After the success of its immensely popular web-series Scam:1992: The Harshad Mehta Story, Applause Entertainment has picked up the acclaimed biography of former prime minister PV Narasimha Rao by Vinay Sitapati for adaptation. The series, Half Lion, will be helmed by director Prakash Jha.
The production house shared the announcement of its next project, calling it 'the story of the man who laid the foundations of new India'.
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Applause Entertainment joins hands with Aha Studio to co-produce a premium bilingual series based on the book 'Half Lion' by Vinay Sitapati. The biopic of P.V. Narsimha Rao will be directed by the National Award Winner Prakash Jha pic.twitter.com/66Qz7iqhDS
The series is part of Applause Entertainment's slate of four premium bi-lingual pan-Indian series which will be announced soon. Half Lion will also be backed by Allu Aravind's new studio, aha.
Allu Aravind, promoter, aha and managing director of Geetha Arts, said, “It’s been a remarkable journey with aha in Telugu so far. We are overwhelmed with the love and support we’ve received globally from the audience, who’ve made aha one of the fastest-growing apps in India within a span of two years. In what is another pioneering effort from aha, we believe aha Studio will help us work with the best creative talent in the country to present world-class entertainment to our global audience. I’m proud to announce the partnership with Sameer Nair and Applause Entertainment and have the opportunity to present the story of our beloved late prime minister P.V Narasimha Rao to audiences across the world."
Sameer Nair, CEO of Applause Entertainment, said, “In our continued efforts to partner with the most prolific content creators across the country, we are beyond thrilled to unfold the next chapter in storytelling with aha Studio, pioneers in the Telugu industry, and announce our first offering with the PV Narasimha Rao biopic. This collaboration builds on our vision of creating content without borders, and beyond languages, enabling us to tell more clutter-breaking stories in the future. We are glad to have a filmmaker like Prakash Jha helm this unique project and am thankful to Allu Aravind for the collaboration."
Speaking about the project, director Prakash Jha commented, “It is exciting to work on real-life stories and subjects, especially with platforms like aha who share the same vision and energy! Applause has already established its credential as a formidable content creator and that makes it even more exciting! It’s important for today's generation to know the story of those who’ve played an instrumental role in making the country what it is today, and I believe that there is a lot to learn and be inspired from the life of the great PV Narasimha Rao.”
Assuming the post of prime minister of India in 1991 amid a major economic crisis, PV Narasimha Rao, a freedom fighter, lawyer, scholar and former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, oversaw the liberalization of the Indian economy with Dr Manmohan Singh as his finance minister.
Half Lion will be released in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil in 2023.