Filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj is working on a new film franchise that will be based on the books of bestselling English author Agatha Christie, reported Variety.
Variety reported that the first film, due to start shooting in early 2021, will introduce a young female protagonist who is thrown into solving a murder, and teams up with an unlikely companion to solve the case. Details of which Christie novel is being adapted for the film have not been revealed yet. The cast is being finalised.
Future films will follow the duo as they continue to investigate multiple murder mysteries. The films will be produced by Agatha Christie Limited (ACL) and Bharadwaj.
The filmmaker is renowned for his Shakespeare trilogy- Maqbool, Omkara, and Haider, based on the English bard’s Macbeth, Othello and Hamlet, respectively.
“Agatha Christie had a tremendous skill of defining emotional chaos, dysfunctional relationships and the turmoil in her characters while engaging us in a riveting mystery,” the National Award winning director told Variety. “It is an honor to create an Indian franchise of a pair of young investigators looking to take over the world with their intelligence and charm. ACL have been such amazing partners and we are all excited to be on this journey.”
“I’m truly excited at the prospect of developing a new Agatha Christie film franchise in India, and am delighted to be partnering with Vishal, who is a multitalented and visionary filmmaker with a terrific track record for adapting works to create memorable pieces of cinema,” said Christie’s great grandson James Prichard, who is also the chairman and CEO of ACL.
Recommended
“(Bhardwaj) has also demonstrated a real passion and understanding of my great grandmother’s characters and stories and I very much look forward to seeing where this project takes us.”
Some of the past Indian films based on Christie’s works include Gumnaam (1965), Dhund (1973), Shubho Mahurat (2003), and the 1960s Bengali film Chupi Chupi Aashey.
Bhardwaj’s last venture as a director was the 2018 film Pataakha. He also composed music for Abhishek Chaubey‘s 2019 film Sonchiriya.