Tarsem Singh Dhandwar’s Toronto Winner ‘Dear Jassi’ Unveils First Clip (EXCLUSIVE)

Naman Ramachandran Principal photography has commenced on “Paan Parda Zarda,” a high-end series that unites some of India’s top talents. “Paan Parda Zarda” is a gangster drama series set against the backdrop of illegal opium smuggling in central India. It is produced by billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Jio Studios in association with Reliance Entertainment and Dreamer and Doers Co.

Naman Ramachandran Charades has sold key territories on Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach’s hand-painted animation “Chicken for Linda!” (“Linda veut du poulet!”) that won dual honors at the Annecy Animation Festival. The film follows loving mom, Paulette, who feels guilty after unfairly punishing her daughter Linda and would do anything to make it up to her.

The San Sebastian Film Festival awarded O Corno (The Rye Horn) with the Golden Shell for Best Film. San Sebastián native Jaione Camborda took the top prize of the night for the feature she directed.

Naman Ramachandran Bengali-language focused streamer Hoichoi has unveiled a 24-strong slate on the occasion of its sixth anniversary of operations. The platform has seen a 40% surge in direct subscriptions and a 60% rise in individual watch time per subscriber compared to 2022, Hoichoi said. The streamer’s monthly active users have doubled, it said.

Naman Ramachandran The world of detective Charlie Chopra, based on characters created by Agatha Christie, is set to have a prolonged life in India as a franchise. “Charlie Chopra & The Mystery Of Solang Valley,” based on Christie’s 1931 novel “The Sittaford Mystery,” was adapted as a series for Indian streamer SonyLIV by renowned filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj. Set in the mountains of Himachal Pradesh, northern India, the series follows the journey of Charlie Chopra and her quest to uncover a murder mystery alongside her sidekick Sitaram.

Naman Ramachandran Sujoy Ghosh’s Netflix original film “Jaane Jaan,” headlined by Bollywood royalty Kareena Kapoor Khan, has become the number one non-English film globally for the streamer. With 8.1 million views, the Hindi-language film is also in the Top 10 in 52 countries. “Jaane Jaan” is the Indian adaptation of Japanese author Higashino Keigo’s bestselling 2005 novel “The Devotion of Suspect X.” It follows a single mother and her daughter who commit a crime and a neighbor who helps them cover it up amidst a police investigation.

Naman Ramachandran India’s Yash Raj Films has unveiled the first footage from “Tiger 3,” starring Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif. Directed by Maneesh Sharma (“Band Baaja Baaraat”), the film is the latest instalment in producer Aditya Chopra’s spy universe. The spy universe kicked off with the Tiger franchise, starring Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif, beginning with “Ek Tha Tiger” (2012) and “Tiger Zinda Hai” (2017) and continued with “War” (2019), starring Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff.

Naman Ramachandran Indian actor Babil Khan is basking in the success of Netflix original film “Friday Night Plan.” The high school comedy bowed Sept. 1 and has consistently stayed in the Netflix Top 10 charts across South Asia.

Naman Ramachandran Indian streamer Disney+ Hotstar has unveiled a trailer for 1960s-set series “Sultan of Delhi,” directed by Milan Luthria (“Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai”). The nine-episode series is based on the book “Sultan of Delhi: Ascension” by Arnab Ray and produced by Reliance Entertainment. It stars Tahir Raj Bhasin, Anjumm Shharma, Vinay Pathak and Nishant Dahiya in pivotal roles, alongside Anupriya Goenka, Mouni Roy, Harleen Sethi and Mehreen Pirzada.

Naman Ramachandran Indian studio Excel Entertainment’s founders Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar have revealed a robust upcoming production slate. Up next is “Fukrey 3,” the next instalment of the hit comedy-crime franchise directed by Mrighdeep Lamba, which is due a theatrical release Sept. 28.

