Ajay Devgn’s ‘Luther’ Adaptation ‘Rudra’: Watch First Trailer for Blockbuster Disney Plus Hotstar Series (EXCLUSIVE)

Naman Ramachandran
·3 min read
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Leading Indian streamer Disney Plus Hotstar has revealed the first trailer for its upcoming blockbuster series “Rudra: The Edge of Darkness,” starring top Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn (“Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior”).

Produced by Applause Entertainment in association with BBC Studios India, “Rudra” is the Indian adaptation of hit BBC series “Luther,” starring Idris Elba. It is directed by Rajesh Mapuskar (“Ventilator”).

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Set in Mumbai, the six-episode series is a race-against-the-clock thriller that delves into the psyche of highly intelligent criminals and the detective who hunts them, with each episode featuring a new threat. It portrays the grave personal cost at which DCP Rudra Veer Singh pursues criminals and killers and the unlikely friendship that he forms with Aliyah, a genius sociopath.

Mapuskar said: “’Rudra’ is an exceptionally special series, narrative-wise, as it spins a darker and grimmer tale to the usual cop and crime drama. Here we have a grey hero who believes in living in the dark to discover the truth. The psyche of criminal minds is explored here in a never-before-seen manner.”

The series marks the streaming debut of Devgn.

Devgn said: “The world of digital streaming has always fascinated me, and I am excited to make my digital acting debut into long-format content with a riveting character and title such as ‘Rudra.’ What enticed me about the character is his nuanced, multi-faceted personality and his grit; something that viewers have never witnessed before at this scale in Indian entertainment.”

The series continues the comeback of “Dhoom” actor Esha Deol, who returned to the arclights after a lengthy hiatus with a brace of shorts directed by Ram Kamal Mukherjee, “Cakewalk” (2019) and “Ek Duaa” (2021).

Deol said: “The love that I have received from my fans since the first announcement of my return has been humbling and I am really glad to mark my return with a show as riveting as ‘Rudra.’ It has been a thrilling ride to once again share the screen with my friend and co actor like Ajay Devgn who from day one of our shoot eased me into being back in front of the camera. During the shoot, we were back to sharing the same on-screen chemistry we have had while shooting for our earlier films together.”

The cast also includes Raashi Khanna (“Bhramam”), Atul Kulkarni (“City of Dreams”), Ashwini Kalsekar (“Laxmii”), Tarun Gahlot (“Breathe”), Ashish Vidyarthi (“Sunflower”) and Satyadeep Misra (“Illegal”).

Applause has previously adapted BBC properties “Criminal Justice” and “The Office” for Disney Plus Hotstar. Applause CEO Sameer Nair said: “It is always exciting for us to collaborate with BBC Studios and that reflects in the great production value of the series. With ‘Rudra,’ we take forward our creative partnership with industry leader Disney Plus Hotstar, and hope to continue entertaining audiences all over the world.”

“Rudra” will stream in the Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Malayalam and Bengali languages. A date is being finalized.

Watch the trailer here:

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