Amit Dhanuka Joins Indian Director Shashank Khaitan At Mentor Disciple Entertainment

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.

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.

“I’ve felt that being called ‘niche’ is a compliment, actually,” Monkey Man star Sobhita Dhulipala tells Deadline.

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 The Jeffrey Archer Company and Dream Bay Entertainment have entered into a strategic partnership to adapt the bestselling author’s works for television and film internationally, with an initial focus on Indian, Asian and the Middle Eastern markets. DBE was founded in 2023 by former Amazon Studios executive Thomas Drachkovitch. Former CAA agent Jason Hafford recently joined as co-founder and head of DBE Management.

The Jeffrey Archer Company has struck a deal to localize his literary works into film and TV adaptations with ex-Amazon exec Thomas Drachkovitch and ex-CAA Agent Jason Hafford’s new outfit.

Zoya Akhtar (The Archies), Fawzia Mirza (Queen of My Dreams), and Roshan Sethi (A Nice Indian Boy) are set to join the 1497 Features Lab as Mentors.

Sundance Institute announced today the fellows selected for the 2024 Directors, Screenwriters, and Native Labs. The Native Lab in New Mexico will support four fellows and two artists in residence, and the Directors Lab in Colorado will support the development of eight projects with nine fellows, with an additional three fellows also joining for the online Screenwriters Lab held immediately after.  

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor British actress Amy Tara has been cast in a leading role in the U.S. mystery-thriller “Dream.” The film tells the story of a group of friends who are led by a dream to uncover what they believe might be a trafficking industry in their small working-class town.

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

A pair of top international executives have joined forces to build a UK-based talent agency and production business.

Rana Daggubati‘s Spirit Media has teamed with Tinkle Comics to launch a graphic novel featuring Indian superhero Minnal Murali at the Mumbai Comic-Con. “Minnal Murali” is a 2021 Malayalam-language film directed by Basil Joseph, produced by Sophia Paul’s Weekend Blockbusters and starring Tovino Thomas as the eponymous superhero. Set in a village in Kerala, the film follows a tailor with dreams of emigrating to the U.S.

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.

Cannes parallel section Directors’ Fortnight has unveiled the line-up for its 56th edition running from May 15 to 23, at a press conference in Paris’s Forum des Images cultural center.

Naman Ramachandran Indian actor-producer Yash‘s Monster Mind Creations and producer Namit Malhotra’s Prime Focus Studios have partnered on an adaptation of Indian epic “Ramayana” for global audiences. The film will be directed by Nitesh Tiwari, whose “Dangal” is the highest Indian grosser of all time.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Marc Maron has been cast alongside Owen Wilson in an upcoming untitled golf comedy series at Apple TV+, Variety has learned. The series was originally announced in March with Wilson in the lead role. Peter Dager is also set to star in the show.

Alex Ritman Rwandan actress Eliane Umuhire (“Augure by Baloji,” “My New Friends”), French producer Sylvie Pialat (“Timbuktu,” “Staying Vertical”), Belgian cinematographer Virginie Surdej (“The Blue Caftan,” “Our Mothers,” “Casablanca Beats”) and Canadian film critic, journalist and frequent Variety contributor Ben Croll have been named on the jury for the Critics’ Week section of the Cannes Film Festival. The four will now join Spanish filmmaker Rodrigo Sorogoyen, who last week was named Critics’ Week jury president, with the group set to choose the sidebar competition’s award winners, including the Grand Prize for best feature film, the French Touch Prize of the Jury, the Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star award for best actor or actress and the Leitz Ciné Discovery Prize for best short film.