UK, India prep $150m adaptation

Plans are afoot for a £113m (US$150m) adaptation of MM Kaye’s novel The Far Pavilions, which will be coproduced by UK and Indian producers.

Sadiq Khan

The 30×60′ series is planned for delivery in 2018 and was unveiled by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, who said the series would be “the biggest-ever TV coproduction” between the UK and India.

The show will feature Indian on-screen talent and will be coproduced by India’s Beautiful Bay Productions, with Michael Ward and Colin Burrows producing. Indian and British technicians will work on the series, with post-production based in London. Broadcast partners have not yet been revealed.

The Far Pavilions was written in 1978 and tells the story of an English man brought up as a Hindu in India during the Raj and his passionate love for an Indian princess. It was previously turned into a three-episode miniseries for HBO in 1984

Khan said the show “represents the best of British and Indian talent and sends a clear message to the rest of the world that London is open to partnerships, to collaboration, to creativity and for business.”

Adrian Wootton, chief executive of Film London and the British Film Commission, said the adaptation “promises to be a sumptuous spectacle in its own right, but it’s also indicative of how our above- and below-the-line talent can come together to create a production that harnesses everything from Indian locations to London’s world-famous post-production expertise.”