New Delhi, Nov 2 (IANS): "Paddington 2", which features Hugh Grant, Brendan Gleeson and Sanjeev Bhaskar, will release in India on January 12 -- the same date as in the US.

The sequel to "Paddington" is being brought to India by PVR Pictures, read a statement.

"Paddington", released in 2014, recreates the magic of British author Michael Bond's best-selling series of children's stories. It follows the comic misadventures of a young bear with a passion for all things British.

In "Paddington 2", the enthusiastic bear will be seen devoting himself to buying a present for his aunt Lucy's 100th birthday and tell a story on how he ends in prison for a crime he didn't commit.

Director Paul King said: "We had a lot of ideas that never made their way into the first film because they always felt like they belonged in a sequel, rather than an origin story. It always felt like it would be fun to see 'Paddington' at work and he's such a decent character that it felt it could be emotionally satisfying to see him fall prey to an injustice."

Stars Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Peter Capaldi, Madeleine Harris and Samuel Joslin are returning as the lead cast of the film. Ben Whishaw is also returning as the voice of Paddington and Imelda Staunton as aunt Lucy.

Grant is happy to join the world of Paddington.

"I spent a lot of the early part of my career in the 1980s doing plays with memorable theatrical types. I pillaged them all for this character, for the almost unendurable, overweening vanity of the man. He can't see beyond his own beauty and talent, and that makes him do things that I'm sure he's ashamed of," Grant said.