MUMBAI: Prime Focus Limited, the world’s largest media services powerhouse launched its corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm ‘Naresh Malhotra Foundation’ in Mumbai on 2ndOctober 2014, the occasion of Founder and Chairman Emeritus Naresh Malhotra’s 70th birthday. The initiative was flagged off by Naresh Malhotra in the presence of staff, family and friends. Founder, Executive Chairman and Global CEO of Prime Focus, Namit Malhotra joined by video conference.
Naresh Malhotra has been the guiding force behind Prime Focus’ stupendous success from being a garage start up in 1997 to becoming the world’s largest independent and integrated media services company with over 5500 people across 16 cities, 4 continents and 7 time zones.
A veteran in the Indian Film and Television industry, Nareshji as he is fondly called, commenced his career as an Associate Director and Controller of Production with the well-known director Ashit Sen, with whom he made several films, including Khamoshi, Safar and Anokhi Raat, before venturing into producing films on his own, making four films including Shahenshah, with Mr. Amitabh Bachchan as the lead star. Malhotra realized early the potential boom in the Indian television industry, and set up India’s first digital audio studio and then, in 1990, ventured into the business of providing services for the production of TV programs and advertising films by hiring out video equipment like cameras, recorders and monitors to various satellite channels, production houses and ad filmmakers. He was instrumental in the launch of Prime Focus in 1997 and to this day continues to play an active role.
The Foundation will focus on social issues like education and healthcare, and engage with prominent NGOs. It will also work closely with media and entertainment industry associations to offer scholarships for multimedia education and provide financial aid towards better healthcare for retired technicians. Prime Focus will run internal campaigns to drive volunteerism among its globally distributed workforce and organize events like charity balls and movie screenings in cities like Los Angeles, Vancouver, London and Singapore to spread the message and facilitate contributions.
Speaking on this special occasion, Namit Malhotra said “Whatever we have achieved is thanks to the unstinted support and patronage we have received from the media and entertainment industry, and the guidance and blessings of my father. We want to do whatever little we can for the industry. Education and Healthcare have been two causes very dear to my father. On his 70th birthday what better way to thank him for all that he has been and will be to us, as well as the industry that gave us all the success”.
