Neil Gaiman’s ‘The Sandman’ Gets Indian Adaptation by Dirk Maggs, Bollywood A-List Cast

Naman Ramachandran Nayla Al Khaja, the first female filmmaker in the United Arab Emirates, and Oscar-, BAFTA- and Grammy- winning Indian composer A.R. Rahman (“Slumdog Millionaire”) are looking forward to their upcoming collaboration on “Baab.”Written by Al Khaja and Masoud Amralla Al Ali, the film follows Wahida, who is unable to make sense of her twin sister’s mysterious death and is plagued by a haunting rhythm in her ears.Rahman and Khaja were present at the Cannes Film Market to promote “Baab.” The composer’s directorial debut, the VR “Le Musk” also had its world premiere at the market’s Cannes XR strand. “It’s about the four stages of grief, but we don’t say it so black and white,” Al Khaja told Variety about the film.

Naman Ramachandran Principal photography has wrapped on “The Storyteller,” directed by Ananth Narayan Mahadevan (Busan title “Bittersweet”).The film is based on Indian Oscar winner Satyajit Ray’s short story “Golpo Boliye Tarini Khuro.” In the story about originality versus plagiarism, Ray was raising the question: “What is more important – the story or the storyteller?”A restored version of Ray’s “The Adversary” is playing at the Cannes Classics strand of the Cannes Film Festival.The cast includes Paresh Rawal (Amazon Prime Video film “Sharmaji Namkeen”), Adil Hussain (“Star Trek: Discovery”), Revathi (Netflix anthology “Navarasa”) and Tannishtha Chatterjee (Busan title “Roam Rome Mein”).The film is produced by billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Jio Studios (Netflix film “Dasvi”) in association with Purpose Entertainment (“Hotel Mumbai”) and Quest Films (Busan Kim Ji-seok Award winner “The Rapist”). Mahadevan said: “As part of the celebrations around the life and work of the legend Satyajit Ray, we are very happy and honored to share our own humble homage to the master storyteller.

CANNES – It may seem obvious, but sometimes combining two compelling stories doesn’t lead to an overall more captivating film. That’s the primary takeaway from Gina Gammell and Riley Keough‘s somewhat messy “War Pony,” which debuted at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival this weekend.

It is more than a bit ironic in a Cannes Film Festival where Baz Luhrman’s biopic Elvis is one of the most anticipated entries, that the subject of it, Elvis Presley turns out to have another direct connection this year’s fest. His granddaughter Riley Keough is making her directorial debut with the Un Certain Regard selection, War Pony having its World Premiere today. The film focuses on two young Native Americans coming of age and trying to get by in a story set on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. It is a location that has intrigued other filmmakers like Chloe Zhao (The Rider) in recent years, and now has caught the attention of Keough and her co-director Gina Gammell in order to tell an authentic and unique contemporary tale of Native American youth brought to life by an impressive group of first-time actors, mostly locals the directors cast in order to give this as fresh and real a feel as possible. They have succeeded.

Naman Ramachandran Toronto-headquartered animation outfit Paperboat Animation Studios has revealed a new slate.The slate is led by “Kabuliwala: Man from Kabul,” a 3D animated feature based on the classic short story by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. The story, which has already been adapted several times as live-action features, tells the story of the bond between a 6-year-old girl from Kolkata, India, and an immigrant hawker from Kabul, Afghanistan.Paperboat co-founder and chief creative director Soumitra Ranade, whose credits include “Bombay Rose” and “The World of Goopy and Bagha,” adapted the story and will direct.

K.J. Yossman Rudyard Kipling’s “Kim” is set to get an animated feature adaptation by Indian filmmaker Ketan Mehta.Mehta’s animation studio, Cosmos-Maya, will co-develop the film alongside Irish animation studio Piranha Bar. Mehta (“Sardar,” “Mangal Pandey: The Rising”) will direct.“Kim” is a story about Kimball O’Hara, AKA Kim, a savvy street kid turned child spy in colonial-era India who becomes an apprentice to a Shaolin monk.

EXCLUSIVE: Some of the West End and Broadway’s biggest productions are making their debuts on Indian TV.

EXCLUSIVE: Mahatma Gandhi’s life is to be detailed in a multi-season streaming period drama series akin to Netflix global smash The Crown, Deadline can reveal.

