For decades, the Indian film industry has operated on a financing model that would make any Wall Street banker wince. Producers relied on a patchwork of theatrical distributors, streaming platforms, television buyers, and informal lenders to fund their projects. It worked — after a fashion. India's film business today stands at an estimated ₹22,000 crore (approximately $2.6 billion), making it one of the largest film industries in the world by volume. Yet beneath the glitz and glamour lies a uncomfortable truth: the industry is chronically undercapitalised.
Vikram Malhotra, founder and CEO of Abundantia Entertainment — the production house behind hits like Airlift, Shakuntala Devi, and streaming successes Breathe and Subedaar — puts it bluntly: "We are a grossly undercapitalised industry" . He explains the structural problem: "Much of the creation, production and quasi-capitalising of producers happens through buyers such as streaming and television companies or theatrical distributors. It is not their job to be in financing" .
This fragmented, buyer-driven financing model has left Indian cinema dependent on the whims of distributors and platforms rather than on disciplined, institutional capital. But that is changing. Today, a new kind of money is making its way to the silver screen — and it is transforming how films are funded, structured, and valued.
Film IP as an Asset Class: The IPL Parallel
The thesis is elegant in its simplicity: if Indian Premier League (IPL) teams can be treated as valuable, tradeable assets worth billions of dollars, why can't film intellectual property?
This is precisely the argument that specialised investment funds are now making. These funds are not private equity firms making strategic acquisitions, nor are they studio-backed production vehicles. Rather, they are pure financial investment funds that have raised money from high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) and institutions eager to invest in Indian cinema, much as they would invest in stocks or bonds.
The goal is to reposition film IP — comprising theatrical rights, digital streaming rights, satellite rights, music rights, and library rights — as a scalable, structured financial asset. Just as IPL team owners can monetise broadcasting rights, merchandise, and franchise value, film IP owners can generate revenue across multiple windows and platforms over decades.
Two funds have already made their opening moves: Filmoney Global and CineNow. Together, they represent a seismic shift in how Indian cinema is financed.
Filmoney Global: The SPV Revolution
Filmoney Global emerged from a strategic joint venture between Filmoney Ink — founded by Sidharth Jain — and partners Srijani Chatterjee and Niraj Arjan. The cross-border film investment platform is headquartered across the United States and the United Kingdom, with fund management based in Dubai but operationally active across New York and London.
What sets Filmoney Global apart is its Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) model. The fund is launching a series of 10 SPVs, each ranging from £5 million to £10 million (or dollars, depending on where the money is raised). The first of these SPVs, valued at £5 million, is about to close.
Here is where it gets interesting: each SPV focuses on a specific youth-centric genre. For instance, SPV A might be dedicated exclusively to funding horror films, while SPV B focuses on romantic movies. The logic is impeccable — by creating economies of scale within each genre, the fund can minimise risk and maximise returns, just like any institutional investment portfolio.
Crucially, Filmoney Global is not chasing star power. "We will back high-concept, theatrical-first films, which don't have big stars and directors," says Sidharth Jain, co-founder and partner at Filmoney Global. This is a deliberate strategy: by avoiding the inflated costs associated with A-list talent, the fund can achieve better risk-adjusted returns. The SPV will invest no more than £1 million per movie, ensuring diversification across multiple projects within each genre-specific vehicle.
A "theatrical-first" film, in this context, means a movie that debuts exclusively in cinemas and becomes available on other platforms only after a specified window. This traditional release strategy ensures maximum revenue capture from the box office before moving to digital, satellite, and other ancillary markets.
CineNow: ₹1,350 Crore and the Tokenisation Frontier
If Filmoney Global represents the artisanal, SPV-based approach to film investment, CineNow is the institutional behemoth. Registered in the British Virgin Islands, CineNow is in the process of closing a ₹1,350-crore fund (approximately $150 million) backed by commitments from overseas investors and family offices. The close-ended fund has a tenure of six years, and most of the commitments have already been secured.
CineNow's ambition is nothing short of institutionalising Indian entertainment financing. Its chairman and managing director, Rohit Dalmia, articulates the vision clearly: "CineNow is building a new category at the intersection of finance, entertainment and technology by transforming film intellectual property (IP) into a structured, investable asset" .
At the core of CineNow's model is a Secured Participation Fund that provides exposure to a curated slate of films rather than a single title. This is slate financing — an institutional model originating in Hollywood where capital is allocated across a portfolio of multiple content projects simultaneously. The approach spreads risk across diverse release windows and monetisation timelines, smoothing returns for investors.
The fund plans to support more than 30 films over six years, with budgets ranging from ₹3 crore to ₹300 crore. Capital is backed by enforceable rights across OTT, satellite, music, and ancillary revenues. CineNow is also pioneering the application of tokenisation within the entertainment sector — a technology-led framework aimed at enhancing liquidity, transparency, and accessibility. By tokenising participation in its investment platform, the company seeks to bridge traditional entertainment finance and digital capital markets. Importantly, the structure ensures that intellectual property ownership remains with creators and production partners while enabling broader investor participation.
