MUMBAI: Studio 18 national head – domestic distribution Utpal Acharya will be joining Inox Leisure Ltd as the vice president – exhibition, business development, new alliances and strategy.

Acharya will be replacing Saurabh Varma, who recently quit to join Reliance Entertainment as chief marketing officer.

Acharya put in his papers at Studio 18 in September end and will be joining Inox by the first week of November. Varma, who is currently serving his notice period at Inox, will also be moving on to Reliance during the same time.

“At Inox, apart from taking Saurabh’s responsibilities, I will also be looking into more aspects like business development and new alliances,” Acharya tells Businessofcinema.com.

Acharya brings with him 12 years of experience in the film industry in the areas of distribution and production. Having started his career with Sony Pictures, he then moved on to Shringar and later worked with UTV. He has been with Studio 18 since the company was founded.

After having established an expertise in domestic distribution, Acharya is now moving towards the exhibition sector. “For my career development it was necessary to move further than distribution and delve into the exhibition and retailing sector,” explains Acharya.

Commenting on his resignation, Studio 18 CEO Sandeep Bhargava says, “Utpal came to Studio 18 with a great experience. It will be a good opportunity for him to move into the exhibition space.”