Streamer Hoichoi Turns Five, Unveils 25-Strong India, Bangladesh Slate (EXCLUSIVE)

Naman Ramachandran After “Sunrise” in 2014 and a double whammy with “The Wayfarers” and “Nirvana Inn” in 2019, Indian thespian Adil Hussain is back at the Busan International Film Festival this year with two more films – “The Storyteller” in the Jiseok section, and “Max, Min and Meowzaki” in the Open Cinema strand. Hussain, best known internationally for “Life of Pi” and “Star Trek: Discovery,” also won global plaudits for “What Will People Say” and “Hotel Salvation.” Both of the actor’s Busan films this year are by festival alumni – “The Storyteller,” is by Ananth Narayan Mahadevan, whose “Bittersweet” was in Busan 2020 and “Max, Min and Meowzaki” is helmed by Padmakumar Narasimhamurthy, who was at Busan in 2016 with “A Billion Colour Story.”

Naman Ramachandran Priyanka Chopra Jonas (“The White Tiger”), Richie Mehta (“Delhi Crime”) and Anurag Kashyap (“Sacred Games”) are among the luminaries who are part of Awedacious Originals’ slate. Awedacious is a production company led by Apoorva Bakshi, one of the producers of Mehta’s International Emmy-winning Netflix series “Delhi Crime,” and Monisha Thyagarajan, who served as associate producer on the show.

Naman Ramachandran “Adipurush,” one of the most anticipated Indian films of 2023, unites the talents of Prabhas (the Baahubali franchise) and Om Raut, who directed Ajay Devgn-starring “Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior,” the biggest Indian box office hit of 2020 with a $50 million gross. “Adipurush” is Raut’s take on Indian mythological epic “Ramayana,” by Valmiki, where Rama, the king of Ayodhya, travels to Lanka to rescue his wife Sita, who has been abducted by the king Ravana. “Adipurush” is set 7,000 years ago and in the film, Prabhas’ character is not called Rama, he is Raghav, another name for Rama. Sita, played by Kriti Sanon, is called Janaki, while Saif Ali Khan’s Ravana is Lankesh, also derivatives of their “Ramayana” names. Adipurush literally means “first man,” but here the interpretation is that of “best man.”

Naman Ramachandran Vijay Sethupathi (“Vikram”), Aditi Rao Hydari (“Hey Sinamika”), Arvind Swamy (“Thalaivi”) and Siddharth Jadhav (“Tamasha Live”) will star in film “Gandhi Talks.” While plot details are under wraps, the film is described as a dark comedy. A teaser for the film was released on Oct. 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The film will be dialogue free and the only aural language will be the music by Oscar-, BAFTA- and Grammy- winning Indian composer A.R. Rahman (“Slumdog Millionaire”). It will be directed by Kishore P. Belekar (“Hajari”). Produced by Zee Studios (“36 Farmhouse”), ‘Gandhi Talks’ is co-produced with Kyoorious Digital (“420 IPC”) and Movie Mill Entertainment (“Respect”).

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Iceland’s leading production company Sagafilm Nordic has teamed with Swiss banner C-FILMS on “Codeword: Rubicon,” an espionage thriller series inspired by the infamous CIA operation involving the firm Crypto AG. Created by Hungarian director-writer Balazs Juszt(“I Love You, Too”), the eight-episode series has been commissioned by broadcaster Swiss Television (SRF). The show chronicles the story of how Crypto AG, a Swiss family-owned company manufacturing code-making machines founded in 1952 by a Swedish mathematician was secretly owned and operated by the CIA in partnership West German Intelligence services. From decades, the Swiss company sold equipment to more than 120 countries, including Iran and nuclear rivals India and Pakistan, and even the Vatican, according to the Washington Post. The role of the U.S. and West German intelligence was revealed by the Crypto Leaks.

Naman Ramachandran Following its launch earlier this month in Malaysia, streamer Aha is set to bow in Singapore and the Middle East. The service, currently available in the Telugu and Tamil languages, will also begin offering Malayalam-language content with an eye on the Middle East expansion, where a migrant population that speaks the language abounds. Operated by Arha Media and Broadcasting, the Telugu-language service began in Jan. 2020 and the Tamil service followed in February this year. Malaysia, where there is a large Tamil-speaking population, was a logical next step, with four originals by local filmmakers in Malaysian Tamil, where the inflexions are slightly different from the Tamil spoken in India. Singapore, which also has a significant Tamil population, will follow.

