Rana Daggubati’s Spirit Media, Tinkle Comics Launch Indian Superhero Graphic Novel ‘Minnal Murali’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Naman Ramachandran Bollywood A-list actor Kareena Kapoor Khan has been appointed national ambassador for India by humanitarian organization UNICEF. UNICEF has been operating in India for 75 years and Kapoor Khan has been serving as the org’s celebrity advocate since 2014.

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.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Taking over a family business can be overwhelming, but for Karan Johar, it’s been anything but. It’s been more than 25 years since Johar took over Dharma Prods. founded by his father, Yash.

Naman Ramachandran Rising Indian star, Vaani Kapoor will headline coming-of-age Bollywood drama-comedy “Badtameez Gill,” where she plays the titular character. Aparshakti Khurrana (Prime Video series “Jubilee”) plays Kapoor’s character’s brother in the film and veteran Paresh Rawal (Busan title “The Storyteller”), her father. The film, which is set across Bareilly, northern India, and London, is being directed by Navjot Gulati, whose writing credits include “Running Shaadi,” “Ginny Weds Sunny” with “Jai Mummy Di” and the upcoming “Pooja Meri Jaan” among his directing credits.

Naman Ramachandran The next venture from “RRR” director S.S. Rajamouli is Disney+ Hotstar animated series “Baahubali: Crown of Blood,” based on the hugely successful “Baahubali” film franchise. A trailer has been unveiled.

EXCLUSIVE: Harry Potter star Tom Felton has boarded Gandhi, the Hansal Mehta-directed streaming series about the iconic Indian nonviolent resistance leader from Applause Entertainment.

Naman Ramachandran Indian streamer SonyLIV has unveiled the cast and a first look for its magnum opus series “Freedom at Midnight.” Based on the 1975 non-fiction book by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre, the political drama delves into India’s independence movement, weaving together untold tales and critical moments from the era when the country’s then British colonial rulers partitioned the country into India and Pakistan. Sidhant Gupta (Prime Video series “Jubilee”) plays Jawaharlal Nehru, who became the first Prime Minister of independent India, Chirag Vohra (SonyLIV series “Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story”) Mahatma Gandhi and Rajendra Chawla (Netflix film “Looop Lapeta”) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who became the first deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of India.

EXCLUSIVE: Linda Hamilton (The Terminator) and Abbie Cornish (Three Billboards) have come aboard to star opposite Kal Penn in Trust Me, I’m a Doctor, a new film from writer-director Thane Economou (The Wedding Party) that will launch sales at the Cannes Market.

Naman Ramachandran Indian producer Prerna Arora is including intimacy coordination clauses in actors’ legal agreements. Arora, known for acclaimed films “Toilet: Ek Prem Katha” and “Pari” is believed to be one of the first Indian producers to do so.

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.

Naman Ramachandran Sunrise Films has acquired Luna Carmoon’s “Hoard” for the U.S. and Canada. The film debuted at Venice in 2023, where it won three prizes.

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

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Women of My Billion (WOMB),” a documentary produced by Priyanka Chopra Jonas, will play on Prime Video from May 3. Directed by Ajitesh Sharma, “WOMB” follows the journey of Srishti Bakshi, as she embarked on a walking pilgrimage from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, India, spanning 3,800 kms (2,360 miles) over 240 days, with a mission to find and share stories about women, their struggles, dreams, rights, and their wins, against all odds. “Women have borne the brunt of gender bias for far too long, enduring a silent struggle against entrenched social injustices that seek to suppress their voices.

EXCLUSIVE: Indian actress Sayani Gupta has signed with Crimson Media and The SB Initiative for worldwide representation.

Naman Ramachandran Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) South Asia has a sizzling summer slate lined up in the kids space including a mix of anime and homegrown IP. Launching on the Indian animation-focused Pogo channel in May is new Indian IP “Jay Jagannath.” The series portrays the friendship between the Hindu God Lord Jagannath, who has taken the form of a child, Jagan, and his devout follower Balaram.

EXCLUSIVE: Thirteen years ago, a young Sidharth Sriram promised himself that the first time he would attend Coachella would be the first time he performed.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Amazon’s free-of charge, ad-supported streaming platform that is only available in India, miniTV, is expanding its reach within the country. It is adding 200 shows for regional audiences and speakers of Tamil and Telugu. The new line-up of dubbed titles includes marquee and fan-favourite Hindi originals including “Hunter- Tootega Nahi Todega,” “Physics Wallah,” action-packed patriotic series “Rakshak- India’s Braves,” and young romance series “Highway Love.” Hollywood titles dubbed into Tamil and Telugu will include library titles “Twilight,” “Now You See Me,” the “Hunger Games” series, the “Step Up” franchise films and “Red.” miniTV will also upload Korean, Turkish and Mandarin shows dubbed in Tamil and Telugu languages.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Ed Westwick (“Gossip Girl”), John Hannah (“The Mummy”) and British newcomer Alanah Bloor are set to join Turkish lead Can Yaman in “Sandokan,” Lux Vide’s reboot of the cult Italian TV series about the adventures of its titular pirate who, with his motley crew, fights against colonial powers in Southeast Asia. Shooting is set to start April 22 outside Rome on this high-end reboot of Italian writer Emilio Salgari’s exotic epic.