Radhika Apte (“Andhadhun”) and Keerthy Suresh (“Maamannan”) will lead leading Indian studio Yash Raj Films’ streaming production arm YRF Entertainment’s new series “Akka,” Variety has learned.
The period thriller will be directed by Dharmaraj Shetty. “Keerthy Suresh and Radhika Apte are considered two of the most gifted female actors in India today. They are incredibly natural artistes [who] are hailed as sheer tours de force on screen having delivered incredible performances project after project. So, the fact that Keerthy and Radhika have been pitted against each other makes ‘Akka’ one of the most intriguing streaming projects being made in the country currently,” a trade source told Variety.
“The project is being directed by debutant writer and director Dharmaraj Shetty, a disruptive creative mind who has been recently found by [Yash Raj Films chair and MD] Aditya Chopra. His vision for ‘Akka’ grabbed Aditya’s attention and the project was greenlit instantly with a brief from Adi to make ‘Akka’ one of the biggest tentpole series that YRF Entertainment will ever make. Every detail of this project will be kept under wraps purposely by YRF to build intrigue,” the source added.
YRF Entertainment is currently basking in the success of its first series “The Railway Men,” which is among the top 10 shows worldwide on Netflix. It is a tribute to the unsung heroes of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, starring R. Madhavan, Kay Kay Menon, Divyenndu Sharma and Babil Khan. The outfit’s second show is “Mandala Murders,” a multi-season series billed as a gritty crime thriller. Vaani Kapoor, who won acclaim playing a transgender character in film “Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui,” leads the series alongside Vaibhav Raj Gupta (“Gullak”), Surveen Chawla (“Decoupled”) and Jameel Khan (“Gullak”). The series is currently in production.
On the film front, the studio’s latest instalment in its spy universe, “Tiger 3,” starring Salman Khan, is currently on release and has grossed $48 million.
