Hyde Park Entertainment launches Indian production venture

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Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment is launching a production division in India to make films and web series with directors such as Paul Feig, Gurinder Chadha and Anurag Kashyap. 

Based in Chennai, the new division, Hyde Park Entertainment Asia, aims to produce Indian stories destined for audiences in both India and overseas. It will tap into the growing global demand for Indian content, driven by global streaming platforms such as Netflix and Amazon and Indian streamers including Hotstar, Zee5 and Voot. 

Amritraj is a Los Angeles-based producer who has credits including Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance, starring Nicolas Cage, Premonition with Sandra Bullock, and Blue Valentine, starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams. 

Projects in development at the new division include: 

Break The Room – an Indian-American half-hour comedy series developed by actor-director Feig and written by Sameer Gardezi (Modern Family) and Jimy Shah. Hyde Park will co-produce with Feig’s Diversity Initiative Powderkeg and ShivHans Pictures.  

Maximum City – a series of films based on Suketu Mehta’s best-selling book exploring the interconnected worlds of power, politics and crime in Mumbai. Kashyap (Netflix’s Sacred Games) is on board as showrunner and co-director and will also co-produce through his production outfit Good Bad Films. 

Paradise Towers – drama series adaptation of Shweta Bachchan Nanda’s best-selling novel revolving around the neighbours in a luxury Mumbai apartment complex. Zoya Akhtar (Amazon’s Made In Heaven) will direct. 

Pashmina – Gurinder Chadha (Bend It Like Beckham) will direct this animated musical feature, based on the graphic novel by Nidhi Chanani, and previously-announced as a co-production between Netflix and Hyde Park. 

The Conch Bearer – a young adult (YA) fantasy series produced with Window Seat Films, a joint venture between Indian director Imtiaz Ali (TamashaRockstar) and Reliance Entertainment. 

Deb – thriller series from writer-director Nagesh Kukunoor, an award-winning film director who also recently directed Hotstar web series City Of Dreams.

“Now more than ever the Hollywood dream needs to be multicultural and all inclusive,” said Amritraj, commenting on the new venture. “I look forward to collaborating with wonderful Indian and Asian talent long into the future to tell unique and authentic stories that reflect our global world.”