UTV Motion Pictures (also known as Disney-UTV) was the feature film unit of UTV Software Communications founded by
Ronnie Screwvala
Rohinton Soli "Ronnie" Screwvala (born 8 September 1956) is an Indian entrepreneur.
He has been named on Esquire's List of the 75 Most Influential People of the 21st Century and ranked 78 among the 100 most influential people in the world on t ...
and
Zarina Screwvala
Zarina Screwvala (, born 1961) is an Indian entrepreneur and philanthropist. She is currently the Managing Trustee of Swades Foundation, a foundation dedicated towards Rural Empowerment in India.
Previously, she was the Chief Creative Officer ...
in 1996 as UTV Motion Pictures Plc., the film distribution division of UTV Software Communications. It was one of the leading film studios in India and one of the largest production studios in
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...
. The studio's activities span creative development, production, marketing, distribution, licensing, merchandising and worldwide syndication of films in Indian territories. It was also a distribution label of
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
for feature films produced by
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, formerly known as Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Inc. until 2007, is an American film distribution studio within the Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. It ha ...
in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
.
UTV Motion Pictures had a library of domestic regional films and animation productions alongside select international productions with the studio moving into film production in
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
, and further expanded in Hollywood in partnership with studios such as
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
,
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Studios unit ...
and
Sony Pictures.
In July 2017, Disney-UTV closed the production company, with its final film, ''
Jagga Jasoos
''Jagga Jasoos'' () is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language musical adventure comedy film written and directed by Anurag Basu, and produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur, Basu and Ranbir Kapoor. It stars Kapoor and Katrina Kaif, and tells the story of a teena ...
''. The label was overseen by Amrita Pandey, who currently oversees Walt Disney Studios feature films in South Asia.
Filmography
Films produced by UTV Motion Pictures
UTV Spotboy
The following films were produced under the UTV Spotboy banner.
Films only distributed
Walt Disney Studios films in India
UTV's distribution relations with Disney first began when in 2005,
Miramax Films
Miramax, LLC, also known as Miramax Films, is an American film and television production and distribution company founded on December 19, 1979, by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein, and based in Los Angeles, California.
It was initially a lead ...
, then owned by
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...
, sold distribution rights to several films of their catalog in a 10-year deal; however it is currently unknown whether this deal continued even when Miramax was sold to
Filmyard Holdings
Filmyard Holdings was an American pure holding company and is the former parent company of Miramax. Colony Capital and Qatar Investment Authority own the studio. Rob Lowe is an investor in Colony's entertainment fund.
On December 3, 2010, Disn ...
. In December 2008, following their purchase of a majority stake in UTV,
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...
, which would later acquire the entirety of UTV Motion Pictures through UTV Software Communications in 2012, handed over exclusive distribution rights to their films in the Indian subcontinent, starting with
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Studios unit ...
'
Bedtime Stories. UTV Motion Pictures became the exclusive distributor for all Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures releases for South Asian territories from 2013 onward, excluding those from
20th Century Studios and
Searchlight Pictures
Searchlight Pictures, Inc. is an American film production company and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is part of the Walt Disney Company. Founded in 1994 as Fox Searchlight Pictures, Inc. for 20th Century Fox (later 20th Century St ...
, whose distribution rights are handled by sister company
Star Studios.
Non-Disney international films
Unreleased/shelved films
* ''Hook Ya Crook''
* ''
Alibaba Aur 41 Chor''
* ''
Peter Gaya Kaam Se''
* ''
Shoebite
''Shoebite'' is an unreleased film and is the story of a man in his early 60s played by Amitabh Bachchan. The film is based on a story ''Labour Of Love'' by M. Night Shyamalan. It is directed by Shoojit Sircar and produced by UTV Motion Pictu ...
''
See also
*
Star Studios
*
List of Walt Disney Pictures India films
*
List of Walt Disney Pictures films
This is a list of films produced by and released under the Walt Disney Pictures banner (known as that since 1983, with ''Never Cry Wolf'' as its first release) and films released before that under the former name of the parent company, Walt ...
References
External links
UTV Software Communications Ltd.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Utv Motion Pictures
Indian companies established in 1996
Mass media companies established in 1996
Film distributors of India
Film production companies based in Mumbai
Film studios in Mumbai
Film production companies of India
The Walt Disney Company subsidiaries
Disney production studios
UTV Software Communications
Producers who won the Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment National Film Award