India’s Ajay Devgn Talks Disney Plus Hotstar ‘Luther’ Adaptation ‘Rudra,’ Teases International Projects (EXCLUSIVE)

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentDiversity on screen and diversity behind the camera are key factors driving international audiences, according to a consumer survey conducted by Starz, in partnership with the Center for Scholars & Storytellers at UCLA. The poll study, which examined consumer perceptions and demands for diverse and inclusive media representation, will be unveiled at the Starz #TakeTheLead “Transparency Talk” on March 16 to celebrate the Women’s History Month.

Naman Ramachandran Bollywood royalty Kareena Kapoor Khan leads the cast of Netflix’s Indian adaptation of Japanese author Higashino Keigo’s bestselling 2005 novel “The Devotion of Suspect X.”“Kahaani” filmmaker Sujoy Ghosh will direct. The cast also includes Jaideep Ahlawat (“Paatal Lok”) and Vijay Varma (“Gully Boy”). Ghosh had initially set up the project at Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Telefilms several years ago.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefScripted formats are enjoying increasing success in Asia. But what makes them successful varies from case to case.French producer, Harold Valentin of Mother Production (“Call My Agent”), Akehi Yuki (“Mother”), business director at Japan’s Nippon Television, and Hong Kong’s Tommy Lo, executive producer and script supervisor of the Hong Kong version of “Ossan’s Love” joined Content Asia’s Janine Stein on Tuesday at FilMart to discuss.Valentin: “We were very surprised that [‘Call My Agent’] began travelling really after season two, because initially Netflix didn’t know what to do with the strategy. The mixture of drama and comedy had disappeared a bit in U.S.

Kristin Chenoweth has nothing but love and support for Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo as they take on their roles in !“I feel great about both choices,” the actress, who played Glinda in in the original Broadway production, told ET’s Lauren Zima during the 27th Critics’ Choice Awards red carpet. “I have known Grande since she was 10, so Ariana, I am very very proud of you. She knows," Chenoweth assured. «We talk every day and it’s an honor and a pleasure to pass the wand and the crown to you.”  Grande, who will play Glinda in the Jon M. Chu-directed adaptation, is already getting some helpful tips from her predecessor.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefIn a move that befits the streaming era, Japan’s Tokyo Broadcasting System Television is looking to make itself more of an international force. It will invest in more international shows and strike new coproduction partnerships.The company unveiled its new strategy on Friday at the South By South West (SXSW) festival in the U.S.It followed ten months on from the launch of TBS’s Vision 2030 program which sought to increase content spending, launch a new division and expand into related areas such as licensing.

LONDON -- Polish Nobel literature laureate Olga Tokarczuk and Israeli novelist David Grossman are both in the running, for a second time, for the International Booker Prize for fiction in English translation.Tokarczuk’s “The Books of Jacob” and Grossman’s “More Than I Love My Life” are among 13 books on the long list for the award, whose 50,000-pound ($66,000) prize money is split between a book’s author and its translator.Both are previous winners: Grossman in 2017 for “A Horse Walks into a Bar” and Tokarczuk for “Flights” in 2018, the same year she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.The list announced Thursday features works from 12 countries on four continents, including “Tomb of Sand” by India’s Geetanjali Shree; “Heaven” by Japan’s Mieko Kawakami; “After the Sun” by Denmark’s Jonas Eika; and “Elena Knows” by Claudia Piñeiro of Argentina.Translator Frank Wynne, who is chairing the judging panel, said the books circled the globe and ranged “from the intimate to the epic, the numinous to the profane.”Six finalists are set to be revealed on April 7 and the winner will be announced on May 26.The International Booker Prize is awarded every year to a book of fiction in any language that is translated into English and published in the U.K. or Ireland.

Naman Ramachandran India’s Super Cassettes Industries, operating under the label T-Series, has revealed plans for a 100-film slate across various Indian languages.The company was founded by the late Gulshan Kumar in 1983 as a music business. He soon grew it into India’s biggest music label.

Ashley Hume Producer Stacey Sher, her daughter Maggie Brown and Ashley Greene hosted a benefit for The Pad Project at Veronica Beard’s West Hollywood store on Tuesday night.Held in honor of International Women’s Day, attendees of the event were invited to shop at the luxury boutique, which donated 10% of the profits to The Pad Project and its international programs.Launched in 2013 by a group of students and educators at the Oakwood School in Los Angeles, The Pad Project has evolved from a documentary project following the efforts of a small village in India to destigmatize the conversation around menstruation, into an organization that works to end period poverty around the world.Executive-produced by Scher and co-produced by Brown, the documentary short “Period. End of Sentence” won best documentary short at the 2019 Academy Awards.

