Leading Bollywood production and distribution house UTV Motion Pictures Plc (UTVM) is all set to foray into the south Indian film space with a slate of deals in the Telegu film industry, India's second largest movie market after Hindi films.
"UTVM has signed on the most bankable Telegu superstar Mahesh Babu for two productions, first of which will go on the floor within the next six months. This apart, UTVM has also signed a deal with Telegu production house Indira Production to co-produce two films, one of which will star Mahesh Babu in the lead," a company spokesperson said Monday.
UTVM also announced that it has acquired the Andhra Pradesh distribution rights for one of the most awaited Telegu movies, Atithi, staring Mahesh Babu and Amrita Rao.
"This is the first time a corporate house from the Hindi film industry is entering the Telegu film space in such a big way," said G. Ramesh Babu of Krishna Productions, producer of "Atithi".
"We are happy to be making inroads into the Telegu film industry with these production, distribution and artiste deals. Our co-production venture with Indira Production coupled with our distribution acquisition of 'Atithi', gives us a great launch pad in this very exciting market," said Siddharth Roy Kapur, chief operating officer of UTVM.
{{/usCountry}}"We are happy to be making inroads into the Telegu film industry with these production, distribution and artiste deals. Our co-production venture with Indira Production coupled with our distribution acquisition of 'Atithi', gives us a great launch pad in this very exciting market," said Siddharth Roy Kapur, chief operating officer of UTVM.
{{/usCountry}}Movie going is a preferred form of entertainment in Andra Pradesh. The state has 2,700 theatres, with capital Hyderabad alone accounting for 150.