MUMBAI: UTV Motion Pictures has lined up a total of 15 movies to be released in 2010 – 11. While some of them are co-productions with the likes of Karan Johar and Aamir Khan, some are independent productions.
After a ho-hum 2009 for the entire film industry per se barring 3 Idiots, things seem to be looking up in the industry as more small and big films alike are lined up for release.
“Our aim is to be a one-stop shop for writing and directing talent and follow the studio model,” said UTV Motion Pictures CEO Siddharth Roy Kapur.
The first movie to release under the UTV banner will be Prakash Jha’s Raajneeti, which will hit screens on 4 June. The movie stars Ajay Devgn, Nasseruddin Shah, Ranbir Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, Manoj Bajpai and Katrina Kaif amongst others.
The month of June will also see debutant director John Owen’s film Peter Gaya Kaam Se starring Rajeev Khandelwal. The movie will release on 25 June, which will be released under the UTV Spotboy banner.
UTV’s co-production with Johar’s Dharma Production – I Hate Luv Storys, which stars Imran Khan and Sonam Kapoor in lead roles, will hit theatres on 2 July. The movie is directed by debutant Puneet Malhotra.
UTV Spotboy’s Chillar Party, which is co-directed by UTV Spotboy chief creative officer Vikas Bahl and Nitesh Tiwari, will release on 23 July.
Following this will be the co-production between UTV and Aamir Khan Productions – Peepli Live. The film, which recently did its round at the Sundance Film Festival, is directed by debutant Anusha Rizvi and will release on 13 August. UTV has already closed distribution deals in Germany and Poland for the movie.
Also releasing on 27 August will be Paan Singh Tomar, which stars Irffan Khan and is directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia.
Up for release on 8 October will be Deven Khote’s Phillum City. The movie stars John Abraham, wherein he plays himself. The movie revolves around a spot boy on a film set, who is making a movie with John… however, John doesn’t have an inkling about it.
UTV will release Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s much touted film starring Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan – Guzaarish – will release on 17 November.
An interesting film starring Rani Mukerji and Vidya Balan titled No One Killed Jessica will hit screens on 10 December. The month of December will also see the release of Farah Khan’s directorial venture – Tees Maar Khan, which will release on Christmas (24 December). The movie stars Akshay Kumar, Akshaye Khanna and Katrina Kaif.
Ringing in the New Year will be Vishal Bharadwaj’s next film after Kaminey, which is titled Saat Khoon Maaf. The movie stars Priyanka Chopra in a pivotal role, wherein she portrays the role of a woman who kills seven of her husbands. Chopra will be seen playing the character of a 25 year old as well as a 45 year old woman. The movie also stars John Abraham, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Irrfan Khan and Nasseruddin Shah. Saat Khoon Maaf is slated to hit screens on 21 January, 2011.
March 2011 will see the release of Anees Bazmi’s next comic caper titled Thank You. Starring Akshay Kumar, Bobby Deol, Irrfan Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Rimi Sen and Celina Jaitely, Thank You will release on 25 March, 2011.
Delhi Belly, directed by Abhinay Deo and produced by Aamir Khan Productions, is scheduled to release in the second quarter of 2011. The movie stars Imran Khan, Kunaal Roy Kapur, Vir Das, Shenaz Treasurywala and Vijay Raaz.
UTV Motion Pictures has also lined up two animation films for release. The first to hit screens will be Arjun, which is directed by Arnab Chaudhri. The movie is slated to release later this year. Second in line will be Ali Baba And 41 Chor, which has voiceovers by John Abraham and Priyanka Chopra. Ali Baba And 41 Chor is lined up for release in Q4 2011.
