Tel: 323.600.3165 <br>

		Email: <a href="mailto:jswildman@hotmail.com">jswildman@hotmail.com</a> <br><br>





	    Surekha Paruchuri<br />

		South Asian Press<br />

	    Tel: 310.403.0665<br />

	    <a href="mailto:surekha@indianfilmfestival.org"> surekha@indianfilmfestival.org</a></p>



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					<br />
            	  <p align="center"><strong>BUSINESS LEADERS AT RELIANCE BIG ENTERTAINMENT AND
WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT HONORED BY 7TH ANNUAL INDIAN FILM FESTIVAL OF LOS ANGELES
</strong></p>

				  <p><strong>HOLLYWOOD, CA, December 10, 2008</strong> &ndash; The 7th Annual Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) announced today that Richard Fox and Amit Khanna will be presented the IFFLA Industry Leadership Awards.  Fox is the Executive Vice President of Warner Bros. International and heads up all of Warner Bros.’ non-US initiatives in all phases of the entertainment industry. Khanna is the Chairman of Reliance BIG Entertainment, the media arm of the $75 billion Ambani Group that recently completed its purchase of Dreamworks and announced that it would spend $1 billion on the Indian film and entertainment business. The award presentation will be made at the IFFLA Industry Leadership Award Luncheon on April 24, 2009 at the House of Blues in West Hollywood.</p>

<p>The IFFLA Industry Leadership Award was created to recognize the achievements of industry executives who have had a substantial and personal impact on the creation and distribution of Indian themed content globally and have led the expansion of the entertainment and media industry in India.</p>

<p>The IFFLA Industry Leadership Award is presented by the leading entertainment law boutique Raskin Peter Rubin & Simon, based in Los Angeles. Raskin Peter is a full service entertainment industry law firm with global clients in the United States and India.  Arnold Peter of Raskin Peter and Christina Marouda, Executive Director of the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, will present the award.</p>
 
<p>Fox has held his current post since 1992, having begun his career at Warner Bros. in 1975.  As part of his responsibilities, he oversees the studio's local-language film production, acquisition and distribution activities in more than 20 countries around the world.  He previously served as President of Warner Bros. Pictures International, where he headed the distribution of the Studio's film product in all overseas markets before moving into his present position.</p>

<p>Warner Bros. Pictures will release the blockbuster adventure/comedy CHANDNI CHOWK to China, starring Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar and Deepika Padukone on January 16, 2009.    WBPI recently entered into a multi-picture deal with People Tree Productions, co-owned by noted director Nikhil Advani and also announced that it has entered the animated film arena with "Bird with a Cap," to be directed by Jyotin Goel and produced by Goel Screencraft.  This past September, the company released Shona Urvashi's "Saas Bahu Aur Sensex," its first locally distributed Indian film. Warner Bros. Pictures India has entered into an exclusive multi-picture deal with Soundarya Rajnikanth's Ocher Studios, covering the production and distribution of live-action South Indian language films. This strategic alliance expands Warner Bros.' local production business across all four southern Indian languages and, through strategic rights retention, builds the company's library of film and television titles.</p>

<p>"We are very excited to be getting more and more involved in the vibrant and rich Indian film scene," said Fox.  "We look forward to working with our Indian partners on various projects and making a real contribution in this important market.  We’ll continue to explore additional slate deals as well as seek out projects with young and emerging filmmakers."</p>

<p>Khanna has been involved with media from an early age.  He has worked in theatre, radio, television, journalism, and films.  He started his film career as an Executive Producer and subsequently produced and directed feature films and over 3000 hours of television programming. He has written over 400 film and non-film songs and several film scripts.  Khanna was the Managing Director of Plus Channel before joining Reliance Entertainment in 2000.  He has served as the President of the Film Producers Guild of India and has been on the committee of the Indian Broadcasting Foundation, Indian Music Industry and the Film Federation of India. Khanna oversees the diverse business at Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (R-ADAG) in the media & entertainment space.</p>

<p>“I’m indeed honored to receive the IFFLA award. I humbly accept it on behalf of the immensely talented team at Reliance BIG Entertainment,” said Khanna. “More than anyone, the person who deserves all the credit is our chairman Anil Dhirubhai Ambani, whose deep and abiding commitment to media and entertainment, is the reason for the phenomenal growth of Reliance BIG Entertainment.” </p>

<p>In announcing the selection of the 2008 award recipients, IFFLA Executive Director Christina Marouda said, "We take great pride in the fact that IFFLA is not only a place for the creative community to gather, but has become the leading forum in which to recognize the tremendous contributions of business executives such as Richard and Amit who have helped shape and continue to define the business structures that have made the Indian entertainment industry so vibrant and profitable."</p>

<p>Chair of the Selection Committee Arnold Peter added, "This year's honorees were not difficult to identify. First, Warner Bros. has had a long and illustrious presence in India. More importantly, Richard Fox is a shining example of a business executive who gives back much more than he takes and that includes his contributions to the entertainment community in India.  And what can we say about Reliance?  Its acquisition of Dreamworks was perhaps the most talked about transaction of the year. Only a visionary leader like Amit Khanna can guide the company as the company takes its rightful place among the studios that are Hollywood."</p>


				 
				  <p><strong>About IFFLA</strong><br />

				    The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) is a nonprofit organization devoted to a greater appreciation of Indian cinema and culture by showcasing films, honoring entertainment industry performers and business executives and promoting the diverse perspectives of the Indian Diaspora.</p>

				  <p>For more information about the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, please visit <a href="http://www.indianfilmfestival.org/">www.indianfilmfestival.org</a>.</p>

				  <p><strong>PRESS CONTACT FOR IFFLA:</strong><br />

				    John Wildman<br />

				    Director, Press and Public Relations<br />

				    Tel: 323.600.3165<br />

				    jswildman@hotmail.com</p>

				  <p>Surekha Paruchuri<br />

				    South Asian Press<br />

				    Tel: 310.403.0665<br />

				    surekha@indianfilmfestival.org</p>

				  <p>&nbsp;</p>

			

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