Lara Dutta and Prateik Babbar to Star in ‘Casual’ Remake for Lionsgate Play in India

A remake of comedy drama series “Casual” has been set as the first local original production for Starz and Lionsgate Play in India and South Asia.

The original show was produced by Lionsgate Television and ran for four seasons on Hulu between 2015 and 2018. The setup centers on a newly divorced woman living with her brother and her daughter.

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The Indian retread, produced with Lionsgate Television, will be directed by Kunal Kohli, known for films “Hum Tum” and “Fanaa.” The cast will be headed by Lara Dutta (“Housefull,” “Don 2”) and Prateik Babbar (“Jaane Tu,” “Mumbai Diaries”).

“The launch of Lionsgate Play’s first slate of original series in India is the next logical step in the continued rapid growth of the platform,” said Lionsgate Television Group chairman Kevin Beggs. “Our ability to kick off the Lionsgate Play original slate with the remake of a great intellectual property like ‘Casual,’ with a renowned director and world-class stars, shows what we can achieve through the continued collaboration of our Starz, Lionsgate Television and Lionsgate India businesses.”

The Starzplay streaming platform was launched in 2018 and is now available in 56 countries. The Lionsgate Play direct-to-consumer OTT app launched in India in 2020 and is available to download from the Google Play store, Apple app store and Amazon firestick.

“Partnering with Lionsgate Television to kick off our first original series tailored for the Indian and South Asian market is the next step in curating our offering for our subscriber base who resonates with our bold, unique and defining series that make up our ‘Best of Global SVOD’ content strategy,” said Starz president and CEO Jeffrey Hirsch.

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