UTV acquires the Feature Film rights of Chetan Bhagat's latest bestseller Revolution 2020
Mumbai 16th November, 2011: UTV Motion Pictures has acquired the movie rights of Chetan Bhagat's latest bestseller Revolution 2020. Revolution 2020 will be made into an epic drama with strong roles for the lead cast. Chetan's new novel has notched up sales of 800,000 copies in just a month since its release and its already on track to become the largest selling book of all time by an Indian author in English. The book has great roles for its key protagonists, as it narrates the story of three central characters - Gopal, Raghav and Aarti whose destinies are intertwined.
Speaking on the development, CEO of UTV Motion Pictures Siddharth Roy Kapur says, "We have been in discussions with Chetan for a while to do something together. When he shared his latest book with us even before it was published, we read it cover to cover in a single sitting. Its simply unputdownable. He has crafted such a dramatic plot with such sharply defined characters, that you're constantly wondering how things will play out. The issues he deals with in the book are those today's youth will instantly relate to and identify with. We're very excited to work with him on making a great film from what we all believe is a great book."
Excited about this development, Chetan Bhagat says, "Yes, UTV finally managed to seduce me. A great offer, immense excitement about the story and a wonderful team with a track record makes me feel they can do justice to Revolution 2020, a story very close to me and the readers' hearts."
Every book authored by Chetan so far has been optioned for movie rights. Rajkumar Hirani's 3 Idiots (the biggest grosser of all time in Indian cinema) was based on Chetan's first novel, Five Point Someone; and his later works like 2 States and 3 Mistakes of my Life are also slated to be made into movies by leading production houses. Facebook and twitter are already abuzz with speculation about who would be the best casting for the lead characters of Gopal, Aarti and Raghav, but according to UTV, it is a little early to speculate on casting.
ABOUT THE BOOK: Revolution 2020 narrates the story of three friends Gopal, Raghav and Aarti who struggle to find success and love in Varanasi. A story of good versus evil where friends turn foes, the plot sees Gopal and his friend Raghav both preparing for engineering entrance exams, though neither really wants to become an engineer. Raghav gets into Banaras Hindu University while Gopal fails to get an admission and he goes to Kota. When he returns to Varanasi a year later, he finds out that his childhood love Aarti is dating Raghav, who is now a journalist. Gopal starts a private engineering college with the help of a corrupt MLA. Gopal gives in to the system while Raghav intends to fights it.
About UTV Motion Pictures:
The Motion Pictures division of UTV, established in 2004, is one of the only integrated studio models in the Indian film industry. Its activities span across creative development, production, marketing, distribution, licensing, merchandising and syndication of films worldwide. UTV has a library of over 50 films including Hindi, Regional, Animation and International Productions. The last decade in Indian cinema has seen UTV delivering some of the most iconic films including Swades, Rang De Basanti, Jodhaa Akbar, A Wednesday, Dev D, Khosla Ka Ghosla, The Namesake,
Life in a Metro, Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!, Fashion, Kaminey and more recently Raajneeti, Udaan, Peepli [Live], No One Killed Jessica and Delhi Belly. Over the years, UTV has worked with the most eminent production and direction talent in the industry including Aamir Khan, Karan Johar, Mira Nair, M. Night Shyamalan, Ashutosh Gowariker, Prakash Jha, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Farah Khan, Vishal Bhardwaj, Anurag Kashyap, Madhur Bhandarkar, Anurag Basu and Shyam Benegal, while backing new talent like Neeraj Pandey, Raj Kumar Gupta, Nishikant Kamat, Dibakar Banerjee, Vikramaditya Motwane, Amit Trivedi and many others.
UTV opened the year 2011 on a strong note with the breakout hit No One Killed Jessica, the critically acclaimed Dhobi Ghat and the rip-roaring comedy Delhi Belly, which has emerged an instant cult hit opening doors for a whole new genre of cinema. UTV has an impressive slate of movies lined up for 2012 with Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu, Barfii, Rowdy Rathore, Heroine, Joker and many more.
For any further information, please contact: Sujata Chanda UTV Corporate Communication & PR +91 9892490579