Manish Hari Prasad quits UTV to join SRK’s Red Chillies Entertainment

Mumbai: Manish Hari Prasad, creative director of UTV has put in his papers recently. One of the senior employees of the studio, Manish has been instrumental in getting the studio its most successful film, ‘Chennai Express’, on board. Over the period of several years, a studio that was known to only produce niche films like Dev D, he has played a major role in expanding UTV’s commercial arm. Last year’s critically acclaimed film, ‘ Kai Po Che’ was also brought on board because of Manish.

Buzz is that Manish will now be joining Shah Rukh’s Red Chillies Entertainment at a very senior position. He is expected to join as the creative head and take charge in a month’s time.

According to an industry source, Manish will be expected to bring in content driven scripts for the studio that is on the verge of massive expansion.

Last week, Gaurav Verma, who was the Executive Director Theatrical Distribution at Disney UTV also quit to join Red Chillies as the Chief Revenue Officer. Making the announcement, Venky Mysore, CEO of Red Chillies Entertainment had said, “As we work towards becoming a full-fledged studio, senior executive, with proven track records, such as Gaurav will play key roles.”

As reported earlier by Deccan Chronicle, another senior employee, Shikha Kapur, Sr VP, Marketing at UTV has also quit to join Fox Star Studios as Marketing Head.