Fox Star Studios, the pan-Asian joint venture between Twentieth Century Fox and broadcaster Star, has signed a two-picture deal with Tamil filmmaker AR Murugadoss, director of recent blockbuster Ghajini. 

Under the terms of the deal, which marks Fox’s first foray into Tamil-language cinema, Murugadoss will develop and produce two Tamil films with Fox Star Studios.

Murugadoss directed Tamil blockbuster Ghajini in 2005 and last year directed a Hindi version, starring Aamir Khan, which became an even bigger hit grossing more than $40m (€29.4m) worldwide.

“In India, Tamil films are second only to Bollywood in popularity, and we are delighted to be accessing this growing segment through this deal with Murugadoss, one of the most successful writer-directors in Tamil and Hindi cinema,” said Vijay Singh, CEO of Fox Star Studios India.

Sanford Panitch, president of Fox International Productions (FIP), added: “We’ve been looking at the Tamil market for quite some time and from the moment we met Murugadoss, we knew we have found a like-minded partner to lead us there.”

FIP also has a two-picture deal with Hindi producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah and is developing a Hindi-language remake of Bride Wars.

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