Red Chillies Entertainment
Red Chillies Entertainment Private Limited, doing business as Red Chillies Entertainment, is an Indian multinational entertainment conglomerate established by actor Shah Rukh Khan and his wife Gauri Khan in 2002. It evolved from the defunct production company Dreamz Unlimited. Based in Mumbai, its activities span creative development, production, marketing, distribution, licensing, merchandising and syndication of films in India and worldwide.
The company also operates a major visual effects division, Red Chillies VFX. Its businesses include film production, film distribution, TV and web series production, TV commercial production, visual effects, professional sports league organization, edutainment and more. Red Chillies has also acquired rights to several Hindi films over the years.
Red Chillies Entertainment owns a 26% stake in ImagiNation Edutainment India Pvt Ltd, which runs KidZania India.
The company also runs a dedicated TV commercials division, Red Chillies TVC.
Shah Rukh Khan serves as founder and managing director, while Gauri Khan is co-founder and joint MD. Venky Mysore, who is also the CEO of the Kolkata Knight Riders, took over as CEO of Red Chillies Entertainment in 2013.
In January 2024, Gaurav Verma left the company after nine years, and in May 2024, Aashish Singh was appointed as the company's new COO and Co-Producer.
History
2002–2004
Red Chillies Entertainment was founded in 2002 by husband and wife Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan. It was launched as a film production company as well as film distributor and visual effects company. It has its roots in Dreamz Unlimited, a defunct film production company that was owned by Khan, Juhi Chawla, and Aziz Mirza. Red Chillies Entertainment launched its visual effects studio Red Chillies VFX in 2006.In 2008, Red Chillies Entertainment formed a sporting subsidiary alliance with the Mehta Group and established its the sporting subsidiary Knight Riders Group, holding a 55 percent stake in the group. The Knight Riders Group owns the Indian Premier League cricket team Kolkata Knight Riders, the Trinbago Knight Riders cricket team of Caribbean Premier League, the Trinbago Knight Riders Women's cricket team of Women's Caribbean Premier League, the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders cricket team of International League T20 and the Los Angeles Knight Riders cricket team of Major League Cricket.
In 2015, RCE started a Color Grading studio known as Red Chillies Color. In 2018, RCE started a Motion Control studio known as Red Chillies Motion Control. In 2018, RCE started a Digital Imaging Technician studio known as Red Chillies DIT.
2004–2010
The production house released Main Hoon Na in 2004, which did well at the box office, becoming the second highest-grossing film of the year. Khan also starred in the company's 2nd release, the 2005 movie Paheli, belonging to genre of Indian Parallel Cinema, the film was critically acclaimed and was selected as India's official entry to the 78th Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category.The third film produced by the company was Farah Khan's mega-budget Om Shanti Om, which was released in November 2007. The film was set in the 1970s and 2000s and paid tribute to the Indian film industry of both these eras. Upon release, it broke many box office records, grossing over 1.49 billion, and thus became the highest-grossing Hindi film of all time at the time of its release. The 2009 film Billu starring Irrfan Khan and Lara Dutta was the company's next release, the film opened to good reviews, but was a failure at the box office. The film made by Roshan Abbas, Always Kabhi Kabhi, did poorly.
2010–present
The company continued working on other projects until finally deciding on Ra.One starring Khan himself, Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal. The pre-production work began in 2007 after the release of Om Shanti Om. The film's crew consisted of more than 5,000 members from India, Italy, and the US, and was pieced together by more than 1,000 people, working in shifts, in around 15 studios across the world. It saw the inclusion of several visual effects techniques being incorporated in the production which were carried out by Red Chillies VFX. With an estimated budget of 1.25 billion, Ra.One was the second-most expensive film ever produced in Indian cinema and the most expensive Bollywood film. The film witnessed a level of publicity campaigning previously unseen in India films, with marketing taking place over nine months and involving major brand tie-ups of a 52 crore which set the record for the largest marketing budget in India. Shah Rukh Khan decided to dedicate Ra. One to his friend and former CEO Sanjiv Chawla, since he stepped down due to ill health.The film released across 3,100 screens in India and 904 prints overseas in both 2D and 3D, making it the largest Indian cinematic release in the world. The film went on to earn 204 crores worldwide, but against the movie's big budget and the huge sum of money spent on marketing it, the movie underperformed and was a commercial disaster. Their next production was Karan Johar's directorial venture, Student of the Year, which was co-produced by Johar's production company. The company is reportedly targeting a 25 percent annual business growth and is set to roll out four to five films, but the Bollywood superstar says he won't act in them.