A video of a Texas teenager being choked by a classmate is going viral and sparking outrage on social media.

Naman Ramachandran Australian film “The Laugh of Lakshmi,” by renowned theater director turned filmmaker S. Shakthidharan, will be one of the first films to make use of the newly announced Indian filming incentives.The film, a dance drama, is the story of a mother and a son separated by war.

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Indian TV star Chethana Raj has died at age 21 after getting surgery for fat removal.The actress was reportedly admitted to hospital in Bengaluru, Karnataka on Monday for fat removal surgery but later died from complications from the operation.The star is said to have suffered from a cardiac arrest after her lungs filled with fluid, according to local news outlets. Chethana is understood to have been moved from the cosmetic hospital to an ICU unit following the complications. However when she arrived, she was reportedly unresponsive and without a pulse.

Indian TV star Chethana Raj has died at the age of 21 after having fat removal surgery. The actress was reportedly admitted into a private plastic surgery hospital in Bengaluru, Karnataka, on Monday, but is said to have developed complications as fluid began to accumulated in her lungs. She later died of a cardiac arrest, after being rushed to another hospital where doctors were unsuccessful in reviving her through CPR.

Naman Ramachandran The offspring of Bollywood superstars are debuting in “The Archies,” Netflix’s coming-of-age, live action musical set in 1960s India based on the teenagers of Riverdale.Young actors Mihir Ahuja, Dot, Yuvraj Menda and Vedang Raina will feature in the film’s cast. They are joined by Khushi Kapoor, the daughter of the late actor Sridevi and producer Boney Kapoor and sister of Janhvi Kapoor; superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s daughter Suhana Khan; and Agastya Nanda, the grandson of revered actors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan.The feature film adaptation of the Archie comics, which are hugely popular on the Indian subcontinent, will be produced by Akhtar and Reema Kagti for Tiger Baby and Sharad Devarajan for Graphic India.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefMumbai-based Banijay Asia has struck a deal with ITV Studios’ Armoza Formats to bring an official adaptation of the award-winning Canadian mini-series, “Vertige,” to screen.The high-profile French-language show deconstructs the alleged suicide of a young girl, Daphne Roussel. Banijay Asia will reimagine the psychological thriller for the Indian audience.With a remit focused on India and, increasingly Southeast Asia, Banijay Asia is a joint venture between Banijay, Stéphane Courbit’s TV production and distribution powerhouse behind “Survivor” and “Peaky Blinders,” and veteran producer Deepak Dhar.The Banijay parent company this week announced that it is set to go public and launch on the Amsterdam stock exchange through a newly-created special purpose acquisition company or SPAC.

Naman Ramachandran Indian origin, U.S.-born Belgian actor Rumana Molla (“Irada”) will make her directorial debut with Belgium-set Indian immigrant drama “Minimum,” which will commence principal photography in June.The film will follow newly-wed immigrant Fauzia, whose mother-in-law Ruxana keeps her captive. She finds out that everything she had been told about her husband Ali was a lie and loses hope until a French tutor, Laurie, is hired to teach her the basics.

Naman Ramachandran South Asian focused streamer ZEE5 Global and BBC Studios India have partnered to create a slate of Hindi-language originals across genres, commencing with series “The Broken News,” an adaptation of Mike Bartlett’s BBC show “Press,” directed by Vinay Waikul (Netflix’s “Aranyak”). The plot turns on two rival news channels based in Mumbai – Awaaz Bharati, an independent, ethical news channel, and Josh 24/7 News, which offers sensationalist and invasive journalism, and what transpires between the main characters in their quest for news.

Naman Ramachandran Riz Ahmed and Aneil Karia are teaming again for a modern, London-set British Indian adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.”The pair won the 2022 best live action short film Oscar for “The Long Goodbye,” which they co-wrote, Ahmed starred in and Karia directed. WME Independent will launch international sales at the Cannes Film Market, while co-representing North American rights with CAA.

EXCLUSIVE: On the heels of their Oscar win for The Long Goodbye, Sound Of Metal and Rogue One actor Riz Ahmed and Surge director Aneil Karia are confirmed for a modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic Hamlet, which is being launched by WME Independent at the Cannes market.