December 29, 2010 (Sampurn Wire): Even though 2010 was not a great year for the Bollywood films, with some massive flops, UTV has made it big this year. They have presented the audience with a mixed bag of movies, from light romantic comedies, to a blockbuster political thriller to award winning feature films. So now they are eyeing to bag nothing less than Rs. 450 crore for the year 2010-11.

Last year the production house collected Rs. 315.4 crore but by March 2011 UTV will get this new amount. The CEO of the UTV Motion Pictures, Siddharth Roy Kapoor told that though trade pundits might say that the year 2010 was not a profitable one for the film industry, his production houses profits show a different result.

UTV started the year with the release of Shahid Kapoor and Genelia Dsouza starrer Chance Pe Dance directed by Ken Ghosh. It didnt work magic like the directors debut film but received a lukewarm response. Next up was the critically acclaimed Harishchandra Chi Factory directed by the theatre-veteran Paresh Mokashi.

The multiplex young crowd responded well to the rom-com I Hate Luv Storys directed by debutant Punit Malhotra and starred Imran Khan and Sonam Kapoor. The production house kept showcasing movies of the first time directors and they didnt fail to bring in the revenue and the good reviews from the critics. Udaan was one such film by the debutant director Vikramaditya Motwane that was a coming of age film of a teenage boy. The film made all the right noises in Cannes and still making rounds of other film festivals.

Aamir Khan joined hands with UTV for the film Peepli Live, which was a satirical take on the politics thats played on the suicide of the farmers of Madhya Pradesh and the sensationalizing journalism. The film went on to become a bumper hit, but it was the mega budget, multi -star cast Raajneeti that just scorched the box-office.

However, the bumper came from the much awaited Hrithik Roshan-Aishawrya Rais flick Guzaarish directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. The movie failed to get the collection in the box-office that it should have, but UTV made it even by pre-selling of the music and satellite rights. So the production house didnt lose their money and is now all set to collect the whopping revenue.

--Sampurn Wire