Applause Entertainment Reunites with ‘Scam 1992’ Director Hansal Mehta and Siddhartha Basu as ‘Gandhi’ Drama Series Takes shape

Special: Back in May, we reported that Indian studio Applause Entertainment was in the midst of developing a big-budget drama series about independence hero Mahatma Gandhi, and the studio has now tapped a few familiar faces to push the project forward.

Hansal Mehta, who directed SonyLIV’s drama Applause fraud 1992The director and showrunner were chosen. gandhi (working title) and Siddhartha Basu, who worked with Applause CEO Sameer Nair on the early seasons of the Indian version. Do you want to be a millionaire? (with title Kaun Banega Kropathy), participated as a historical consultant, factual consultant and creative consultant.

gandhi they will be A period drama set during India’s struggle for independence and heralded on an epic scale, it features many characters and locations from the life of the Mahatma. presence Based on the books of historian and author Ramachandra Guha From Gandhi to India Y Gandhi – The years that changed the world – A pair of biographies of the iconic freedom fighter that are among the most comprehensive biographies ever written.

Applause takes a feature-finance approach to TV series: develop scripts, recruit and shoot cast, crew and creatives before selling the production to streaming services in India. That’s also the focus here, with Mehta and Basu joining Practical Gandhi, who, as we explained at the time, took the lead role of his older brother two months ago.

He is best known as one of the leading directors of Hindi film and television known for movies like Mehta. witness, City Lights Y Simran. He will guide you creatively. gandhiScheduled to run for several seasons, it will detail Gandhi’s life and relationships with friends, colleagues, and enemies. a crown He studied the British royal family. It should be noted that Mehta is the director. gandhi The road to practical Gandhi fraud 1992It is one of the most popular streaming hits in India.

Mehta told Deadline that she initially reached out to Nair to “openly reveal herself” as a director after reading our briefing on the project, and she was committed to the project throughout the project.

“There comes a moment in your life when you discover a story you want to tell and you realize that it will be part of Indian storytelling history,” he said. “How can I avoid the greatest character in modern India, the father of the nation, and the deeply researched books of Ramanchadra with such rich material? This is my opportunity to explore a character and their world and tell a deep and personal story. “

“I have to tell you the whole story,” he added. “There can be no more opportunity in a filmmaker’s life and I can’t tell half the story and let someone else tell the rest.

“At Applause, we are honored to have the opportunity to tell this important story of India and bring the rich history of India’s freedom struggle to life in a multi-layered, multi-season drama series,” said Nair. “A story of this size needs a filmmaker of the same stature, and we found our perfect storyteller in Hansal. Working with Hansal and Practical once again makes it even more exciting.”

Known locally as the ‘Father of Questions in Indian TV’, Basum has featured various plays as follows. trial period, Home India Y college challenge and was the original director-producer Kaun Banega Kropathy Thanks to the BIG Synergy production machine. He will be reunited with Nair after 22 years: The CEO of Alkış commissioned the series in 2000 when he was the program director at Star India.

“emotional experience”

“Construction gandhi It’s going to be an emotional experience, and when you do a drama of this scale and importance, you need people who truly believe in its importance. We are excited to bring Gandhi and India’s journey to a global audience with Hansal’s directorial vision, the delicate nuances of Practical and Siddhartha Basu’s creative process,” said Nair.

The series will tell lesser-known stories of Gandhi’s life that played a big part in making him a Mahatma (a respected figure in the South), moving from his early days to his defense in South Africa and the struggle for independence in India. East Asia). It also tells the stories of all its citizens and contemporaries in the freedom movement who played an integral role in shaping a free and modern India.

The production will reportedly be filmed in India in various international locations, including London and South Africa. Local teams and actors will be employed for the elements of overseas production.