Callum McLennan A San Sebastian competition contender, Isabel Herguera’s awaited debut feature film, animated feature “Sultana’s Dream,” (“El sueño de la sultana”), has a first trailer, which Variety can share exclusively. Seen at Annecy as a work in progress, the feminist film will world premiere at Spain’s 71st San Sebastian, becoming the first animation feature directed by a woman to garner selection. Producers of “Unicorn Wars” Abano Producións and UniKo, join El Gatoverde Producciones, Sultana Films and Fabian & Fred, to bring this three-part animated feature, recounting the modern-day vicissitudes of a Spanish artist in India; the travails of real-life feminist thinker Rokeya Hossain; and the story she published remarkably as early as 1905 about Ladyland, where women hold the dominant power.

EXCLUSIVE: Netflix closed a $20 million deal on Hit Man, making the biggest deal at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival and of the year for that matter. After the Richard Linklater-directed noir comic thriller debuted to raves at Venice, the film was expected to fetch the biggest deal of the fall festivals so far. Hit Man did not disappoint. Hit Man stars Top Gun Maverick’s Glen Powell and Adria Arjona (Andor) playing the most unlikely romantic partners, in performances that will boost each of their careers. Especially Powell, who co-wrote with Linklater what will be a major star turn for him. Netflix got US, UK, Australia/New Zealand, India, South Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, and Iceland. There is also a theatrical component to the deal, I’ve heard.

Naman Ramachandran Indian star Karthik Sivakumar, known by his screen name Karthi, is bullish about upcoming release “Japan,” his 25th film. The film is due to release in November during the Deepavali holiday frame in Tamil, Telugu and a few other languages.

EXCLUSIVE: Director Tarsem Singh thought of his own sainted mother as he tried to understand why a Canadian woman of Indian heritage would plot to have her daughter abducted then murdered. 

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Charades has closed multiple deals on “There’s Something in the Barn,” Magnus Martens’s (“Fear the Walking Dead”) comedy horror movie from “Dead Snow” producers at 74 Entertainment and XYZ Films. The English-language movie is headlined by Martin Starr (“Freaks and Geeks,” “Spider Man”), Amrita Acharia (“Game of Thrones”) and Jeppe Beck Laursen (“The Last Kingdom”).

Naman Ramachandran Toronto Film Festival gala presentation “Thank You for Coming” is that rarity – a Bollywood sex comedy that also serves as a patriarch-bashing women empowerment tale. Bhumi Pednekar stars as Kanika Kapoor, a Delhi food blogger and serial monogamist, who has spent her adult life seeking a satisfying love match, both emotionally and physically, but has never had an orgasm.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor NPR veteran Lakshmi Singh has signed with CAA for representation.; Singh, who has been with NPR for 23 years and has one of the public-broadcasting service’s most familiar voices, anchors midday coverage for NPR Newscasts, some of the most-heard content produced by the news outlet. Her work has drawn recognition from Women of Color in Communications for “contributions to the field, mentorship to other women in communications and broad impact on the promotion of ethnic diversity in journalism”, as well as the Asian American/Asian Research Institute and the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center.

Naman Ramachandran “Joyland” star Sarwat Gilani headlines “Farar,” the first project under the Applause Entertainment-Zindagi South Asian content partnership unveiled by Variety recently. The six-part series will premiere at the 14th annual Chicago South Asian Film Festival on Sept. 23.

Naman Ramachandran The birth centenary of Indian cinema icon Dev Anand will be celebrated with restored versions of some of his classics receiving a theatrical release across the country. Known as one of the triumvirate of superstars who ruled Hindi-language cinema in the 1950s and ’60s (along with the late Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar) Anand made such hits as “Guide,” “Hare Rama Hare Krishna” and “Prem Pujari.” The birth centenary of Anand, who died in 2011, is on Sept. 26.

Naman Ramachandran Anand Patwardhan, the doyen of Indian documentary filmmaking, will premiere his new film, “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” (“The World Is Family”) at the Toronto Film Festival. The film focuses on Patwardhan’s parents and close family members and juxtaposes Mahatma Gandhi and the history of India’s independence movement with contemporary times. “As my parents began to age, I began filming to preserve their memory for myself but had no intention to make a film as such.