After the success of Rang De Basanti, producer UTV and director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's production house (Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Productions, or ROMP) have joined forces to produce four films with a total cost of Rs 280 crore (Rs 2.8 billion).
Three of the four films will be a trilogy. The first of the trilogy, whose working title is Paanch Kaurav (5-K), will start next year. It will be written by renowned Hollywood scriptwriter Syd Field and Mehra.
This will be the first time an Indian film will be co-written by a Hollywood scriptwriter.
The second and third parts of the trilogy may be directed by Mehra as well.
The fourth film, tentatively called Dilli-6, is said to be based on Mehra's growing up years in Delhi. It will be the first to go on the floors this year.
"We worked great together as a team on RDB and we look forward to our next productions," said Ronnie Screvwala, CEO of UTV. "We are all sitting at a very exciting time in motion picture history in India, thanks largely to changing, maturing and demanding tastes of audiences for our films.
"Today, the challenge is in making strong Indian themes for a pan-Indian and global audience," he continued, "and I think Rakeysh's sensibilities in this area, with help from a mature hand like Syd in structured screenplay, and our joint vision of taking Indian cinema to a new level of creativity and communication and to a growing diaspora for Indian content, will make this partnership over the next few years very rewarding and challenging."
UTV and ROMP are also in talks with Hollywood studios like Disney, Fox and Sony for global partnerships.
