Rukmini Maitra To Lead Ram Kamal Mukherjee’s ‘Draupadi,’ a Feminist Adaptation of ‘Mahabharata’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Naman Ramachandran Niv Art Movies, producer of Rotterdam winner “Sexy Durga,” and Little Lamb Films, the outfit behind Tallin, Santa Barbara and Edinburgh film “The Cloud and the Man,” have teamed for Locarno title “Whispers of Fire & Water.” An exclusive clip from the film has been provided to Variety. Lubdhak Chatterjee, who has previous shorts and documentaries to his credit, makes his fiction feature debut with the film. The narrative revolves around an audio installation artist who visits the coal mines of eastern India, an area plagued by depleting natural resources where fire burns constantly.

Naman Ramachandran Disney+ Hotstar India’s Syria-set thriller series “The Freelancer” is in the works. Based on the bestselling 2017 book “A Ticket to Syria” by Shirish Thorat, the series is from showrunner Neeraj Pandey (Disney+ Hotstar’s Special Ops franchise), produced by Friday Storytellers and directed by Bhav Dhulia (Netflix’s “Khakee: The Bihar Chapter”). Pandey said: “’The Freelancer’ is a high-scale thriller series that unfolds an extraordinary rescue operation of a young girl held against her will in a war-torn Syria.

Marta Balaga Producer Marianne Slot will continue her successful collaboration with Icelandic director Benedikt Erlingsson, following 2018 “Woman at War” with TV show “The Danish Woman” and upcoming feature film “Normal Men.” “It’s a comedy, as you can imagine. Benedikt Erlingsson and a feminist producer – that’s a good combination,” she laughs, recalling their previous film about an environmental activist going rogue. “’Woman at War’ was so joyful to make.

Naman Ramachandran Stewart Copeland, founder and drummer of The Police, is teaming with Indian musician Ricky Kej on “Police – Beyond Borders” where the legendary rock band’s classic songs are recreated in global languages. The songs include “Every Breath You Take,” “Roxanne” and “Message in a Bottle.” Reinterpretations are in the Kannada, Zulu, Mandarin, Armenian, Pashto, Urdu and Hindi languages, among others. The album follows Copeland’s “Police Deranged for Orchestra” BMG album, released in June, where the band’s hit tracks, arranged for full orchestra, are revisited.

Marta Balaga Raven Banner Entertainment continues to rack up sales for Richard V. Somes’ action spectacle “Topakk.” “Topakk”(“Trigger”) has been sold to Aud (South Korea), Superfine Films (India), Kinologistika (CIS and the Baltics) and Lighthouse (German-speaking Europe). It’s not the end of good news, as the film – debuting its trailer and produced by Fusee, with Strawdogs Studio Production and Nathan Studios co-producing – is also set to bow at Locarno next week.

A Scots adventurer is half-way through a rapid world tour, visiting four of the globe's seven continents in just 16 days. Alex Hempton, from Edinburgh, and four pals planned the trip of a lifetime for £1,150 each - just £71 per day.

Naman Ramachandran Former Disney India head and producer of Sony LIV hit “Rocket Boys,” Siddharth Roy Kapur has hailed the reinvigorated Indian box office and robust streaming space. Nevertheless, he sees challenges ahead.

Naman Ramachandran Actor and producer Dulquer Salmaan will headline “Kaantha,” which will be produced by him alongside “Baahubali” star Rana Daggubati. The film will be directed by Selvamani Selvaraj, whose debut feature “Nila” (2016) won the audience award at the Cinequest San Jose Film Festival. Selvaraj’s documentary series “The Hunt for Veerappan” is set to release on Netflix on August 4.

Naman Ramachandran Prolific Indian content studio Applause Entertainment, led by Sameer Nair, and acclaimed filmmaker Vikramaditya Motwane’s Andolan Films are teaming to produce two politically-charged series. “Black Warrant” is based on the bestselling book “Black Warrant: Confessions Of A Tihar Jailer,” by prison officer Sunil Gupta and Sunetra Choudhury, a journalist with vast experience of chronicling India’s prison system.

After a two-year wait, Apple TV+‘s “Invasion” returns for its second season on August 23. Created by Simon Kinberg and David Weil, the show is a character-driven sci-fi drama that follows an alien invasion through various characters from around the world from different perspectives.

Since launching on Netflix on July 15, Indian crime drama Kohrra has shot to the top of the streamer’s Indian rankings and had critics, audiences and industry figures including Karan Johar raving about the show.

