MUMBAI: Uday Singh has been appointed the new managing director of the Motion Picture Distributors Association (India) Pvt. Ltd (MPDA).

Singh replaces MPDA director Rajiv Dalal, who arrived in 2008 from Motion Picture Association of America headquarters in Los Angeles to establish and head MPDA (India).

After previously heading both Sony Pictures India and PVR Pictures, Singh will now represent the collective interests of the major six Hollywood studios in India, as well as work closely with the Indian film community.  

On the other hand, Dalal will now return to the United States to pursue a political career and join one of the 2012 presidential campaigns.

“It is an exciting time in the Indian film and entertainment industry. Each of our studios have significantly invested in India through local productions and other joint ventures.  As they continue to do so, new market access and content theft challenges will arise, and I look forward to working with the Indian film and entertainment industry to address such issues,” said Singh.

“Uday brings an unparalleled experience to the role. He is properly situated to enhance cooperation between Hollywood and Bollywood and drive further industry growth. There are few with his knowledge and expertise of the film industry. We could not have asked for a better person to lead MPDA (India),” said Motion Picture Association Asia Pacific president and managing director Mike Ellis.