‘Indian Matchmaking’ Producer Smriti Mundhra Explores Indian Cinema and Yash Chopra’s Legacy in ‘The Romantics’

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer After nearly two years of production, Amazon Prime Video has finally pulled back the curtain on “Citadel,” the wildly ambitious new spy series starring Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, with the first trailer released Monday. The show is meant to serve as the mothership for several planned spin-offs based in local countries and performed in local languages: “Citadel” series set in Italy and India are already underway, with another Mexico-based show also in the works. It’s a gigantic and expensive bet on an original concept that had remained, up until this month, shrouded in mystery. As Variety previously reported, “Citadel” boasts a $185 million budget.

World No. 1 tennis player Novak Djokovic’s vaccination status appears to again be causing him to miss a significant tournament, possibly two. Organizers of the ATP Indian Wells Masters event, which begins this week in California, confirmed his withdrawal late Sunday.

Naman Ramachandran Smriti Mundhra, director of hit Netflix documentary series “The Romantics,” has said that the success of her show and of Shah Rukh Khan’s “Pathaan” proves that audiences continue loving Bollywood. The star-studded, four-part series features 35 leading voices of the Hindi-language film industry and dives into the history of Bollywood through the lens of the studio Yash Raj Films’ impact over the past 50 years in making the industry globally known. It bowed on Netflix on Feb. 14 and quickly entered the top 10 charts in nine countries. A few days earlier, Yash Raj Films’ “Pathaan,” Khan’s comeback film, had a roaring debut and has grossed $125 million so far. The film and series reversed a two-year trend on social media where the Hindi film industry was trolled with the BoycottBollywood hashtag.

Naman Ramachandran “Pushpa” star Allu Arjun will headline an as-yet-untitled Indian film to be directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga (“Kabir Singh”). The film will be produced by Bhushan Kumar’s film studio and music label T-Series and Vanga’s Bhadrakali Pictures (“Arjun Reddy”). Kumar and Pranay Reddy Vanga will serve as producers, while Shiv Chanana will be a coproducer. The shoot will commence after the wrap of Prabhas starrer “Spirit,” also produced by T-Series and directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga. Bhadrakali Pictures and T-Series also have Vanga’s “Animal,” starring Ranbir Kapoor, Anil Kapoor and Rashmika Mandanna, in the works.

TikTok.The House Foreign Affairs Committee’s 24 Republicans voted a bill through which could give the President powers to ban the video-sharing app over claims that it is a Chinese espionage tool, or any other app deemed a security risk.However, the 16 Democrats voted against the bill with Ranking Member Gregory Meeks saying he opposed the legislation because it would “damage our allegiances across the globe, bring more companies into China’s sphere, destroy jobs here in the United States and undercut core American values of free speech and free enterprise” [via The Independent]. Members of both parties have called for a ban on TikTok on the basis of its Chinese ownership, which means the company is legally obliged to turn user data over to the Chinese government upon request.The bill still needs to be passed by the full House of Representatives and the Senate before  it goes to Biden and it officially becomes law. Foreign Affairs Committee chair Michael McCaul said he expects the full House to vote on the measure this month.However, Jenna Leventoff, a senior policy counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, criticised the legislation in a statement.“We’re disappointed that the House Foreign Affairs Committee voted to approve a bill that would effectively ban TikTok in the United States, in violation of Americans’ First Amendment rights.

Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Richard Madden are the ultimate spies in , Prime Video's upcoming spy series launching Friday, April 28 with the first two episodes. The global thriller, which will be available in more than 240 countries and territories, will subsequently drop new episodes weekly through Friday, May 26.As part of the announcement, the first official photos from the series were released Monday.Chopra Jonas and Madden star in the U.S.

Naman Ramachandran Agatha Christie’s “The Sittaford Mystery” will be adapted as “Charlie Chopra & The Mystery Of Solang Valley” for streamer SonyLIV by renowned Indian filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj. Set in the mountains of Himachal Pradesh, northern India, the series will follow the journey of Charlie Chopra and her quest to uncover a mystery. Bhardwaj will serve as director and co-producer and co-screenwriter alongside Anjum Rajabali and Jyotsna Hariharan. The cast includes Wamiqa Gabbi, Priyanshu Painyuli, Naseeruddin Shah, Neena Gupta, Ratna Pathak Shah, Gulshan Grover, Lara Dutta, Chandan Roy Sanyal and Paoli Dam. Vishal Bhardwaj Pictures will produce with Priti Shahani’s Tusk Tale Films in association with Agatha Christie Limited. Bhardwaj’s film franchise based on the works of Christie was announced in 2020.

Welcome to Global Breakouts, Deadline’s fortnightly strand in which we shine a spotlight on the TV shows and films killing it in their local territories. The industry is as globalized as it’s ever been, but breakout hits are appearing in pockets of the world all the time and it can be hard to keep track. So we’re going to do the hard work for you.