The trailer for season 2 of Bridgerton just debuted online and it’s teasing a love triangle between Anthony Bridgerton and sisters Edwina and Kate Sharma!

Naman Ramachandran “Bloody Brothers,” the Indian adaptation of BAFTA winning BBC series “Guilt,” is set to bow on South Asian focused streamer ZEE5.Directed by Shaad Ali (Netflix’s “Call My Agent Bollywood”), the show is produced by Applause Entertainment in association with BBC Studios India. Reset in the picturesque South Indian hill town of Ooty, “Bloody Brothers” follows two brothers, Jaggi and Daljeet, who, while driving home late one night, run over an old man.

Naman Ramachandran Global entertainment studio International Art Machine is venturing into India with a heavyweight slate fronted by A-listers Shekhar Kapur, Preity Zinta, Amish Tripathi, Dibakar Banerjee and Suparn S. Varma.First up is “Shiva,” a series adaptation of Amish Tripathi’s bestselling Shiva Trilogy novels set in the land of Meluha, beginning with the first book “The Immortals of Meluha,” which will be directed by “Elizabeth” and “Bandit Queen” filmmaker Shekhar Kapur.

Naman Ramachandran Madhuri Dixit, one of the brightest and most enduring Bollywood stars, is basking in the success of her streaming acting debut, Netflix’s “The Fame Game.”The series bowed Feb. 25 and is among the top 10 Netflix shows in Mauritius, Bahrain, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Sri Lanka and the U.A.E.In the series created by Sri Rao, and directed by Bejoy Nambiar and Karishma Kohli, Dixit plays top Bollywood star Anamika Anand, who at the height of her fame, disappears without a trace.

Naman Ramachandran Radhika Madan, star of 2018 Toronto winner “The Man Who Feels No Pain,” will play the lead in acclaimed Indian filmmaker Sudhanshu Saria’s “Sanaa.” The film, a social drama, follows a headstrong and ambitious girl who is raging against an internal battle that is rooted in unhealed trauma.Saria is writing, directing and producing via his Four Line Entertainment outfit. Saria said: “I’ve always believed in making films that are ambitious in quality and rich in story and messaging. I’ve nurtured this dream for seven years and I couldn’t be more excited that Radhika Madan agreed to bring my titular character to life.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorPalm Springs International Film Society announced today that the annual Palm Springs International ShortFest, one of the largest showcases of short-form cinema in North America, will return with in-person screenings June 21-27. For this year’s edition veteran programmer, Sudeep Sharma will act as interim 2022 ShortFest Director, with the planned maternity leave of PSIFF Artistic Director Lili Rodriguez.“Sudeep’s been an excellent collaborator, holding key roles at ShortFest for close to a decade,’” said Artistic Director Lili Rodriguez.

Bridgerton‘s character posters for the upcoming second season just debuted!

Naman Ramachandran Revered Indian filmmaker Mani Ratnam’s hugely anticipated epic based on Kalki Krishnamurthy’s classic Tamil-language novel “Ponniyin Selvan” has set a release date and first images have been released.The first part of the two-part historical film, titled “PS-1,” will release in cinemas worldwide on Sept. 30 in the Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada languages. The story is set in the 10th century during a tumultuous time in the Chola empire when the power struggle between different branches of the ruling family caused violent rifts between the potential successors to the reigning emperor.

Fremantle International Bolsters Scripted

Naman Ramachandran Entrepreneur Karnesh Ssharma is launching Clean OTT, a streaming service focusing on female-oriented original content, in the first quarter of 2023.Female actors, directors and producers will be at the heart of the service, which aims to move away from the male gaze that plagues Indian content and to create a sustainable platform for female professionals to further their career in the entertainment industry, while also removing age barriers.The content will include originally curated and produced works by Clean and pre-selected projects that meet the Clean OTT messaging framework by other producers from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal.Ssharma is also a co-founder of Clean Slate Filmz (Netflix’s “Bulbbul,” Amazon’s “Paatal Lok”). The Clean OTT library will feature work from directors, scriptwriters, actors, and producers associated with Clean Slate Filmz, as well as providing opportunities to emerging talent.

Addie Morfoot ContributorThis year’s documentary Academy Award feature race is historical on many fronts. Four of the five nominated films were directed by people of color; Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s “Flee” made history by scoring three Oscar nominations: not only the doc feature category but also in the animated feature and international feature categories; Sushmit Ghosh and Rintu Thomas’ “Writing With Fire” became the first feature doc from India to earn a nom in the race; and four of the six nominated helmers are first-time feature docu directors.But perhaps the most intriguing aspect of this year’s nonfiction feature Oscar race is the dominance of nascent doc distributors and production units.