Ekta Kapoor to produce Hindi remake of thriller 'U-Turn' starring Alaya F

MUMBAI: Producer Ekta Kapoor on Monday announced that she will be producing the Hindi remake of Kannada thriller "U-Turn", featuring "Jawaani Jaanemaan" actor Alaya F in the lead role.

The film will be directed by debutante Arif Khan.

The original 2016 movie, starring Shraddha Srinath, has been previously remade in Malayalam in 2017 and later adapted into a Telugu-Tamil bilingual in 2018 with actor Samantha Akkineni headlining the project.

It was directed by Pawan Kumar, who also helmed the original.

Ekta Kapoor said she was thrilled with Alaya's performance in her 2020 debut and is excited for the actor to headline the project.

"There's a self-assured yet vulnerable quality to her that I believe can connect with audiences across. 'U-Turn' takes you on a ride with twists and turns galore and edge-of-the-seat excitement. I'm so happy to have Alaya on board," the producer said in a statement.

"U-Turn" will be produced by Cult Movies, which is the new division under Shobha Kapoor and Ekta Kapoor's Balaji Telefilms.

After it’s blockbuster success in Tamil, Telugu & Kannada, coupled with awards galore, super excited for our adaptation of U-Turn!

In life, there are no shortcuts. But sometimes you have to break the rules and take a #UTurn to change the course of your journey. pic.twitter.com/pAu88Gvwnd

— Ekta Kapoor (@ektarkapoor) July 5, 2021

Alaya, 23, said he is excited to collaborate with Kapoor for "such an interesting project" so early on in her career.

"I feel responsible to be bestowed with the task to drive such an intriguing story and I'm absolutely overjoyed to start this journey," the actor said.

"U-Turn" goes on floors on July 6.

It is the third film to be announced under Cult Movies, after Anurag Kashyap's "Dobaaraa" and Dibakar Banerjee's "LSD 2".

Director Khan has assisted on over ten films, including "Gunjan Saxena", "2 States" and "Student of the Year".