Naman Ramachandran As Amazon Prime Video closes in on six years of operations in India, it is one of the market leaders in the streaming segment. A major part of the success is due to it getting a handle on the multiple local languages in the vast market. “One of the things we look at when we expand into new territories and languages is to see early signs and then double down on those early signs,” Gaurav Gandhi, VP, Amazon Prime Video India told Variety. The service programs in 10 languages in India, including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Bengali and English. “When we started programming in 10 languages we saw early signs before most others how content travels across languages,” says Gandhi, who spoke on the sidelines of the APOS conference in Singapore. “Today, 50% of our audience base is watching content in four plus languages, which was not the case three or four years back. And a big reason for that is the fact that as you program multiple languages across the board, we realize that you truly transcend linguistic boundaries and barriers and expand the linguistic palette.”

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief U.S distributor Samuel Goldwyn Films president Peter Goldwyn has weighed in on the backlash to India’s selection of its competitor for this year’s best international film race at the Oscars, calling candidate “The Last Film Show,” which it will release in North America, “a really strong contender.” Directed by Pan Nalin (“Samsara,” “Valley of Flowers”), the Gujarati-language film is the story of a nine-year old boy pursuing his dreams in cinema. It debuted at the Tribeca Festival in 2021 and has since played fests in Palms Springs, Seattle and Mill Valley. “Last Film Show” will have its commercial release in Gujarat, India on Oct. 14, 2022, giving it the necessary qualifying theatrical run in its home territory.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Singapore-based production group Beach House Pictures has teamed up with executive Raghav Khanna to launch new unit Riverland Entertainment in Mumbai, India. The newly-formed production company will develop a slate of unscripted series and documentaries from India. It will do so by partnering with local Indian talent to create content intended for global and Indian audiences, while also leveraging Beach House Pictures’ international expertise and reach, and with access to Beach House’s post-production facility, Space Lion Studios. Khanna, who is a former head of Netflix’s documentary production in Asia-Pacific, is set as MD of the new operation. He will work closely with Beach House Pictures founders Donovan Chan and Jocelyn Little. 

Naman Ramachandran San Diego’s The Old Globe has announced an extension of Aditya Chopra’s “Come Fall in Love – The DDLJ Musical” due to popular demand. The Broadway-bound production has been extended for one week and will now play through Oct. 23, 2022. Chopra’s U.S. stage musical reimagining of his immensely popular 1995 Bollywood film “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge,” commonly abbreviated to DDLJ, addresses the need for cultural unification in a divided world. Shoba Narayan plays Simran, a young Indian American woman whose future is set via an arranged marriage back in India to a family friend. But when she convinces her strict father that she should spend a summer of freedom and fun in Europe, she falls for the charming Rog (Austin Colby), and her plans go out the window.

Naman Ramachandran The release of revered Indian filmmaker Mani Ratnam’s hugely anticipated epic adaptation of Kalki Krishnamurthy’s classic Tamil-language novel “Ponniyin Selvan” is the realization of his childhood dream. One of India’s most celebrated filmmakers whose films include “Nayakan,” “Bombay” and “Iruvar,” Ratnam read the novel when he was in high school and wanted to make it ever since. Post the tremendous critical and commercial success of “Nayakan” (1987), when that film’s lead Kamal Haasan wanted to make another film with Ratnam, the filmmaker considered “Ponniyin Selvan,” but the stars did not align at that time. Ratnam’s last film, “Chekka Chivantha Vaanam” (2018), was co-produced by his Madras Talkies and Subaskaran’s Lyca Productions (“2.0”).

