ReelShort to adapt 1980s Bollywood film as first Canadian-made microdrama

Microdrama platform ReelShort has gone into development on The Billionaire’s Fake Wife, an adaptation of the 1980s Bollywood film Kissi Se Na Kehna.

Sammie Astaneh

The script is being developed by Vancouver-based Service Street Pictures, led by Sammie Astaneh (1922, Stolen Kingdom), and marks the first time ReelShort has developed a project with a Canadian production company.

The microdrama is directed by Dom Cutrupi (Residents of Arcadia, Lola Dust) and written by Vancouver’s Eric Bruce. Executive producers include Sameer Sippy (Ishq Forever), Raghavendra Nagpal, Sahil Arya and Andy Chu.

The Billionaire’s Fake Wife follows a brilliant doctor who agrees to pose as her friend’s socialite fiancée to win over his controlling billionaire father, who funds her research to save her dying sister. But jealous rivals, buried secrets and a fake relationship that feels dangerously real push her toward a truth she can’t keep hidden. The Bollywood film was directed by Indian filmmaker Hrishikesh Mukherjee.

In Canada, ReelShort’s development and production is overseen by project manager Keri-Lee Kroeger, who recently spoke at C21’s Content Canada.

Keri-Lee Kroeger

ReelShort, which is owned by Chinese digital publisher COL Group and says it reaches more than 55 million active users a month, has been striking significant deals across the globe as it looks to broaden its footprint in North America, Latin America and Europe.

In May, the company partnered with Colombian broadcaster Caracol Televisión on a micro telenovela shot in vertical format. The project came out of a deal between Caracol and ReelShort covering Spanish-language originals.

Filming on The Billionaire’s Fake Wife is expected to begin in the fall in Vancouver.