Viacom18 Studios

Background

Viacom18 Motion Pictures is a film production division of a joint venture between Viacom (now Paramount Global) and Network 18 based in Mumbai. It is originally formed as Studio18 in 2006, and it was renamed five years later. It was later renamed as Viacom18 Studios in 2018.

Studio18

(March 9, 2007-May 7, 2010)

Nickname: "The Likenesses"

Logo: TBA.

FX/SFX: Animation with portions of live-action.

Music/Sounds: A catchy Indian-style tune.

Availability: Appeared on their Studio18 films before it became Viacom18 Motion Pictures in 2011. First appeared on 1971 and last appeared on It's a Wonderful Afterlife.

Viacom18 Motion Pictures

1st Logo (February 25-September 23, 2011)

Logo: On a black background, the outline of the Viacom 18 logo glimpse before the background flashing to white, the red line wiping with the words "M O T I O N P I C T U R E S" and the byline "A JOINT VENTURE OF VIACOM AND NETWORK 18" wipes in and the whole logo zooms in slowly before the logo fades out to black few seconds later.

FX/SFX: The glimpse of the logo, the background flashing, the wiping of the red line and the words wipes in.

Music/Sounds: A crystallized glockenspiel tune turning into the 3-note triumphant fanfare with two drumbeats and cymbal.

Availability: Appeared on their first films, starting with Tanu Weds Manu and last appeared on the Hindi dubbed version of the Canadian film Breakaway known as Speedy Singhs.

2nd Logo (January 6, 2012-November 10, 2017)

Nickname: "Viacom Family"

Logo: We see the word "VIACOM" (in its current font and in blue) next to a bigger red rounded box with "18" (in white) inside it on a black floor located on a dark blue background with a light in its center. We then see a trail of light which travels through the "O" in "VIACOM". The light flashes and then forms the logos of Colors, Rishtey, Nick, MTV, VH1, Sonic Nickelodeon, and Comedy Central. The trail of light then flies to the right of the screen. The camera pans to follow it revealing the Viacom 18 logo with the Viacom logo being centered. The trail of light draws a red line under the Viacom logo as the letters in "M O T I O N P I C T U R E S" zoom in under the Viacom 18 logo, one by one. The black floor, now more below the logo, is traced by 2 light trails as the word "PRESENTS" zooms in below. As the word zooms in, its letters space themselves out. As it zooms in, the word also changes colors from white to purple

to pink and then finally to red. The camera then slowly zooms away from the finished product until the logo fades to black.

Variants:

The logo was enhanced in 2012 where the background appears to be in an emerald tint.
There is also a variant where we cut to "M O T I O N P I C T U R E S" zooming out letter by letter.
"PRESENTS" in violet sometimes fades in under "M O T I O N P I C T U R E S".

FX/SFX: Great animation.

Music/Sounds: A majestic disco-synth soundtrack.

Availability: Appears on films from the time period, starting with Players and last appeared on Hindi dubbed version of Aval known as The House Next Door.

3rd Logo (January 25, 2018-April 5, 2019)

Nicknames: "The Film Cities", "Redefining Indian Cinema"

Logo: We start with a theater at nighttime, ala Amazon Studios, where we zoom out to reveal the marquee, which reads "NOW SHOWING" and [name of the film] below it. Atop the marquee is a clip from the said, then-upcoming Manmadhudu 2 film. We pan up to see a clip from Padmaavat, (which is also this logo's debut film), and we see two buildings, also having clips playing in it. We then pan through a building with a clip from O.M.G,: Oh My God! in it, and we zoom through a building with a clip from Special 26 playing, and we see a building which has Kahaani and an unknown film on its sides. We pan through a building playing Manto as we pan down to a busy street, as we pan through the side of a building with a clip from Toilet with Andhadhun on its side. and another film as we pan up to see a building with a clip from yet another unknown film playing atop it. We then pan up as the camera becomes a birds-eye vide of the city, and the lights go out to form the Viacom18 logo in yellow in a similar fashion to the Miramax logo. "MOTION PICTURES" appears below a red line and the tagline "Redefining Indian Cinema" fades below.

FX/SFX: Amazing CGI with the live-action footage of the movies.

Music/Sounds: A proud, heroic traditional fanfare and whooshes as the camera pans through the buildings.

Availability: Appears on films from the time period. First appeared on Padmaavat and last appeared on Romeo Akbar Walter.

Viacom18 Studios

(August 9, 2019- )

Nicknames: "The Film Cities Redux", "Redefining Indian Cinema II"

Logo: Same as before, but with the word "S T U D I O S" replaces "M O T I O N P I C T U R E S" and the words "Redefining Indian Cinema" was omitted.

FX/SFX: Same as the previous logo.

Music/Sounds: Same as the previous logo.

Availability: First appeared on Manmadhudu 2, and it was later seen on some films since 2019 onwards.