India’s Disney UTV has unveiled its first Telugu-language production, an as-yet-untitled feature starring Mahesh Babu and written and directed by Koratala Siva.

Koratala Siva previously directed hit Telugu action drama Mirchi. His new film, which will be co-produced by Hyderabad-based Indira Productions, is scheduled to start shooting in July 2014.

UTV has previously produced Tamil-language features such as superhero title Mugamoodi and Settai, a remake of Hindi film Delhi Belly, and Malayalam-language films such as Grand Master and Husbands In Goa.

“We are extremely delighted to commence our journey in the Telugu film industry, which is the second biggest industry in India after Hindi films,” said G. Dhananjayan, who heads production in South India for Disney UTV.

“We believe in the power of great storytelling and have proven the same in the south with our Malayalam and Tamil slate. Now we venture into Telugu cinema with a story which will appeal to all types of audiences.”

All the major Indian studios, including Disney UTV, Reliance Entertainment, Eros, Viacom 18 Motion Pictures and Fox Star Studios, are now active in producing features for south India where box office for local-language films can be even larger than for Hindi-language Bollywood productions in the north.