UTV delves deeper into production and distribution; signs up nine directors

In a significant development, UTV Motion Pictures has signed up nine directors for projects to be produced and distributed by it. These include Ram Gopal Varma, Prakash Jha, David Dhawan, Vishal Bharadwaj, Aatish Kapadia, Chandan Arora, Aparna Sen, Tigmanshu Dhulia and Somnath Sen.

Four movies to be directed by filmmakers from the list above will be co-produced by the STAR Group with whom UTV has a JV going. The joint venture was signed last year, and according to it, the productions will hit the floor this year. According to Ronnie Screwvala, CEO, UTV, the joint venture is a great synergy, with STAR's marketing strength capable of taking the productions to "greater heights". "We have a production pipeline of 5 to 6 movies a year, and it is a natural process for us to be in control of our own destiny with our own worldwide distribution," he claims. "We cannot emerge as a true studio model unless we control our own distribution. Within India, artificial borders and territories need to disappear and national-level distribution and marketing needs to happen with earnest," he states.

UTV will set up an All-India national distribution network for simultaneous release of its films across India. Internationally, the company has established bases in New York and London for distribution in North America and Europe. The rest of the worldwide distribution operations will be managed out of India.