Shekhar Kapur is ready with his next, Will, a Hollywood TV show based on William Shakespeare, which airs in 2017. This year UK is celebrating the Bard's 400th death anniversary and several projects on him are in the works.

Speaking to Mirror Shekhar reveals that the inspiration for the show came from an unlikely place--one of Asia's largest slums, Dharavi. He says, “When I was young I was told that if you are bright and intellectual you will understand Shakespeare, so I never bothered reading him. It was only years later that I realised that he actually wrote for the common man, the first day-first-show kind of audience. This show is like Dharavi transported into the 16th century. It is meant for common people, the people on the street.“

Speaking about how it came to life, he recalls, “Today TV is taking over. Game of Thrones has more viewers than Star Wars. I read the script by Craig Pearce, screenwriter for films like Moulin Rouge, Romeo+Juliet and The Great Gatsby and it was fantastic. I thought it would be interesting to work together. I've directed and produced the series.“

Laurie Davidson, his Will is still in drama school, and has yet to graduate. “I was scouting for him as earnestly as I had for my Elizabeth till I found my Queen in Cate Blanchett,“ asserts the director who is currently in Mumbai to promote his documentary on Mata Amritanandamayi, Amma, which he describes as an “accidental film.“ He informs that he had gone to shoot Amma on her birthday and that's when he saw all the cameras and celebs present. He came up with the idea of making a film on her. “They asked me how much I would charge to direct it and I said nothing as long as I got to converse with her, one on one. It's turned out to be a beautiful film,“ he sighs contentedly.