Jeffrey Archer Partners With Dream Bay Entertainment On Local Film & TV Adaptations

Sikandar Kher, who can currently be seen starring in Dev Patel’s feature directorial debut Monkey Man, has signed with Zero Gravity Management.

Naman Ramachandran Dimpy Agrawal‘s Gubbara Entertainment has unveiled a $1 million script development fund aimed at empowering Indian feature filmmakers at the Cannes Film Festival‘s market. Agrawal previously served as a producer at Netflix India and her credits include some of the streamer’s top titles from the territory such as Zoya Akhtar’s “The Archies,” Vishal Bharwaj’s “Khufiya,” Vasan Bala’s “Monica, O My Darling” and Ajay Singh’s “Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga.” She has had prior stints at Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions and Phantom Productions. Gubbara was launched in early 2023.

Naman Ramachandran Glasgow-based Momentum Films, led by producer Rakasree Basu (“Iqbal and the Jewel of India”), has officially launched at the Cannes Film Festival‘s market. The company is focusing on developing original stories by converging the Scottish and the South Asian cinematic landscapes across feature films, high end television and narrative documentaries. Momentum has an under-production film “Adrift,” which was shot in Tamil Nadu, southern India, and is currently in post-production.

Naman Ramachandran Streamer SonyLIV, filmmaker Hansal Mehta and studio Applause Entertainment have combined again for “Scam 2010: The Subrata Roy Saga.” Based on the book “Sahara: the Untold Story” by Tamal Bandyopadhyay the series will tell the story of businessman Subrata Roy of the Sahara India Pariwar that operates in the the financial services, construction, real estate, sports, manufacturing, hospitality, media and life insurance sectors. In the early 2000s, Roy was accused of several financial misdemeanors, leading to his arrest in 2014.

SonyLIV is getting the gang back together for another Scam.

Naman Ramachandran India is making a concerted push to become a global production hub with enhanced incentives, diverse locations and a strong presence at Cannes. It is a record year for India at Cannes, with its first title in competition in 30 years, Payal Kapadia’s “All We Imagine as Light,” and seven more Indian or Indian-themed films across the festival’s various strands. In addition, the country has a strong Cannes Film Market presence, while the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, on behalf of India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), has organized a range of events aimed at global content co-producers, sales agents and distributors at the India Pavilion on the Croisette.

It's that time of year where many people are preparing to head on holiday - if you've not already.

Elsa Pataky is giving a glimpse at her intense workout routine. The 47-year-old actress decided to share part of her workout, accompanied by her kids, 11-year-old India, and 9-year-old Sasha, at their home gym in Byron Bay, Australia.Chris Hemsworth’s suggestion to help Anya Taylor-Joy get her driver’s licenseElsa Pataky celebrates Mother’s Day ‘the Spanish way’Chris Hemsworth breaks one of Anna Wintour’s rules during the 2024 Met GalaThe actress showed her well-equipped gym, which she also shares with her husband Chris Hemsworth.

Naman Ramachandran Animation studio Toonz Media Group has unveiled an eclectic slate for the Cannes Film Market. Drawing stories from popular Indian ancient fables and retelling them with a contemporary flavor, “Return of the Jungle” is set in present-day India and revolves around a group of classmates from junior school who must outwit the biggest, meanest bully in the school. A cool and loveable grandpa by their side peps the fourth graders with inspiring stories from the jungle.

EXCLUSIVE: Lionsgate India is teaming with Vikram Malhotra’s Abundantia Entertainment and Kavita Sharma Gandhi’s EFAR Films for a pair of streaming movies.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Disney‘s entertainment streaming segment, anchored by Disney+, scored its first profitable quarter, helping offset continued weakness in the media conglomerate’s linear TV business for the first three months of 2024. Overall, Disney revenue for the quarter ended March 30 was in line with Wall Street expectations, while it beat on adjusted earnings per share.

Pulsar Content has formed a strategic partnership with Digital District Entertainment, a leading post-production, VFX and production facilities company, with offices in France, Belgium and India. The partnership will create “a streamlined and cost-effective production process for international film projects,” according to a statement.

Naman Ramachandran Indian actor Prosenjit Chatterjee is a veteran of more than 250 films, but his most recent endeavor “Shesh Pata” is one of the special ones. Chatterjee is a superstar in the eastern Indian Bengali-language film industry and a sought-after actor in the Hindi-language Bollywood industry as well. He scored global hits in 2023 with his pivotal roles in Prime Video series “Jubilee” and Netflix series “Scoop.” The same year, he starred in Bengali blockbuster “Dasham Avatar.” For “Shesh Pata,” Chatterjee reunited with director Atanu Ghosh, with whom he’d done successful films “Mayurakshi” (2017) and “Robibaar” (2019).

Naman Ramachandran Indian filmmaker Imtiaz Ali‘s Netflix original film “Amar Singh Chamkila” is a hit for the streamer, bowing at No. 1 across South Asia and No. 5 on its global Top 10 chart.

Naman Ramachandran The Royal Shakespeare Company‘s theater adaptation of “The Buddha of Suburbia” had hard acts to follow, coming after an acclaimed novel and TV series. Hanif Kureishi‘s Whitbread Award-winning 1990 novel is one of the seminal works of British literature.

Naman Ramachandran The Jeffrey Archer Company and Dream Bay Entertainment have entered into a strategic partnership to adapt the bestselling author’s works for television and film internationally, with an initial focus on Indian, Asian and the Middle Eastern markets. DBE was founded in 2023 by former Amazon Studios executive Thomas Drachkovitch. Former CAA agent Jason Hafford recently joined as co-founder and head of DBE Management.

Naman Ramachandran “Joyguru,” a fictionalized account of the life of Indian mystic artist and music icon Parvathy Baul, will launch sales at the upcoming Cannes Film Market. Parvathy Baul is a leading exponent of the syncretic Baul minstrel music tradition that is hugely popular and culturally influential across eastern India and Bangladesh. Written and directed by actor-turned-filmmaker Soumyajit Majumdar (“#Homecoming”), the film will follow folk music icon Radhika Das Baul and popular Bollywood film music director Ritwik during their unlikely collaboration for a pioneering music album of Baul songs transcreated in Hindi, where they form a unique bond, a few days before her sudden and mysterious disappearance from her ashram near Shantiniketan, India.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor British actress Amy Tara has been cast in a leading role in the U.S. mystery-thriller “Dream.” The film tells the story of a group of friends who are led by a dream to uncover what they believe might be a trafficking industry in their small working-class town.

EXCLUSIVE: New York Times best-selling author Neil Gaiman is teaming with Graphic India for the English-language animated movie, Cinnamon.

The delayed release of Indian feature film The Sabarmati Report has placed new scrutiny on Bollywood’s relationship with the country’s political machine, as elections in the world’s largest democracy enter their second week.