Rana Daggubati’s Spirit Media, Tinkle Comics Launch Indian Superhero Graphic Novel ‘Minnal Murali’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Naman Ramachandran Billionaire Mukesh Ambani‘s streamer JioCinema is launching Anime Hub, with a slate of popular Japanese titles in the genre. Starting May 12, the hub will be headlined by the global simulcast of Season 4 of “Demon Slayer.” Highlights of the slate include: action-comedy “Spy x Family”; school chaos in “Assassination Classroom”; supernatural action-comedy “Mob Psycho 100”; time-traveling drama “Tokyo Revengers”; fantasy adventure “Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun”; psychological thriller “Welcome to the Elite”; fantasy “That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime”; and mystery “The Junji Ito Maniac.” With a view to growing the Otaku (anime fan) community in India, the hub will also offer a curated selection of hits and hidden gems, including “Bofuri: I Hate Getting Hurt,” “So I Put All My Skill Points Into Defense,” “My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!,” “The Familiar of Zero,” “Goblin Slayer” and “In/Spectre.” The anime content is licensed from Taiwan-based anime distribution and licensing company Muse Communication, Variety understands.

Naman Ramachandran Indian streamer SonyLIV has unveiled the actors playing Pakistani leader Mohammed Ali Jinnah and his sister Fatima in its magnum opus series “Freedom at Midnight.” Based on the 1975 non-fiction book of the same name 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 in 1947. Formerly a member of the Congress party that the leaders of India’s independence movement, including Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru also belonged to, Mohammed Ali Jinnah became the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the formation of Pakistan.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Tarsem Singh’s tale of forbidden romance “Dear Jassi” has been set as the opening title of the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles. The event, which runs June 27-30, will showcase seven feature films, a new industry section and a female-centric collection of South Asian short films.

Naman Ramachandran Indian actor Ali Fazal has joined the cast of Mani Ratnam‘s “Thug Life,” starring Kamal Haasan. The cast also includes Trisha Krishnan, Dulquer Salmaan, Jayam Ravi, Silambarasan Rajendar, Joju George, Gautham Kartik and Aishwarya Lekshmi. The film, which hails from the gangster genre, is written by Ratnam and Haasan and produced by Raaj Kamal Films International, Madras Talkies and Red Giant Movies.

Welcome to Global Breakouts, Deadline’s fortnightly strand in which we shine a spotlight on the TV shows and films making noise in their local territories. The industry is as globalized as it’s ever been, but breakout hits are appearing in pockets of the world all the time and it can be hard to keep track. So we’re going to do the hard work for you.

Naman Ramachandran Back in 2019, on a visit to Los Angeles, celebrated Indian director Sanjay Leela Bhansali stopped in at the offices of Netflix. In his informal five-minute meeting with CEO Ted Sarandos, Bhansali pitched an idea — it would be an opulent tale of warring courtesans set amid India’s struggle for independence. Sarandos greenlit the project on the spot.

EXCLUSIVE: SonyLIV’s ambitious Indian independence drama Freedom at Midnight has added British cast.

Naman Ramachandran Bollywood A-list actor Kareena Kapoor Khan has been appointed national ambassador for India by humanitarian organization UNICEF. UNICEF has been operating in India for 75 years and Kapoor Khan has been serving as the org’s celebrity advocate since 2014.

Naman Ramachandran Indian filmmaker Imtiaz Ali‘s Netflix original film “Amar Singh Chamkila” is a hit for the streamer, bowing at No. 1 across South Asia and No. 5 on its global Top 10 chart.

Naman Ramachandran The Royal Shakespeare Company‘s theater adaptation of “The Buddha of Suburbia” had hard acts to follow, coming after an acclaimed novel and TV series. Hanif Kureishi‘s Whitbread Award-winning 1990 novel is one of the seminal works of British literature.

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.

EXCLUSIVE: Linda Hamilton (The Terminator) and Abbie Cornish (Three Billboards) have come aboard to star opposite Kal Penn in Trust Me, I’m a Doctor, a new film from writer-director Thane Economou (The Wedding Party) that will launch sales at the Cannes Market.

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 “Joyguru,” a fictionalized account of the life of Indian mystic artist and music icon Parvathy Baul, will launch sales at the upcoming Cannes Film Market. Parvathy Baul is a leading exponent of the syncretic Baul minstrel music tradition that is hugely popular and culturally influential across eastern India and Bangladesh. Written and directed by actor-turned-filmmaker Soumyajit Majumdar (“#Homecoming”), the film will follow folk music icon Radhika Das Baul and popular Bollywood film music director Ritwik during their unlikely collaboration for a pioneering music album of Baul songs transcreated in Hindi, where they form a unique bond, a few days before her sudden and mysterious disappearance from her ashram near Shantiniketan, India.

EXCLUSIVE: New York Times best-selling author Neil Gaiman is teaming with Graphic India for the English-language animated movie, Cinnamon.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Women of My Billion (WOMB),” a documentary produced by Priyanka Chopra Jonas, will play on Prime Video from May 3. Directed by Ajitesh Sharma, “WOMB” follows the journey of Srishti Bakshi, as she embarked on a walking pilgrimage from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, India, spanning 3,800 kms (2,360 miles) over 240 days, with a mission to find and share stories about women, their struggles, dreams, rights, and their wins, against all odds. “Women have borne the brunt of gender bias for far too long, enduring a silent struggle against entrenched social injustices that seek to suppress their voices.

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

Naman Ramachandran Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) South Asia has a sizzling summer slate lined up in the kids space including a mix of anime and homegrown IP. Launching on the Indian animation-focused Pogo channel in May is new Indian IP “Jay Jagannath.” The series portrays the friendship between the Hindu God Lord Jagannath, who has taken the form of a child, Jagan, and his devout follower Balaram.