Director Mira Nair calls period drama “political and sexy chronicle of India” as BBC unveils first image of cast and crew.
Mira Nair, director of BBC’s adaptation of A Suitable Boy, has called the period a “human, funny, political, sexy chronicle of India”.
This comes as the British public broadcaster has unveiled the first-look at the creative team behind the series, which is produced by Gentleman Jack producer Lookout Point.
Nair, director of Monsoon Wedding, is working with Les Miserables and War & Peace writer Andrew Davies, and author Vikram Seth on the drama, which commences filming later this week.
Nair, Seth and Davies gathered in Mumbai to start rehearsals and read through scripts alongside cast including Ishaan Khatter (Beyond the Clouds), Tabu (Life of Pi) and rising star Tanya Maniktala.
A Suitable Boy tells the story of spirited university student Lata (Maniktala) coming of age in North India in 1951 at the same time as the country is carving out its own identity as an independent nation and is about to go to the polls for its first democratic general election. It will be shot across India and will feature an all-Indian cast.
A Suitable Boy was commissioned by Charlotte Moore, Director of Content, BBC and Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama. Executive Producers are Davies, Nair and Seth, Faith Penhale, Laura Lankester and Will Johnston for Lookout Point; Lydia Dean Pilcher and Aradhana Seth and Mona Qureshi for the BBC.
The series will be distributed by BBC Studios and will air next year on BBC One.
Nair said, “The talent in the room sizzled: Vikram Seth, author of the masterpiece that I have loved since the day it was written, Andrew Davies, the great craftsman of distillation of epic stories into screenplays, cutting-edge actors, first-timers and legends from across the subcontinent, all coming together to make a human, funny, political, sexy chronicle of India.”
– Courtesy Deadline