The Roy-Kapur Factor: Industry Credibility Meets Institutional Capital
CineNow has assembled an impressive team to execute its ambitious vision. The firm has onboarded Oscar-winning sound designer Resul Pookutty (known for Slumdog Millionaire) and film industry executive Abhay Sinha as founding members of its strategic council.
But the most significant appointment came just days ago. On June 29, 2026, CineNow announced that Siddharth Roy-Kapur — the former head of Disney India and managing director of Roy Kapur Films — has joined as Principal Advisor to the Founding Team. Roy-Kapur's credentials are formidable: he has produced acclaimed projects like Yeh Ballet, Matka King, and Rocket Boys, and is widely regarded as one of the foremost leaders in India's media and entertainment industry.
Rohit Dalmia welcomed Roy-Kapur with words that capture the moment: "India's media and entertainment industry is entering a defining decade. Consumption has scaled dramatically, content is increasingly becoming a global asset, and intellectual property is emerging as one of the most valuable forms of long-term value creation. However, the financial infrastructure around content remains underdeveloped. CineNow was created to bridge that gap" .
Roy-Kapur's response underscores the strategic importance of the partnership: "The Indian entertainment industry is witnessing unprecedented growth, driven by expanding audiences, multiple distribution platforms and the increasing strategic importance of intellectual property. As the sector matures, innovative and well-governed capital solutions will play an important role in unlocking its next phase of growth" .
Why Now? The Perfect Storm of Opportunity
The emergence of these specialised film investment funds is not coincidental. Several factors have converged to create the perfect conditions for institutional capital to enter Indian cinema.
First, the Indian film industry has demonstrated remarkable resilience and growth. Despite periodic box office fluctuations, the long-term trajectory is positive. According to FICCI-EY estimates, the filmed entertainment segment is projected to grow to ₹23,800 crore by 2026, driven by higher per capita income and an expanding cinema audience base of 120 to 150 million. The cumulative box office for 2026 already stands at ₹5,373 crore, which is 12% higher than the same period in 2025.
Second, the revenue model for films has fundamentally transformed. In the past, box office collections were the primary — and often only — source of revenue. Today, films generate value through OTT licensing, music rights, international distribution, satellite rights, and digital monetisation. This multiplicity of revenue streams makes film IP a more predictable and therefore more financeable asset.
Third, traditional financing sources have proven inadequate. As Malhotra of Abundantia Entertainment points out, the hit-driven approach has skewed the way investors look at the business. Streaming platforms and theatrical distributors are not in the business of financing production — they are buyers of finished content. This leaves a gap that institutional capital is now filling.
Fourth, Indian investors are increasingly looking beyond traditional asset classes like equities and bonds. Alternative investments — from real estate to private equity to art — have gained traction. Film IP, with its combination of cultural cachet and financial returns, is an attractive addition to this mix.
The Road Ahead: Challenges and Opportunities
The entry of institutional capital into Indian cinema is a watershed moment, but challenges remain. Governance is paramount — investors need assurance that their capital is being deployed with discipline, transparency, and legal rigour. Chain-of-title verification — the legal due diligence process that traces and confirms the unbroken ownership history of intellectual property rights — is a prerequisite in IP-backed financing. Milestone-linked capital deployment ensures that funds are released only upon the achievement of pre-agreed benchmarks, reducing drawdown risk.
CineNow's model incorporates all these elements: governance frameworks, legal diligence, chain-of-title verification, financial assessment, milestone-linked deployment, and transparent reporting. Filmoney Global's SPV structure similarly embeds risk-management principles into its investment architecture.
There is also the question of scale. Can these funds deploy their capital fast enough to make a meaningful difference? CineNow's mandate to support more than 30 films over six years suggests a steady, disciplined approach rather than a rush to deploy. Filmoney Global's 10 SPVs, each focused on a specific genre, allow for targeted, measured investment.
Perhaps the most exciting possibility is the democratisation of film investment. Tokenisation, which CineNow is pioneering, could eventually allow smaller investors to participate in film financing — much as crowdfunding has opened up other creative industries. This would be a profound shift from the current model, where film financing is largely the preserve of a few wealthy individuals and corporate entities.
Conclusion: A New Chapter for Indian Cinema
The arrival of Filmoney Global and CineNow marks the beginning of a new chapter in Indian cinema. For decades, the industry has thrived on creativity and intuition, but it has lacked the financial infrastructure to match its cultural ambition. That is changing.
As Siddharth Roy-Kapur observed, the Indian entertainment industry is entering a defining decade. Consumption has scaled, content has gone global, and intellectual property has become one of the most valuable forms of long-term value creation. The financial infrastructure around content is finally catching up.
The question is no longer whether institutional capital will enter Indian cinema, but how quickly — and how transformative the impact will be. If the early signs are any indication, the silver screen is about to get a whole lot brighter.
