Mira Nair to direct Amazon series on The New York Times article on 'The Jungle Prince of Delhi'

Writer Ellen Barry's article for The New York Times, The Jungle Prince of Delhi, is heading to Amazon Prime Video. The viral story, which was also featured on the newspaper’s podcast The Daily, will be directed by Mira Nair, who will also be executive producer on the series.

According to the Hollywood website Deadline.com, the project is currently in development by the companies Sister, Krasnoff/Foster Entertainment and Fourth & Twenty Eight Films.

The article, which was a finalist this year for a Pulitzer prize, is an exposé into the so-called royal family of Oudh who lived in a rundown palace in Delhi. The last surviving member, prince Cyrus, who claimed to be descended from royalty, was actually Mickey Butt, son of a registrar at Lucknow university named Inayatullah Butt.

Caitlin Roper, head of scripted entertainment at The New York Times, told Deadline.com, “Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Ellen Barry’s beautifully written tale of the Oudh family revealed deeper truths rooted in the violence and trauma of the Partition of India. The moving story, and the three-part audio series for The Times’s podcast The Daily, were the result of years of reporting and investigation across continents.

“Since its publication, The Times has been searching for the right partners to expand the story’s reach and we are thrilled to work with the incomparable Mira Nair, and to be producing The Jungle Prince series with Amazon Studios alongside Krasnoff/Foster Entertainment, Sister, and Fourth & Twenty Eight Films,” she added.

Oscar nominee Nair is also adapting Vikram Seth’s novel A Suitable Boy for BBC. The six-part drama is expected to be aired later this year.