HBO readies Diwali treat

The English movie channel will broadcast blockbuster like Mission Impossible 3 during the festival season.

HBO, the 24-hour English movie channel, has prepared a package of Hollywood blockbusters for broadcast during the Diwali festival season in the sub-continent.

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It will screen Mission Impossible 3, the biggest blockbuster premiere of the year starring Tom Cruise, on November 7.

HBO has classified its offerings into five themes that will unfold from Monday to Friday and wrap up the week with action-packed thrillers Saturday and Sunday.

"Coinciding with the festival season, the special themes in different genres will offer quality entertainment to all age groups, adding flavour to the festival of lights," HBO South Asia country manager Shruti Bajpai told IANS at a preview of the Diwali menu late Tuesday.

The festive season themes are Let's Salsa (Mondays), Kids Power (Tuesdays) Blockbuster Mania (Wednesdays), Great Comedy Challenge (Thursdays), Friday Blockbusters (Fridays), See it First (Saturdays) and Fantastic Portal (Sundays).

"Over the past seven years since we started to bring the best of Hollywood to Indian homes, we have seen our viewership growing by 20-25 per cent annually to reach about 26 million households last year," said Bajpai.

Offering a choice of 90 Hollywood movies a month, including 30 new titles, the pay channel plans to increase the number of pictures to 100 from next year to minimise repeats in a day.