'The Man in the Maze' in Indian theatres before US

New Delhi, July 29 (IANS) Indian American director Mitesh Kumar Patel will release his debut venture 'The Man in the Maze' in India first and then in the US, saying this is for purely business reasons. The film releases September 2.

Patel, who was born and brought up in Gujarat, says he has high hopes from Indian audiences.

'The film has been appreciated at various film festivals and we are waiting to hear from the audiences in India. I wouldn't want to comment anything further about the film - the audiences will best decide,' he said.

The director tells the story of a mystery about a man in the woods where four friends find themselves trapped in a maze.

Commenting about his decision to release the film in India first, Patel said: 'It's not important where I release it first. What matters is that every person watching it likes it. As a director and distributor, I have to ensure that my film releases at the right time in the right place through the right channel.

'I feel September is the right time to have a release in India since USA can come after that. I would have loved to have it vice versa too but unfortunately this is a better proposition at the moment.'

'The Man in the Maze' will be released in theatres after travelling to various film festivals in the US and Canada. It is being distributed by Applied Art Productions and Mowgli Productions in India.

Patel and the film's leading lady, Liana Werner Gray, will visit India in August to promote the film. It will be released in both English and Hindi.