The Dirty Picture was one of my favorite Hindi films of 2011, and starting tomorrow, it will be available via a legal stream exclusively from Mela. Mela is a VOD service that I've been using for about a month now, and I'm impressed with their service. Mela provides hundreds of Hindi films with English subtitles on demand through Roku, their own set-top box, and an iPad app. The quality of the picture and sound is very good, better in many cases than Netflix's Bollywood streams. They also have a ton of catalog Indian titles for those of you adventurous enough to try out some classics. I'm going to begin an Indian film review series for those of you intimidated by the massive volume of Indian cinema, and I already know that many of the films I'll be reviewing are available on Mela. The service charges only a monthly fee of $4.99 for the Roku app, and that includes unlimited streaming as well as exclusive licenses like this one, as well as Ghost (reviewed here) and Good Night | Good Morning (also reviewed here). I think it's a great deal for anyone interested in checking out Bollywood cinema, and with more deals to come, You can't really go wrong. Here's Mela's press release for The Dirty Picture.
Mela Acquires Global Online Rights to Recent Bollywood Blockbuster, The Dirty PictureSubscribers will be able to enjoy the multiple Filmfare Award-nominated movie across all Mela platformsSanta Clara, CA, Jan 27 2012: Mela, a global multi-platform consumer entertainment service with one of the largest aggregations of premium South Asian video content, has acquired exclusive U.S online rights and non-exclusive global online rights to the critically acclaimed and commercially successful Bollywood movie The Dirty Picture. Mela will provide the widest distribution to the movie across all of its three current distribution platforms starting February 2012.The movie gained instant and widespread success upon its theatrical release in December 2011. It has earned multiple nominations at this year's prestigious Filmfare Awards, including nominations in the top categories of Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actor. Mela is timing the release of The Dirty Picture on its individual distribution platforms as Mela celebrates the end of its highly successful, free launch promotional period of its Bollywood movie service on those platforms.Additionally, given Mela's commitment to bringing a high quality experience to its subscribers, Mela will release The Dirty Picture in high definition - the first major online Bollywood service to do so. English subtitles will also be provided for the movie.In the U.S., The Dirty Picture will be available exclusively on Mela's high definition set top box and its Mela Bollywood channel on the Roku streaming player starting February 1, 2012. The movie will be available on Apple's iPad in the middle of February, as part of Mela's upgraded iPad App that will launch on the iTunes App Store around that time.Mela's exclusive online rights in the U.S. will last two months.Sab Kanaujia, General Manager of Mela, commented, "Mela is excited to acquire The Dirty Picture, our first big blockbuster new release acquisition. It demonstrates our commitment to bringing to our customers hit mainstream blockbusters in high quality as quickly as we can after their theatrical release in India. Additionally, we believe that Mela establishing itself as a compelling, high quality legal alternative to bootlegged content will go a long way in combating piracy for new Bollywood releases in international markets.""Being one of the prominent players in digital arena, our aim is to offer our audience a variety of content on different platforms where consumers are present. Our tie-up with Mela for The Dirty Picture is a step forward in that direction. We have been a preferred partner with Mela since its launch, and with The Dirty Picture tie-up we take this association to the next level. The early release and easy accessibility of a blockbuster movie like The Dirty Picture on a lawful platform is sure to set a trend in the industry that will benefit both the consumer and the content owners." Jai Maroo, Director, Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd, stated.