Guneet Monga Kapoor, Karan Johar Team on ZEE5 Series ‘Gyaarah Gyaarah’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Angelique Jackson SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers from the series finale of “Never Have I Ever” now streaming on Netflix. The senior season of Netflix’s “Never Have I Ever” is here and, with it, the social, cultural, familial and sexual education of Devi Vishwakumar has reached its conclusion. Maitreyi Ramakrishnan stars as the quirky and ambitious first-generation Indian American high schooler, whose fiery temper has gotten her into some hot water in her relationships and into the point position of a simmering teenage love triangle with studly swimmer Paxton Hall-Yoshida (Darren Barnet) and her equally-nerdy nemesis Ben Gross (Jaren Lewison).

Naman Ramachandran India’s Rajshri Deshpande, star of Rotterdam winner “Sexy Durga” and hit Netflix series “Trial by Fire,” headlines “Privacy,” the first teaser for which has been unveiled. The film will have its world premiere at Korea’s Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFan). “Privacy” is a voyeuristic social thriller set in and around the slums of Mumbai. It follows Roopali (Deshpande), who works at the Mumbai surveillance command and control center as an operator. While being ambitious, she constantly fights her own guilt and resists her dark past. Things start to get complicated when Roopali ignores protocol and begins to investigate a robbery and murder that takes place on her watch. The film takes the neo-noir approach to explore themes of mental health, voyeurism and access to information.

Naman Ramachandran Renowned filmmaker Shekhar Kapur (“Bandit Queen,” “Elizabeth”) is planning a sequel to his 1983 directorial debut “Masoom,” Variety can reveal. The film is titled “Masoom… The New Generation.” Details of the plot, studio and cast are under wraps at the moment. Written by Gulzar (Oscar winner for “Slumdog Millionaire”), “Masoom” was an adaptation of Erich Segal’s 1980 novel “Man, Woman and Child.” It followed a happily married couple and their two daughters whose lives are disrupted with the arrival of a boy who is the man’s son from an earlier affair. The cast included Naseeruddin Shah (“Taj: Divided by Blood”), Shabana Azmi (“Halo”), Jugal Hansraj (“NRI Wives”), Supriya Pathak (“Tabbar”), Saeed Jaffrey (“The Man Who Would Be King”) and Urmila Matondkar (“Rangeela”).

Naman Ramachandran Streamer Disney+ Hotstar has unveiled a trailer for the second part of Indian series “The Night Manager.” The first part of the Indian adaptation of the 2016 BBC series of the same name, based on John le Carré’s 1993 novel, began streaming in February and the second part will stream from June 30. Anil Kapoor plays arms dealer Shailendra Rungta, aka Shelly, who is pitted against Shaan Sengupta (Aditya Roy Kapur), the titular night manager. In the second part, Shelly and Shaan join forces to run an empire. Director Sandeep Modi said: “Anil Kapoor and Aditya Roy Kapur, both have an aura of their own, when they were brought together for Shelly and Shaan, we were sure that it would be the biggest fight ever. The ‘Night Manager’ part 1 opened a web of secrets and brought Shelly and Shaan together. Now that both of them have joined hands, we are left in confusion of what awaits behind the doors. One thing I can guarantee is excitement gets double and action gets triple. ‘The Night Manager’ part 2 will be bigger, better and bolder. This union is indeed something one would never expect.”

Dale Dickey (A Love Song), Margot Bingham (The Walking Dead), Mo Brings Plenty (Yellowstone) and Tosin Morohunfola (Run The World) have been tapped for recurring roles in Taylor Sheridan’s anthology series Lawmen: Bass Reeves (fka Bass Reeves), exec produced by and starring David Oyelowo. Lawmen: Bass Reeves is created for television by Chad Feehan who also serves as showrunner.

Naman Ramachandran Netflix’s “Sacred Games,” Prime Video’s “Mirzapur” and SonyLIV’s “Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story” are the top three shows among the 50 all-time most popular Indian streaming series on Amazon’s online film database IMDb. The rankings are determined by the page views of IMDb customers in India between Jan. 1, 2018 to May 10, 2023. The list has representation from 12 platforms including Amazon’s Prime Video and miniTV, Netflix, SonyLIV, Disney+ Hotstar, YouTube, ZEE5, Voot, MX Player, JioCinema, TVF Play and ALTT. Crime drama is the most popular genre represented on the list, occupying 30 out of 50 slots, including the top four positions — “Sacred Games,” “Mirzapur,” “Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story” and “The Family Man.” Pankaj Tripathi played prominent roles in three out of the top 10 series on the list — “Sacred Games,” “Mirzapur” and “Criminal Justice.” Four shows released in 2023 — “Farzi,” “Taaza Khabar,” “The Night Manager” and “Rana Naidu” — made the most popular list.

