Reliance Big Pictures is all set to release Kannada film Ijjodu on April 30, 2010. The film marks the return of one of Indian cinema’s legendary directors-Mysore Shrinivas Sathyu after twelve long years.

Mumbai, Maharashtra -- (SBWire) -- 04/13/2010 -- Ijjodu, screened at 4 prestigious domestic film festivals, has already received immense critical acclaim.

Commenting on the release, director M.S. Sathyu says, “Ijjodu is very close to my heart. The film takes a strong stand against the existent Devdasi pratha in the Yellama society in Karnataka. It has some excellent performances and music and I am happy that my 12 year long hiatus ends with such a beautiful film.”

Sanjeev Lamba, CEO Reliance BIG Pictures adds, “Ijjodu not only marks the return of a director par excellence but also explores a social practice which has officially been banned from our society. Reliance Big Pictures is proud to be associated with such meaningful cinema”

Ijjodu scripted by National Award winner Sathyu himself, has noted South Indian Actress Meera Jasmine playing the female lead “Chenni”. Meera was the recipient of the National Award in 2004. The film also stars popular Kannada actor Aniruddha Jatkar as the male protagonist. The film’s music has been composed by Manikanth Kadri and cinematography is by G.S. Bhaskar.

IJJODU – THE INCOMPATIBLE - In a remote area in Karnataka (South India), photojournalist Ananda meets Chenni, a woman who was made a 'Basavi'--offered to the village goddess to save the superstitious locals from a devastating epidemic. Basavis, like Devdasis, often end up becoming sex workers. Ananda specializes in photographing ancient monuments and writing about various rituals and customs that have gone unquestioned. Ananda soon gets obsessed by Chenni’s unusual life. In trying to explore more information about her he discovers that she is a victim of blind faith and the story unfolds to changes their lives forever.

About Reliance Big Entertainment:
Reliance Big Entertainment Ltd. (RBEL, www.rbe.in) is the flagship media and entertainment arm of the Indian conglomerate Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (http://www.relianceada.com). It has a significant presence in filmed entertainment (film production, distribution, exhibition and TV content), broadcasting, studio infrastructure, processing, digital services, music, home video, animation, events, out of home, gaming and new media.

Reliance BIG Pictures: (http://www.reliancebigpictures.com), RBEL's motion picture brand, has built a formidable Indian film production slate in English, Hindi and several other Indian languages, which it markets and distributes worldwide. The slate has projects with leading production houses and marquee Indian directors, both mainstream and arthouse, including Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Mani Ratnam, Rakesh Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan, Kunal Kohli, Priyadarshan, Madhur Bhandarkar, Sudhir Mishra, Shaji N. Karun, Shyam Benegal and Rituparno Ghosh and others.

RBEL has partnered with Steven Spielberg & Stacey Snider in the new DreamWorks Studios. Additionally RBEL also has unique creative partnerships for film development and production with Brian Grazer & Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment, Nicholas Cage’s Saturn Productions, Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment, Tom Hank’s Playtone Productions, George Clooney’s Smokehouse Productions, Chris Columbus’ 1492 Pictures, Jay Roach’s Everyman Pictures, Jim Carrey’s JC 23 Entertainment, Brett Ratner’s Rat Films, Julia Robert’s Red OM Films, Deepak Nayar’s Kintop Pictures and others.

Reliance MediaWorks Limited, member of Reliance ADA Group is India's largest film processing, exhibition and services company.

Reliance ADA Group (http://www.relianceada.com) is among India's largest private sector, business houses and has interests in communications, financial services, health, energy, infrastructure and media & entertainment.

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