Streaming giant Netflix, along with filmmaker Gurinder Chadha and producer Ashok Amritraj are turning Indian-American illustrator-writer Nidhi Chanani’s first graphic novel Pashmina into an animated musical. The news was first reported by Deadline.com.
The award-winning fantasy-adventure novel follows young Priyanka Das who discovers hidden secrets about her past, family and herself with the help of a magical pashmina shawl hidden away in a suitcase.
Pashmina will become the third animated feature backed by Netflix to debut online. The digital platform is also producing Argentinean filmmaker Juan Antin’s Pachamama and animator Sergio Pablos’s directorial debut Klaus, a film about the origin of Santa Claus. Pachamama is due to be released this June, while Klaus will debut in November.
Chanani wrote on her blog, “I’m overjoyed to share this announcement with you that my debut graphic novel Pashmina will be adapted into an animated musical with Netflix. Gurinder Chadha and Ashok Amritraj are wonderful and I’m honored [sic] to have them take my work to new places.”
“When our hero, Priyanka, puts on the magical pashmina for the first time and is transported to the India of her dreams, that’s when the fun, the magic, the song and the dancing really come to life!” Chadha told Deadline.com.
Meanwhile, producer Amritraj said to the trade website, “Pashmina is a wonderful coming-of-age story that will resonate with anyone who has ever felt like an outsider, and one that I believe Netflix families around the world will enjoy experiencing together.”
Chadha’s next film, Blinded By The Light, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and was bought by New Line Cinema for $15 million. The autobiographical film details the life of young Muslim teenager growing up in 1980s Britain, and being inspired by the music of Bruce Springsteen.
Later this year, Chadha’s period drama series Beecham House, set in 19th century India, will debut on US and UK television. Indian artistes Shriya Pilgaonkar, Roshan Seth, Arunoday Singh, Pallavi Sharda, and Tisca Chopra have key roles in the series led by actor Tom Bateman.