Naman Ramachandran Bollywood star Bhumi Pednekar, celebrated for her films that advocate social change, has revealed ambitious goals for World Environment Day. Pednekar founded non-profit advocacy platform Climate Warrior – funded from her acting remunerations – through which she strives to neutralizing her and her family’s carbon footprint and making her own home sustainable and the organization also has larger goals. Initiatives include supporting an NGO called Healing Himalayas that clears pollution from the mighty mountain range after every tourist season;  Mumbai beach cleaning drives; working towards plastic free film shoots; working with upcycling and recycling organizations and waste segregation initiatives across India; leading anti open defecation campaigns; marching for climate justice; supporting transformative companies that make ink from pollution and various other projects.

Brian Tyree Henry is back in the andcouldn't be happier! The actor spoke with ET's Ash Crossan at the  premiere on Tuesday, where he shared how proud he is to be part of the sequel to 2018's Oscar-winning animated feature.«I knew that the people wanted to see a Spider-Man like Miles Morales because I really wanted to,» he shared. «I knew that this was going to be something new and I'm really glad to come back and do it a second time.

Issa Rae spoke to ET's Ash Crossan at the  premiere Tuesday, where she spilled the tea on hanging with her  co-stars after filming.«We went out together at a club night, we had a couple of other crazy nights, so, she was all about facilitating bonding time,» Rae said of the film's director, Greta Gerwig, who hosted Barbie and un-Barbie events for the star-studded cast, which includes the likes of Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Simu Liu and more. «I'm grateful for it.

EXCLUSIVE: India’s Zee Studios and Roy Kapur Films are collaborating on an action thriller featuring Shahid Kapoor in the lead. 

Naman Ramachandran A-lister Manoj Bajpayee, one of the few Indian actors who scores critical acclaim and commercial success in equal measure, has notched up another triumph with ZEE5 Global film “Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai.” Directed by Apoorv Singh Karki (Prime Video series “Flames”) and written by Deepak Kingrani (Disney+ Hotstar series “Special OPS”), the film is a courtroom drama based on the real-life case of a once-revered and powerful Indian religious leader who is currently serving a life term in jail for the rape of an underage girl. Bajpayee plays the prosecuting lawyer who is pitted against a phalanx of celebrity lawyers. “Usually what happens is that, you spend some time with the real person. Somewhere, I realized it’s a two-hour film, you have to have your own preparation away from the real guy, who is somebody who’s not even known to the world. And he’s achieved a feat in five years of continuous court hearings that is remarkable,” Bajpayee told Variety. “Instead of just creating or imitating a real person, let’s have the essence of him – the relentlessness and the courage and somebody who is stubborn about what he’s doing, completely focused, and he’s a good son, good father. I wanted to take all of it and make a character of my own and take a little bit of his physicality when I got to meet him before the shoot – I think it worked.”

Naman Ramachandran Filmmaker Jude Anthany Joseph’s critically and commercially acclaimed Malayalam-language film “2018,” which released on May 5, will bow pan India on May 26 in the Hindi, Tamil and Telugu languages. The Hindi-language version of the film will be released via E4 Entertainment. “2018” narrates the story of the devastating Kerala floods that occurred in 2018 when people from all walks of life came together to survive the calamity. The film aims to convey the message that humanity can win over adversity. It stars Netflix’s “Minnal Murali” lead Tovino Thomas alongside Indrans, Kunchacko Boban (Netflix’s “Ariyippu”), Aparna Balamurali, Vineeth Sreenivasan, Asif Ali, Lal, Narain, Tanvi Ram, Sshivada, Kalaiyarasan, Aju Varghese, Siddique, Joy Mathew and Sudheesh. It released in its home state Kerala and in a few neighbouring states and has earned more than $16 million theatrically so far, including U.S. and U.K. box office.

A group of South Asian filmmakers, including Indian director Anurag Kashyap (Kennedy) and the team behind Pakistani Directors Fortnight title In Flames talked on a Cannes panel about how cinema can cross the political barriers that are keeping their countries apart. 

