Filmmaker Mira Nair recently announced her next project – A Suitable Boy based on the 1993 novel by author Vikram Seth.
With actress Tabu playing the role of Saeeda Bai, a courtesan and musician, this will be the duo’s third collaboration.
Talking about zeroing on the project, Nair spoke at an event earlier this year:
“I love this book so much. [Writer] Andrew Davies has delivered a wonderful script…We’ve cast the most amazing 110 extraordinary actors in India. I like to say, ‘It’s crown and brown’. It’s not been easy. It’s the first South-Asian epic on mainstream BBC television.”
A Suitable Boy will be a six-hour miniseries, set in post-partition India following the story of four families and arrangements made to find a suitor for a young girl. It is slated to go on floors in September 2019, covering locations in Lucknow, Maheshwar and other part of Northern India.
Speaking of the miniseries, though she’s not allowed to reveal much, Tabu shared her excitement said,
Coming together with Mira after The Namesake is a thing of great joy for me. And to collaborate with her and the BBC for Vikram Seth’s book is something I’m so looking forward to… [Mira] is a force of nature, and it’s wonderful to collaborate with someone of her calibre, credibility, aesthetics, awareness and integrity.”
The BBC series will also star actor Ishaan Khatter and introduce a fresh face, Tanya Maniktala, as the lead Lata Mehra.
