Alaya F boards Hindi remake of Kannada thriller U-Turn; Ekta Kapoor to produce

Producer Ekta Kapoor on Monday announced that she will be producing the Hindi remake of the Kannada thriller U-Turn, featuring Jawaani Jaanemaan actor Alaya F in the lead role.

The film will be directed by debutante Arif Khan.

The original 2016 movie, starring Shraddha Srinath, has been previously remade in Malayalam in 2017 and later adapted into a Telugu-Tamil bilingual in 2018 with actor Samantha Akkineni headlining the project. It was directed by Pawan Kumar, who also helmed the original.

EKTA KAPOOR SIGNS ALAYA F FOR SOUTH REMAKE... After making her debut with #JawaaniJaanemaan, #AlayaF will star in thriller #UTurn... Remake of #Telugu-#Tamil film #UTurn... Directed by Arif Khan... Produced by #ShobhaKapoor and #EktaKapoor... Shoot starts tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/UyRNJHaVre

— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) July 5, 2021

Ekta Kapoor said she was thrilled with Alaya's performance in her 2020 debut and is excited for the actor to headline the project.

"There’s a self-assured yet vulnerable quality to her that I believe can connect with audiences across. U-Turn takes you on a ride with twists and turns galore and edge-of-the-seat excitement. I’m so happy to have Alaya on board," the producer said in a statement.

U-Turn will be produced by Cult Movies, which is the new division under Shobha Kapoor and Ekta Kapoor's Balaji Telefilms.

Alaya, 23, said he is excited to collaborate with Kapoor for "such an interesting project" so early on in her career.

"I feel responsible to be bestowed with the task to drive such an intriguing story and I'm absolutely overjoyed to start this journey," the actor said.

U-Turn goes on floors on 6 July. It is the third film to be announced under Cult Movies, after Anurag Kashyap’s Dobaaraa and Dibakar Banerjee’s LSD 2.

Director Khan has assisted on over ten films, including Gunjan Saxena, 2 States and Student of the Year.