Behind The Bollywood Power Struggles: Disney+ Hotstar & ‘Koffee With Karan’ Maker Dharmatic Entertainment Team For Scripted Series ‘Showtime’
20.12.2023 - 07:41
/ deadline.com
EXCLUSIVE: Disney+ Hotstar is going behind the curtains of Bollywood.
The Indian streamer’s latest scripted series, Showtime, will delve behind the color, power struggles and ambition of Bollywood and those who work in the biz.
The drama comes from screenwriter Sumit Roy and Karan Johar‘s Dharmatic Entertainment. Emraan Hashmi, Mahima Makwana, Mouni Roy and Naseeruddin Shah are starring, with Rajeev Khandelwal, Shriya Saran also booked in “pivotal” roles. Mihir Desai is the showrunner,and he will direct alongside Archit Kumar.
Bollywood Wives and Call Me Bae maker Dharmatic is producing, marking the first time the Mumbai-based production house and Disney+ Hotstar have worked together on an original scripted series. The pair already collaborates on popular Indian chat show Koffee with Karan, which stars Dharmatic founder Johar and has run to seven seasons.
Showtime is billed as “an epic saga of legacy and ambition in the world of cinema,” and provide a “sneak peek into what goes behind the multi-million dollar industry of Bollywood, nepotism and the power struggles at the top.”
The series is set to launch on the streamer next year. You can see a first-look trailer here.
“Collaborating with Dharmatic Entertainment has always been a great experience and the success of Koffee with Karan stands as a testament to that,” said Gaurav Banerjee, Head — Content, Disney+ Hotstar & HSM Entertainment Network, Disney Star.
“The next story we wanted to tell was about Bollywood and the trade secrets, so who better than Karan Johar who has been the heart of the industry and also the center of conversations around nepotism. We hope Showtime will bring a new flavor to the world of Bollywood that fans will enjoy.”
Karan Johar, Founder