LOTUS FIVE STAR AND RHB PRESENT BLOCKBUSTER MOVIE “DASAVATHARAM”

Thursday, 12 June 2008- The Lotus Five Star AV (M) Sdn Bhd and the RHB Banking Group are pleased to present the Tamil Blockbuster movie, “Dasavatharam”. The movie, touted to be a mega hit, stars the famous Tamil movie “don”, Padmashri Dr. Kamal Hassan.

Dato’ R. Doraisingam Pillai Chief Executive Officer of Lotus Group (left) presented Mr Renzo Viegas Head of Retail Banking with a garland at the premiere of “Dasavatharam” at the Lotus Five Star Cinema.

The Lotus Five Star AV needed a strong partner to promote the film throughout the country and found the perfect partnership with one of the leading banks in Malaysia, the RHB Banking Group. The Lotus Five Star AV is indeed very proud to be associated with the RHB Banking Group to promote Dasavatharam in Malaysia.

The Lotus Five Star AV has been entertaining the Malaysian public by distributing Tamil, Hindi, Malay and English movies for the past 35 years. It is also a proud copyright owner of more than 95% of Tamil movies releases in Malaysia. Blockbuster movies such as Rajinikanth’s “Chandramukhi”, Vijay’s “Sivakasi”, “Pokkiri”, Vikram’s “Bheema”, Surya’s “Vel” and Ajit’s “Godfather” were among the Tamil movies, distributed by the Lotus Five Star AV, which received overwhelming success in the country.

“There is a relatively common factor between RHB and the Lotus Group – both organisations have come a long way since their humble beginnings. Both have worked very hard to provide value-added services to the discerning public and despite the various hurdles and challenges faced, have become the market forerunners in their respective areas. We are constantly on the look out for business partnership to enhance our products and services. We trust that this movie offering will delight our Indian customers and Malaysians in general,” said Mr. Renzo Viegas, Head of Retail Banking, RHB Banking Group.

ABOUT THE MOVIE:

The LotusFive Star AV is about to rewrite its own history by distributing one of the most anticipated movies of the decade, “Dasavatharam”, starring the “Ulaga Nayagan” (“universal actor”), Kamal Hassan. The title of the movie “Dasavatharam”, which means the ten reincarnation of Lord Vishnu, has been aptly used to indicate the ten different roles Kamal has taken in the movie. The roles include a Brahmin priest, dwarf, scientist, fighter, tourist guide, old woman, beggar, George Bush, a Punjabi, a black man. As a superstar who never shies away from experimenting, Kamal has penned the storyline himself.

Directed by the famous K.S Ravikumar, this movie has taken more than two years to complete. This is the fourth time that both Kamal Hassan and Ravikumar have come together to produce the most expensive movie ever made in India - 120 crores (25 million USD). The sets for the movie took up the major part of the cost with its stunning sets, which include the White House, a boat-race involving 1000 boats and a palace, as well a scene depicting the Tsunami tragedy.

KS Ravikumar and Kamal Hassan have previously produced 3 movie hits, “Pancha Thantiram”, “Avvai Shanmugi” and “Thenali”. The chemistry between the director and actor is evident that Kamal regarded Ravikumar as his “third” brother in his speech during the recent audio launch.

With Dasavatharam already making waves in the Tinseltown, the movie is sure to be a box-office throughout the world. Oscar film’s Oscar Ravichandran produced this much awaited flick which also star Asin and Mallika Sherawat, lending excitement and glamour to this action thriller.

Issued by: Lotus Five Star AV (M) Sdn Bhd and Group Corporate Communications Division, RHB Capital Berhad forLotus Five Star AV (M) Sdn Bhd . For further information, please call Lee Chee Keong at 012- 471 9181 of Lotus Five Star AV (M) Sdn Bhd or Eza Dzul Karnain at 012-3420060 of Corporate Communications Division, RHB Capital Berhad.