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20th Century Fox plans first Hindi film

BS Corporate Bureau in Mumbai

20th Century Fox, Hollywood's leading film studio, has roped in Ram Gopal Verma to direct its maiden film venture in Bollywood.

The studio, the first big-time Hollywood distributor to set up base in India through its arm, Fox India, is set to hit the silver screens in India with a Hindi film, Ek Haseena Thee.

Urmila Matondkar, who has already starred in many of Verma's earlier films, will play the female lead role in the film, while Saif Ali Khan, fresh from his success in Dil Chahta Hai will play the male lead. Shooting for the film, which is scheduled to be released in January 2003, will commence towards the end of this month.

Senior Fox India executives, while confirming the development, said the budget for the film has not been finalised yet, but industry sources expect it to be a medium-budget movie, in the range of Rs 100-150 million. The film will be shot at Film City and some outdoor locations, the executives said.

Fox India will be responsible for presenting, marketing and distributing the film. It is expected that Fox India will release the rights for global distribution of its Indian films simultaneously.

Fox India entered India shortly after the success of Aamir Khan's blockbuster Lagaan, which was nominated for the Academy Awards.

In recent times, many Indian films including Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Ghum and Asoka are the other films to have done well in the overseas markets.

Industry watchers feel that Fox's entry will give a further impetus to overseas distribution of Indian films. Over the past few years, the domestic film industry has been witnessing a steady increase in revenue collections from overseas.

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