India’s Ali Fazal, Richa Chadha Launch Production Company With Berlinale Project ‘Girls Will Be Girls’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Naman Ramachandran Fremantle India is best known as the home of local versions of Fremantle’s global formats, including “Indian Idol,” “India’s Got Talent,” and “The X Factor India.”But, the company has been actively telling stories that challenge the status quo. And, having enjoyed success with the approach, it plans to expand the effort.“That status quo could be gender, caste, creed or color,” Fremantle India managing director Aradhana Bhola told Variety.

Naman Ramachandran The burgeoning Asian webtoon market is set to expand further with the April launch of Graphic India’s Toonsutra, a comics platform for mobile devices.Toonsutra is differentiated, in that, in addition to standalone comics, it will offer exclusive original web comics based on hit Indian film and TV properties including S.S.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“Her Lullaby” from Hong Kong and “The Catch” from India were the winners of the top fiction prizes at the 2021 edition of the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum.A total of 17 cash and in-kind prizes worth a combined HK$1,200,000 ($157,000) were awarded at the conclusion of the three day (March 15-17, 2021) project market, which was operated in parallel with the FilMart rights market.HAF returned to its regular March slot after the 2020 edition was first delayed

Naman Ramachandran Amazon Prime Video is making its first foray into Indian feature movie co-production with Bollywood film “Ram Setu,” starring Akshay Kumar.Directed by Abhishek Sharma (“Parmanu”) with Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi (“Prithviraj Chauhan”) as creative producer, the film is an action-adventure drama that is rooted in Indian cultural and historical heritage.

Spin, Disney Channel's first original TV movie with an Indian American lead centered on Indian culture — and only ET has the exclusive scoop.  follows Rhea ('s Avantika), an Indian American teen who learns she has a passion for creating DJ mixes that blend the textures of her Indian heritage and the world around her.

Naman Ramachandran Netflix has acquired worldwide rights, with some exclusions, for “The Personal History of David Copperfield” star Dev Patel’s directorial debut “Monkey Man.” The streamer is thought to have paid around $30 million for the film.The rights agreement excludes Spain, Latin America, Iceland, Former Yugoslavia, Poland, Russia and Baltic States, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Pan-Asian PTV and China, where there are pre-existing deals.In the India-set film, Patel plays an unlikely hero who

Naman Ramachandran Most Paramount Plus content will be housed exclusively on Viacom18’s streamer Voot Select in India, alongside new programming from Showtime and other CBS content.“As Paramount Plus rolls out globally, we’ll (need) to work a strategy there to sort of see what decisions we make for the India market,” Ferzad Palia, head, Voot Select and international business, Viacom18, told Variety.

A tale of ambition almost gone awry, but also a rags to riches tale of cunning and wit, director Ramin Bahrani‘s “The White Tiger,” based on the book by Aravind Adiga, is a master vs. servants tale.

Naman Ramachandran Global distributor, producer and streamer MUBI has snapped up major global markets for Berlinale title “Azor,” a thriller set in the world of international banking.MUBI has acquired all rights in the U.S., U.K., Ireland, Italy, India and Turkey to Andreas Fontana’s debut feature, which was presented at the recently concluded Berlinale in the Encounters Section, from international sales company Be For Films.The film uses French, Spanish and English dialogue to tell the

Naman Ramachandran “The White Tiger” actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas talks to director Karishma Dev Dube and the young stars of “Bittu,” which is shortlisted in the live action short film category at the 2021 Oscars.“Bittu” is the story of a close friendship between two girls (played by Rani Kumari and Renu Kumari) in northern India that is eclipsed by an accidental poisoning at school.

Netflix's most recent offering Bridgerton, a period drama series, went on to become a massive hit on the streaming platform. Not just across the world, but in India too Bridgerton was much loved by audiences.

Laetitia Eido, the French actress known to fans of Netflix's Israeli drama Fauda as Dr. Shirin El Abed, has signed on to co-star in Nhiem, a new high-end television series set during the Vietnam War from New Zealand director Roger Donaldson (The World's Fastest Indian) and German production group Carte Blanche International.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefVeteran animation executive Steven Wendland has been appointed as president of Discreet Arts USA, the newly-launched offshoot of Indian animation firm Discreet Arts. The new unit is based in Burbank, California.He is expected to expand the company’s work-for-hire business while also developing a slate of original productions.

Naman Ramachandran Monika Shergill, VP, content, and Srishti Behl Arya, director, international original film, Netflix India, are buzzing.

Naman Ramachandran In an unprecedented move Amazon Prime Video India has apologized for its Indian original series “Tandav,” some parts of which had offended members of the ruling Hindu nationalist dispensation.The series, created by Muslim filmmaker Ali Abbas Zafar, featured a scene in which a character, played by Muslim actor Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, portrayed the Hindu God Shiva. Amazon quickly edited the scene and Zafar apologized.

We recently caught up with Grace and Frankie alum Martin Sheen who got candid and opened up about his upcoming and much-anticipated film Judas and the Black Messiah. The film is slated to release in India on March 5 and has been critically acclaimed by the global audience.

Naman Ramachandran Digital platforms like Twitter and Amazon Prime Video that have faced the wrath of the Indian establishment in recent months will now know exactly what they can and cannot do.The Indian government’s Information Technology published its “Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code Rules 2021” on Thursday.