Naman Ramachandran Indian police procedural noir “Kohrra” (“Fog”) is the latest hit for streaming service Netflix. The six-episode Punjabi- and Hindi-language drama bowed July 15 atop the Netflix India chart, where it remains in pole position for a second week. It also placed highly in the streamer’s top 10 charts across much of South Asia and the Middle East. In the show, when a bridegroom from the U.K. is found dead days before his wedding, two cops must unravel the troubling case as turbulence unfolds in their own lives. The cast is led by Suvinder Vicky, known for Cannes title “The Fourth Direction” and who Venice festival title “Milestone,” and Barun Sobti (London festival title “You Are My Sunday,” JioCinema chart topper “Asur”).

Diljit Dosanjh and Arjun Rampal film, which is now titled “Punjab ’95,” will have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Naman Ramachandran A new stage adaptation of ancient Indian epic “Mahabharata” is set to make its U.K. premiere at London’s Barbican Theatre this fall. The retelling of the revered text, which follows a devastating family feud and explores profound philosophical and spiritual ideas, is from Canada’s Why Not Theatre and had its world premiere at The Shaw Festival Theatre in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada in March. The production is presented in two parts and narrated by a storyteller (Miriam Fernandes). “Karma” (part 1), is the origin story of the rival Pandava and Kaurava clans. In “Dharma” (part 2), a great battle destroys the planet and the survivors are left behind to rebuild.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Amid deep concerns about the risks posed by artificial intelligence, the Biden administration has lined up commitments from seven tech companies — including OpenAI, Google and Meta — to abide by safety, security and trust principles in developing AI. Reps from seven “leading AI companies” — Amazon, Anthropic, Google, Inflection, Meta, Microsoft and OpenAI — are scheduled to attend an event Friday at the White House to announce that the Biden-Harris administration has secured voluntary commitments from the companies to “help move toward safe, secure, and transparent development of AI technology,” according to the White House.

Indian movie “Kalki 2898 AD” (working title “Project – K”) made a splash at the San Diego Comic-Con with the successful teaser and title release.

Refresh for more …The first Indian film, Project K, to make its grand debut in Hall H made a lot of noise –a lot — today with a grand musical number that rivaled Amazon Prime Video’s Lord of the Rings orchestra and choral last year.

Rana Daggubati, the South Indian star of global hit film “Baahubali,” is poised to make a superhero-sized impact at San Diego Comic-Con. His Spirit Media company will unveil film, TV and comic-book projects with a variety of partners. Prime among these is movie project “Hiranyakashyap,” being developed by Spirit Media and set to be directed by Travikram. The picture is inspired by Amar Chitra Katha’s comics of the mythological figure, the powerful demon Hiranyakashyap, and his plan to achieve vengeance by destroying Lord Indira’s kingdom. In the series space, Spirit Media has pacted with streamer SonyLIV on historical epic action-drama “Lords of the Deccan.” Based on the novel of the same title, the show takes audiences back in time to witness the birth of the Chalukyas, a dynasty that shaped southern India for centuries.

Naman Ramachandran After the success of the Indian version of “The Night Manager,” The Ink Factory is planning further Indian adaptations of John le Carré novels. Produced by The Ink Factory and Banijay Asia, the Hindi-language series created and directed by Sandeep Modi and headlined by Anil Kapoor and Aditya Roy Kapur, emerged as the most watched series ever across all Hotstar specials on Indian streamer Disney+ Hotstar. One of the most renowned writers in the espionage genre, le Carré, who died in 2020, left behind a legacy of 25 novels, managed by The Ink Factory. They have spawned numerous adaptations, including an English-language “The Night Manager” from BBC/AMC in 2016.

Naman Ramachandran BBC Studios will produce adaptations of All3Media scripted dramas “Shameless” and “Strangers” for the Indian market. Comedy drama “Shameless,” created originally by Paul Abbot and Company Pictures for Channel 4, is set in a dilapidated housing estate and revolves around an unemployed and perpetually drunken father who is consistently expanding his lineage amidst the challenges of adolescence and the allure of first love. Two Brothers Pictures’ crime drama “Strangers” AKA “White Dragon,” originally created for ITV in the U.K. and written by Mark Denton, Jonny Stockwood, Marston Bloom and Harry & Jack Williams, follows professor Jonah Mulray, whose wife dies in a car accident in Hong Kong, where she frequently visited for work. He decides to visit the city, where he stumbles upon a startling revelation about his wife, plunging him into a labyrinth of conspiracy.