"We want to make four to five films without me. As a producer I would like to concentrate on the films and visual effects," Shah Rukh told IANS in an interview.
Badla was one such film that didn't star Shah Rukh Khan. It featured Amitabh Bachchan and Taapsee Pannu in lead roles and was directed by Sujoy Ghosh. It is a mystery thriller that was produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, Red Chillies Entertainment, and Azure Entertainment, in which businesswoman Naina Sethi hires lawyer Badal Gupta to clear her name as a suspect in the murder of her lover.
The production house launched its first collaboration with Netflix India, Bard of Blood, in 2019. Based on the 2015 novel of the same name, this espionage thriller starred Emraan Hashmi in the lead role along with Kirti Kulhari, Vineet Kumar Singh, Jaideep Ahlawat and Sobhita Dhulipala. It is a seven-episode series that revolves around the story of an ex-RAW agent. The series premiered on 27 September 2019 on Netflix.
Kaamyaab co-produced with Drishyam Films starring Sanjay Mishra and Deepak Dobriyal was released on 6 March 2020.
Their next upcoming film, Bob Biswas, in association with Sujoy Ghosh's Bound Script Production is currently on floors. Starring Abhishek Bachchan in the lead, the movie is the directorial debut of Diya Annapurna Ghosh. The film is based on a fictional character from Kaahani, ‘Bob Biswas', who is a poker-faced contract killer.
Filmography
Films produced
| Year | Film | Director | Producer | Distributor | Notes | Ref |
| 2000 | Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani | Aziz Mirza | Shah Rukh Khan Juhi Chawla Aziz Mirza | Produced under Dreamz Unlimited | ||
| 2001 | Aśoka | Santosh Sivan | Shah Rukh Khan Juhi Chawla | Produced under Dreamz Unlimited and Arclightz & Films Won 1 Filmfare Award Won 2 IIFA Awards | ||
| 2003 | Chalte Chalte | Aziz Mirza | Shah Rukh Khan Juhi Chawla Aziz Mirza | UTV Motion Pictures | Produced under Dreamz Unlimited | |
| 2004 | Main Hoon Na | Farah Khan | Gauri Khan | Eros International | The studio's first release as Red Chillies Entertainment Won a Filmfare Award | |
| 2005 | Kaal | Soham Shah | Shah Rukh Khan Karan Johar | Yash Raj Films | Co-produced with Dharma Productions | |
| 2005 | Paheli | Amol Palekar | Gauri Khan | India's official entry to the 78th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer | ||
| 2005 | The Outer World of Shah Rukh Khan | Nasreen Munni Kabir | Gauri Khan | Eros International | Produced under Red Chillies International Direct-to-video | |
| 2007 | Om Shanti Om | Farah Khan | Gauri Khan | Eros International | National Film Award for Best Art Direction Won 2 Filmfare Awards | |
| 2009 | Billu Barber | Priyadarshan | Gauri Khan | Eros International | ||
| 2010 | My Name Is Khan | Karan Johar | Hiroo Yash Johar Gauri Khan | Fox Searchlight Pictures Fox Star Studios 20th Century Fox | Co-produced with Dharma Productions and Fox Star Studios | |