Naman Ramachandran India’s Platoon One Films, co-producers of Berlin Film Festival Panorama strand title “Ghaath” (“Ambush”), has seven films in the works. Four films are in advanced development. Police procedural “Bayan” by Bikas Mishra (“Chauranga”) was developed at Film Independent’s Global Media Makers program in Los Angeles and the film is supported by the International Film Festival Rotterdam’s Hubert Bals Fund. Drama “Kadminche,” the feature directorial debut of Tushar Paranjape, writer of Berlin Crystal Bear winner “Killa,” has Rinku Rajguru (“Sairat”) attached to star. Action fantasy film “Don’t Sleep” will mark the Hindi-language debut of Arun Bose (Malayalam-language “Luca”). And Agrim Joshi and Debojit Das Purkayastha, creators of series “Candy” for Viacom18 streamer Voot Select, will make their feature directorial debut with psychological thriller “Influenzaa.”

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Protagonist Pictures has sold out international on Rebecca Miller’s Berlinale opener “She Came to Me.” The Peter Dinklage-led film has sold into Sky for the U.K. and Ireland, Belga for Benelux, Originals Factory for France, Lusomundo for Portugal, Trip Pictures for Spain, M2 Eastern for Europe, Cinesky for Airlines, Aud for South Korea and Shochiku for Japan. In addition, Universal Pictures Content Group has made a multi-territory deal that spans Germany, Austria, Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Scandinavia, Iceland, Switzerland, Israel, Middle East, South Africa, Turkey, Australia and New Zealand, Latin America, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Asia pay-TV rights.

EXCLUSIVE: Viveik Kalra, star of Gurinder Chadha’s Sundance 2019 musical Blinded By The Light, has been set to co-star with Indian superstar Samantha Ruth Prabhu in cross-cultural rom-com Chennai Story.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Hong Kong-based sales agency Golden Network Asia has amassed a large collection of advanced sales on upcoming Jackie Chan-starring film “Ride On.” The film, pitched as an action dramedy and one in which Chan pays homage to old-school stunt men, has recently been given an April 7 release date in mainland China. The date also mark’s the star’s 69th birthday. The film has already been licensed to: Well Go USA for North America; Plaion Pictures for Germany; Eagle Pictures for Italy; SPI International for Eastern Europe, Benelux and Israel; AN Media for CIS; ATV for Turkey; Phars Film for Middle East; Twin Co. for Japan; Contents Panda for South Korea; Shanghai Pictures for Malaysia; Shaw Renters for Singapore; Eagle International for Taiwan and worldwide Airline; Prima Cinema for Indonesia; Pioneer Films for the Philippines and Indo Overseas Film for India.

EXCLUSIVE: Indian director Dibakar Banerjee’s Tees has been shelved by Netflix and the auteur is now seeking a new home for the feature.

The BBC’s offices in Mumbai and New Delhi have been raided by income tax authorities.

Naman Ramachandran India’s income tax department is conducting searches of the BBC’s offices in the country’s capital New Delhi, according to the Associated Press. Three BBC staffers informed AP about the searches, the agency said. Meanwhile, a team from the tax department also surveyed the BBC’s Mumbai offices, per the Press Trust of India quoting unnamed sources. Variety has reached out to the BBC for comment. The searches come in the wake of the Indian government blocking the controversial two-part BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question.” The documentary was described on the BBC website as: “Narendra Modi’s premiership has been dogged by persistent allegations about the attitude of his government towards India’s Muslim population. This series investigates the truth behind these allegations and examines Modi’s backstory to explore other questions about his politics when it comes to India’s largest religious minority.”

Naman Ramachandran Indian festival favorite and box office success “Dostojee” (“Two Friends”), directed by Prasun Chatterjee will release across the U.S., U.A.E. and Australia and New Zealand on March 17. California-based film distribution company Bioskope Films LLC has acquired U.S. theatrical rights and will release the film across 75 cities in 26 states. The theatrical release is an Oscar-qualifying run making the Bengali-language “Dostojee” eligible for consideration at the 96th Academy Awards, 2024. The film will have a premiere in New York City. “Dostojee” will also release theatrically across 15 cities in Canada, 10 cities in Australia and New Zealand, and Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ajman in the U.A.E. Phars Film Co Motion Pictures will handle the U.A.E. distribution and Bongoz Films Australia and New Zealand.

Indian-American filmmaker Smriti Mundhra is again collaborating with Netflix on docu-series The Romantics, which looks back on 50 years of iconic Indian film studio Yash Raj Films (YRF) and its late founder Yash Chopra. 

Naman Ramachandran Banijay’s Endemol Shine India and Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan’s Black Knight Films will adapt hit Danish/Swedish scripted series “Bron/Broen” (“The Bridge”) for Indian audiences.  ” ‘The Bridge’ is actually something that I was actively looking to produce. So I went looking for it,” Khan told Variety. The original show opens with a dead body on a border that is shared by two countries and the discovery leads to a joint investigation by the police forces of the two regions, forcing detectives from both sides to work together to solve the crime. The global success of “The Bridge” – which has aired in 188 countries – has led to its adaptation in multiple languages, set across the international borders of U.S./Mexico, U.K./France, Germany/Austria, Singapore/Malaysia and Russia/Estonia.

EXCLUSIVE: The Night Manager’s Indian remake launches this week and its stars are now set to feature on the cover of the original John le Carre novel — a first for an Indian series.

The makers of Call Me Dancer are going from coast to coast to unveil the documentary about the struggles and triumphs of astonishing talent Manish Chauhan. The film directed by Leslie Shampaine and Pip Gilmour held its world premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Thursday and last night it opened the Dance on Camera Festival at New York’s Lincoln Center.