Mumbai-Based Applause Entertainment & Gurinder Chadha’s Bend It Partner On Indian Guru Series ‘Seeker’

Tom Grater
·3 min read

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EXCLUSIVE: Applause Entertainment, the Mumbai-based content studio which is behind The Office Indian remake and is rapidly emerging as a leading producer in the territory, has partnered with Gurinder Chadha’s Bend It Film & TV and Sunder Aaron’s Locomotive Global on its first international series.

Seeker is being planned as a multi-season drama series chronicling the life of an Indian guru. It will track the journey of a man who starts with noble intentions, but after his incredible rise to global fame he finds his empire too complicated to handle.

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The producers are setting a multi-national writers room for the project and plan to cast both Indian and international actors for a shoot that will take place in various locations within and outside of India.

Bend It Like Beckham and Blinded By The Light helmer Chadha’s Bend It Film & TV produced its first series Beecham House for Netflix last year. “As an international director and producer, I have observed that both the Indian and global audiences have evolved and are leaning towards global/universal form of storytelling,” said Chadha. “With this show, our effort is to reach the audiences across borders and I am excited about this creative collaboration with Sameer Nair and his team at Applause along with Sunder Aaron.”

Applause Entertainment has been rising in prominence in India, particularly through its adaptations of popular international titles for the local market, which have included The Office, Criminal Justice and Hostages. The studio is also in development on Indian versions of Fauda and Luther.

The company has created original content including Rasbhari, City Of Dreams, and Hasmukh, which have all found streaming homes on Amazon, Disney+ Hotstar, and Netflix respectively. It also recently entered into a multi-show deal with the relaunched local streamer SonyLIV 2.0.

“We are thrilled to announce our collaboration with Gurinder Chadha and Sunder Aaron. Gurinder is a great storyteller, touching audiences over the years with her fun, heartwarming and true to life portrayals of the human condition,” commented Sameer Nair, CEO, Applause Entertainment. “Coupled with the distribution expertise of Locomotive Global, we aspire to present this original series on a global platform. Blurring the lines between human and divine, Seeker appeals to a universal, global, sensibility.”

Sunder Aaron’s Locomotive Global develops, produces and distributes Indian-themed TV projects for both the local and international markets. “Applause Entertainment in only a span of two years have made an extremely strong foothold as content producers in India. We are excited to be part of their mission to tell stories that also make waves around the world,” said Aaron. “We are thrilled to partner with the creative muscles of Bend It Film & TV on this compelling and unique narrative project. Together we are working with a talented and dedicated team of writers who are developing this high-end drama and we’re looking forward to presenting it to our global audience.”

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