| 2011 | Men Will Be Men | Gorky | Samar Khan | PVR Pictures | Produced under Red Chillies Idiot Box | |
| 2011 | Always Kabhi Kabhi | Roshan Abbas | Gauri Khan | Eros International | ||
| 2011 | Ra.One | Anubhav Sinha | Gauri Khan | Eros International | National Film Award for Best Special Effects Won a Filmfare Award | |
| 2012 | Student of the Year | Karan Johar | Hiroo Yash Johar Gauri Khan | AA Films Eros International | Co-produced with Dharma Productions | |
| 2013 | Chennai Express | Rohit Shetty | Gauri Khan Ronnie Screwvala Siddharth Roy Kapur | UTV Motion Pictures | Co-produced with UTV Motion Pictures Won 1 Filmfare Award Won 3 IIFA Awards Won 4 Zee Cine Awards Won 5 Screen Awards | |
| 2014 | Happy New Year | Farah Khan | Gauri Khan | Yash Raj Films | Won 4 Stardust Awards Won 3 Screen Awards | |
| 2015 | Dilwale | Rohit Shetty | Gauri Khan Rohit Shetty | Co-produced with Rohit Shetty Productions Won 2 Screen Awards | ||
| 2016 | Dear Zindagi | Gauri Shinde | Gauri Khan Karan Johar R Balki | NH Studioz | Co-produced with Dharma Productions and Hope Productions | |
| 2017 | Raees | Rahul Dholakia | Gauri Khan Farhan Akhtar Ritesh Sidhwani | AA Films | Co-produced with Excel Entertainment | |
| 2017 | Jab Harry Met Sejal | Imtiaz Ali | Gauri Khan Imtiaz Ali | NH Studioz Yash Raj Films | ||
| 2017 | Ittefaq | Abhay Chopra | Gauri Khan Karan Johar Abhay Chopra | AA Films Yash Raj Films | Co-produced with Dharma Productions and B.R. Studios | |
| 2018 | Zero | Aanand L Rai | Gauri Khan Aanand L Rai | Pen Marudhar Cine Entertainment Yash Raj Films | Co-produced with Colour Yellow Productions Won 1 Filmfare Award Won 2 Zee Cine Awards | |
| 2019 | Badla | Sujoy Ghosh | Gauri Khan Sunir Kheterpal Akshai Puri | Pen Marudhar Cine Entertainment | Co-produced with Azure Entertainment | |
| 2020 | Kaamyaab | Hardik Mehta | Gauri Khan Manish Mundra Gaurav Verma | Pen Marudhar Cine Entertainment | Co-produced with Drishyam Films | |
| 2020 | Class of '83 | Atul Sabharwal | Gauri Khan Gaurav Verma | Netflix | Netflix Original Film | |
| 2021 | Bob Biswas | Diya Annapurna Ghosh | Gauri Khan Sujoy Ghosh Gaurav Verma | ZEE5 | Co-produced with Bound Script Production | |
| 2022 | Love Hostel | Shanker Raman | Gauri Khan Manish Mundra Gaurav Verma | ZEE5 | Co-produced with Drishyam Films | |
| 2022 | Darlings | Jasmeet K Reen | Alia Bhatt Gauri Khan Gaurav Verma | Netflix | Co-produced with Eternal Sunshine Productions | |
| 2023 | Jawan | Atlee | Gauri Khan Gaurav Verma | Pen Marudhar Entertainment Yash Raj Films | ||
| 2023 | Dunki | Rajkumar Hirani | Gauri Khan Rajkumar Hirani Gaurav Verma | Pen Marudhar Entertainment Yash Raj Films | Co-produced with Rajkumar Hirani Films and Jio Studios | |
| 2024 | Bhakshak | Pulkit | Gauri Khan Gaurav Verma | Netflix | ||
| 2025 | The Ba***ds of Bollywood | Aryan Khan | Gauri Khan | Netflix | Web Series | |
| 2026 | Siddharth Anand | Gauri Khan, Siddharth Anand | Yash Raj Films | Co-produced with Marflix Pictures |