Announcing its future plans in India, digital platform Netflix has announced 10 new original films for the local market. They will be unveiled to the global audiences until the end of 2020.
Amongst the 10 announced films is the anthology Ghost Stories, which will reunite Lust Stories (2018) and Bombay Talkies (2013) filmmakers Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar and Anurag Kashyap once again for another anthology film. It will be produced by Ronnie Screwvala and Ashi Dua.
Banerjee will also take on a solo venture with Freedom which will deal with the individual desires of an Indian family and how it relates to the nation's personal, idealogical and sexual history.
Johar's digital production house, Dharmatic Entertainment, will produce Ruchi Narain's Guilty about the fallout in a small town when a young girl accuses a popular college athlete of rape.
After its upcoming Bard of Blood starring Emraan Hashmi, Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment will produce Atul Sabharwal's Class of '83 in which an upstanding policeman-turned-trainer and his wards must deal with different challenges.
Sudhir Mishra will direct Serious Men, an adaptation of Manu Joseph's novel of the same name. The production from Bombay Fables and Cineraas Entertainment will follow shrewd poor man who cons the world into believing his 10-year-old son is a genius. However, he realises too late the harm inflicted on his son.
Farah Khan will produce Mrs Serial Killer, a thriller directed by her husband Shirish Kunder wherein a dutiful wife tries to defend her husband who is accused of being a serial killer.
Sooni Taraporevala's Yeh Ballet will tell the story of two young boys from the slums who dream of using the dance to change their lives. The film is produced by Roy Kapur Films.
Samit Basu and Shashanka Ghosh are co-directing House Arrest, produced by India Stories, about a man who tries to limit his interactions with the world by locking himself in his home. However, the world has other ideas.
In Kaali Kuhi, a 10-year-old girl in Punjab tries to rally her village after a series of female infanticides. The film will be directed by Terrie Samundra and produced by Manomay Motion Pictures.
Finally, Neeraj Udhwani's Maska, produced by Mutant Films, will follow a young man who wants to be a film star until he finds romance.
"Given our diversity, history and culture, India is home to powerful stories waiting to be told to audiences around the world," Srishti Behl Arya, director of Netflix's International Original Film, India division, told IANS.
The depth of talent and vision of our creators is enabling us to create films our members will love. We want to be a home for India's finest filmmakers where their stories travel to more people than ever before," she added.
The films Music Teacher, Cobalt Blue, Chopsticks, Upstarts, and Bulbul are lined up for release this year.