Queen Charlotte! Netflix's spinoff series centered on the monarch has an official title, and only ET has the exclusive details the very first look. The anticipated prequel drama, which introduces India Amarteifio as the young queen, will be titled . In the official first photo (see below), which ET exclusively debuts, Amarteifio steps into the shoes of Queen Charlotte in a long-sleeved, corseted cream gown, draped by a light gray hooded cape as she adorns an elaborate crown on her head matched with priceless jewels for earrings.Though she looks fit to reign over England, her pensive facial expression as she steps into a palatial setting will leave fans wondering as she looks off to the side.During Saturday's virtual Tudum event for Netflix, viewers got a taste of young Queen Charlotte in action in a first look clip from the prequel.In the clip, as young Charlotte (Amarteifio) attempts to climb up a flower-adorned wall, young George (Mylchreest) catches her in the act and is bemused by her awkward situation. As she maintains that she's «not doing anything,» even though she very much is — a point George continuously brings up — Charlotte finally gives in, telling him she's trying to find the best way to climb over the wall.«Whatever for?» George curiously asks.«Because I think he may be a beast or a troll,» Charlotte answers, referring to the king, whom she does not know she's speaking to.

Addie Morfoot Contributor Eleven documentary projects from six countries have been selected for the Intl. Documentary Assn.’s annual Enterprise Documentary Fund Production Grant. Selected from 248 applicants, the 15 directors behind the 11 docus will receive a total of $600,000 in production grants. Established in 2017, the IDA Enterprise Documentary Fund supports in-depth explorations of original, contemporary stories that integrate journalistic practice into the filmmaking process. The fund is financially supported by John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, with additional support from the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation. In its six-year history, the fund has given over $4.5 million in grant money to nonfiction filmmakers.

Queen Charlotte! Netflix's spinoff series centered on the monarch has an official title, and only ET has the exclusive details the very first look. The anticipated prequel drama, which introduces India Amarteifio as the young queen, will be titled . In the official first photo (see above), which ET exclusively debuts, Amarteifio steps into the shoes of Queen Charlotte in a long-sleeved, corseted cream gown, draped by a light gray hooded cape as she adorns an elaborate crown on her head matched with priceless jewels for earrings.Though she looks fit to reign over England, her pensive facial expression as she steps into a palatial setting will leave fans wondering as she looks off to the side.A limited series aimed to expand the universe, follows Queen Charlotte's rise to prominence and power. The prequel, which returns Bridgerton's Golda Rosheuvel as the older version of the character, tells the story of how the young queen's marriage to King George sparked both a great love story and a societal shift, creating the world of the Ton inherited by the characters in the flagship series.

Naman Ramachandran After his directorial debut “Rocketry: The Nambi Effect,” which bowed at the Cannes market earlier this year that he also wrote and co-produced, R. Madhavan is back solely as an actor with thriller “Dhokha – Round D Corner,” directed by Kookie Gulati (“The Big Bull”). After stints in music videos, Khushalii Kumar makes her film debut, playing a woman with a personality disorder who is taken hostage by a terrorist. She is married to Madhavan’s character. “It’s very tightly knit and any sort of revelation might give you a hint and ruin it for people,” Madhavan told Variety about the plot of the film. “It looks like a pretty straightforward story, but as the film progresses, nobody is actually who they seem.”

Naman Ramachandran Hindi-language “Maja Ma,” starring Bollywood icon Madhuri Dixit Nene, is the first of many Indian original films from Amazon Prime Video, Aparna Purohit, the head of India originals for the streamer, has revealed. The film is a Prime Video commission, as opposed to an acquisition. “We have been acquiring films, we have been putting films straight on our service and over the last two years, we put almost 60 films out and we also bought into co-productions. Producing our own films was the next logical step,” Purohit told Variety. Next up are films in the Telugu and Tamil languages, with films in Malayalam and Kannada being explored. “We want to tell stories that are truly rooted in our soil, stories that are compelling, that are differentiated, in the hands of very passionate creators – story being the starting point for every decision. That’s the strategy,” said Purohit. “And we want to really delight our audiences spread across the length and breadth of the country.”

Manori Ravindran International Editor Vice Studios global president Kate Ward is joining BBC Studios to oversee its factual portfolio, Variety can reveal. Ward has been appointed to the role of managing director for factual at BBC Studios Productions, where she replaces Tom McDonald, who left the company earlier this year to join National Geographic. With her new role, the well-respected executive — who most recently served as president of global studios and Pulse Films for Vice Media Group — will take on one of the most significant production portfolios in the U.K. industry, spanning the BBC’s Natural History Unit, Documentary Unit and Science Unit. She will also oversee relationships with BBC Studios’ roster of production companies, including Louis Theroux’s Mindhouse Productions, David Olusoga’s Uplands TV and James and Soleta Rogan’s Rogan Productions.