NEW DELHI: Endemol India and Select Media Holdings have signed critically acclaimed film maker Sekhar Kammula to direct the Tamil and Telugu versions of the Bollywood blockbuster ‘Kahaani’ for the south market.

Kammula is known for some path breaking films. From his debut film ‘Dollar Dreams’ to his latest movie ‘Life is Beautiful’, this director has been a recipient of awards and accolades that range from the National Film Awards to the Nandi Awards. His film Happy Days that released in 2007 was very well received by the audiences and trade analysts alike. It won him the Nandi Award, the Filmfare and Dasari awards.

Vijay C Kumar, a Nandi award winner for the Film Godavari, will be the Director of Photography and Marthand Venkatesh , another Nandi award winning editor for films like Arundhati, Daddy and Tholi Prema, will be the editor. Renowned novelist Yandamoori Veerendranath will be co-writing the adaptation of this bilingual film along with Sekhar Kammula.

Producer of popular shows like Bigg Boss, Fear Factor, Savdhaan India, The Great Indian Laughter Challenge, Endemol India has already acquired rights to remake the Vidya Balan starrer and will take this forward in association with Moving Pictures – the film production arm of Select Media Holdings Pvt. Ltd. Currently both the production houses are in talks with a couple of renowned actors from South to essay the powerful characters

Kammula said, “Kahaani is a brilliant work of cinema and I am delighted to be a part of this recreation along with Endemol India and Moving Pictures. It is a character driven script and the characterization will have local appeal. Our adaptation will retain the thrill and essence of the original, but will also add a unique dimension to the film.”

Deepak Dhar, CEO - Endemol India said, "We feel that Kahaani is a great film to commence our film operations in the South. We are confident that Sekhar will deliver to our audiences’ expectations. He is popularly known for his coming-of-age brand of cinema and we are certain that this movie will add yet another feather to his hat.”