UTV all set to make a strong foothold
It seems UTV Motion Pictures, one of the biggest production houses of the country, is making its place firm in Mollywood. The company has decided to handle the theatrical distribution rights of five Malayalam films - ‘Koothara’, ‘Bicycle Thieves’, ‘Pournami’, ‘Rasputin’ and ‘Nikkah’, in the coming months. UTV stepped into Malayalam industry with ‘Grandmaster’ and ‘Husbands’ in Goa in 2012. One of the major highlight of the re-entry is the production giant’s move to produce more medium budget films.
“We are delighted to line up a solid slate of films in Malayalam to release in the next four to five months. Each film has a unique storyline and we are confident that they will be enjoyed by all the movie lovers,” says G Dhananjayan, chief, South Business - Studios, Disney UTV. “The films will be released at a large scale,” says Gaurav Verma, director, India Theatrical Distribution Studios, Disney UTV.
‘Koothara’ directed by Srinath Rajendran has already hit headlines because of the presence of Mohanlal in a cameo role. The film that also stars Sunny Wayne, Bharath, Meera Jasmine, Samantha, Nazriya, Gauthami Nair, Janani Iyer, Akhila Sasidharan and Jothirmayi is expected to release next January.
‘Bicycle Thieves’ directed by debutant Jisjoy has Asif Ali, Aparna Gopinath, Salim Kumar, Siddique and Aju Varghese in major roles.
The film is expected to reach theatres on November 28. ‘Pournami’ directed by Albey starring Sunny Wyne, Pournami, Biju Menon, Lalu Alex and Tovino Thomas will hit the screens next February.
‘Rasputin’, a romantic comedy by Jinu G Daniel that has Vinay Fort, Archana Gupta, Aju Varghese and Srinath Bhasi in key roles, will reach the theatres next month. ‘Nikkah’ based on a Malabar Muslim marriage is a musical comedy directed by Azad Alavil. The film that stars Sreenath Bhasi and Sekhar Menon in lead roles will be released in next January.