Madhuri Dixit, Anushka Sharma to produce Netflix originals

Former will produce Marathi film titled ‘15th August’

Netflix has announced the production of nine new Indian original films, unveiling projects by Bollywood stars Madhuri Dixit and Anushka Sharma, as well as superstar Priyanka Chopra.

Netflix’s chief content officer, Ted Sarandos shared that Asia, and in particular India, is a territory of key importance in the streaming service’s future plans, reported Hindustan Times.

The Netflix logo is pictured on a television in this illustration photograph taken in Encinitas, California, US, on January 18, 2017.PHOTO: REUTERS

Firebrand, a venture by Priyanka and mother Madhu Chopra, is “a Marathi film that follows a successful lawyer and sexual assault victim, played by Usha Jadhav, as she tackles difficult family cases while also dealing with intimacy issues in her own marriage. Girish Kulkarni essays the role of her husband who is an architect by profession.

Madhuri will also produce a Marathi film called 15^th August which is set in a chawl (a small tenement), and is a satire about the struggles of middle class India. Bulbul, produced by Anushka Sharma and Karnesh Sharma’s Clean Slate Films, “is a period piece set in a vibrant atmosphere amidst age-old beliefs and superstitions.”

The Netflix logo is shown in this illustration photograph in Encinitas, California, US, on October 14, 2014.PHOTO: REUTERS

Other projects include Rajma Chawal, starring Rishi Kapoor, who plays a widowed father that wants to reconnect with his son, Chopsticks with Abhay Deol and Hotel Mumbai, featuring an ensemble international cast of Dev Patel, Armie Hammer and Jason Isaacs releasing in 2019. The film, about the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai, premiered to positive reviews at the Toronto International Film Festival.

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