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent FilmRise, the New York-based film and TV studio and streaming network, and Canal+ Docs have boarded “Missing From Fire Trail Road,” Sabrina Van Tassel (“The State of Texas vs. Melissa”)’s long-gestated documentary film about the crimes against indigenous women. “Missing From Fire Trail Road” sheds light on the case of Mary Ellen Johnson-Davis, a Native-American woman who disappeared in 2020, and exposes how hundreds of indigenous women continue to go missing in the US, perpetuating trans-generational trauma on Indian reservations. The announcement was made today by Max Einhorn, SVP of acquisitions and co-productions at FilmRise, Christine Cauquelin, head of documentaries at Canal+ and Van Tassel, who is also producing the feature.

EXCLUSIVE: Henry Ford’s failed industrial town in the Amazon Rainforest is the backdrop of a supernatural Brazilian TV drama.

Naman Ramachandran After a successful launch at SXSW earlier this year, the South Asian House initiative, which aims to highlight, recognize and appreciate South Asians in film and television, is set to debut at the Tribeca Festival, New York, on June 16. Brainchild of producers, curators and programmers Rohi Mirza Pandya (Box Office Guru Media and Desipina), Monika Samtani (Ms. Media and The Fem Word), Jitin Hingorani (Jingo Media and DFW South Asian Film Festival) and Kirtana Banskota (Banskota Productions and Nepal America Film Society), the event will showcase programming focused on the funding, creation and distribution of South Asian stories for a global audience. The day will consist of two panel discussions focused on content creation in the diaspora and the Indian film industry and will be part of the AT&T Untold Stories Lounge at Spring Studios.

Kumar Mangat Pathak’s Mumbai-based Panorama Studios is teaming with South Korea’s Anthology Studios, co-founded by former Warner Bros exec Jay Choi, Cobweb director Kim Jee-woon and Parasite star Song Kang-ho, on a Korean-language remake of India’s Drishyam franchise. 

Naman Ramachandran South Asian focused streamer ZEE5 has unveiled a 111-strong 2023 slate on the occasion of its fifth anniversary. The lineup is across the Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Bangla, Punjabi and Marathi languages. The content is from top producers including Dharma Productions, Salman Khan Films, Oscar winner Guneet Monga’s Sikhya Entertainment, Bhanushali Studios, The Viral Fever, Applause Entertainment, Rose Audio Visuals, Vikas Bahl, Vivek Agnihotri, Nagraj Manjule and Sudhir Mishra. A-list performers in the shows and films include Manoj Bajpayee, Pankaj Tripathi, Huma Qureshi, Arya, Parambrata Chatterjee, Vijay Sethupathi, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Radhika Apte.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent On the heels of his acclaimed stage performance at London’s National Theater for “Phaedra,” Assaad Bouab (“Call My Agent!,” “Bad Sisters”) is set to team with filmmaker Benjamin Ross (“The Frankenstein Chronicles”) and European production banner Asacha Media Group on “Voyager.” “Voyager” will star Bouab as legendary Medieval explorer and philosopher Ibn Battuta who went on pilgrimage to Mecca and ended up travelling for over twenty years and over 76000 miles across Africa, India and Eurasia, more than anyone in pre-modern history.  Battuta logged his experiences of the people, places and cultures he encountered along the way, writing one of the world’s earliest and most famous travelogues, The Rilah, and earning himself legendary status in history. The project is being developed as a series.

, a prequel series tochronicles the early days of young Charlotte's marriage to King George III and her ascension to the throne as they ruled over Britain.The six-episode drama, created by Shonda Rhimes and starring India Armateifio and Corey Mylchreest, makes it very clear that it is not to be taken as a historical retelling of Charlotte and George, but instead explains in a disclaimer that opens the series that it is merely «fiction inspired by fact,» and any and all «liberties taken by the author are intentional.»Though the distinction is crucial for many elements of Rhimes' story are actually taken from factual events, such as the couple's quick marriage, their coronation ceremony and George's health issues — just with an added dose of spice.Queen Charlotte was initially introduced in the first season of , a series inspired by Julia Quinn's romance novels, and was one of the only historical figures in the otherwise fictional world.  focuses on Charlotte's younger years as she acclimated to her new beginning as a royal, but what parts are actually real? ET breaks down seven of the biggest questions from the prequel and explains what's fact and what's fiction.Yes, Charlotte and George are Charles III's great-great-great-great-great grandparents.