Sony BMG acquires music rights of Kamal Haasan's Dasavatharam

Sony BMG has forayed into the Tamil music market by acquiring the music rights of Kamal Haasan's most talked-about movie Dasavatharam, in which he plays 10 different roles.

"It is a privilege for us to enter the Tamil music market with a project as grand and as special as Dasavatharam," said Shridhar Subramaniam, managing director of Sony BMG, India.

"Being associated with Kamal Haasan and Ravichandranan in our very first Tamil project says a lot about the equity of Sony BMG, even in the markets where our presence has not been significant till recently," Subramaniam added.

The film also marks Himesh Reshammiya's debut in Tamil cinema. He has composed the music for Dasavatharam. The film will be released worldwide in April.

"It will be released in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi simultaneously. The number of prints and publicity campaigns are being worked out," producer-distributor V Ravichandran of Oscar Films told the media Wednesday.

Subramaniam is quite upbeat about entering the new territory.

He said: "This is a very special beginning of the things to come. It shows our commitment to be a serious long-term player in this market. Sony BMG has always redefined the way music has been marketed and we look forward to setting new standards here as well."

"Dasavatharam" is one of the most anticipated films this year. The movie will not only see Kamal Haasan playing 10 different characters, but actress Asin also plays dual roles.

Bollywood sex symbol Mallika Sherawat appears as a CIA agent, while Jayaprada, the well-known character artiste, plays another important role.

The music of Dasavatharam will be launched in the first week of March. Apart from this, Sony also has several non-film albums in the pipeline, including one by Yuvan Shankar Raja.

"Sony BMG aims to redefine and initiate an entirely new experience of Indipop music in the region, as it has successfully done in the existing markets," a company official said.

Sony BMG Music Entertainment is partially owned by Bertelsmann A.G. and by Sony Corporation of America.

It has 10,000 artistes, including Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez. In India, Sony BMG has released the music albums of Mani Ratnam's Guru, UTV's Rang De Basanti, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, Aamir Khan's Lagaan and A R Rahman's VandeMataram, among others.