Bollywood film Striker set for YouTube premiere

• Striker is set to become the first Bollywood film to be premiered overseas on video-sharing website YouTube. The film is to be released on YouTube simultaneously along with its cinema release in India on Friday, 5 February.

  Striker will be free to users outside of India but customers in the United States will have rent it.

  The films makers say the reason for the free-of-charge release on YouTube is to reach the audience in a "cost-effective manner".

  Striker stars Siddarth Narayan, who also appeared in Rang De Basanti, as a carrom board player in Mumbai and was produced by The Indian Film Company in association with Studio 18.

  "This is a redefining moment," said Studio 18 director Hemant Bhardwaj.

  "The success of this project will put wings to our films, which are rich in content but unable to find optimal distribution abroad because they dont feature the conventional stars. "

  Source: BBC