MUMBAI MIRROR (September 10, 2018)

For the screen adaptation of Marry Me, Stranger, the first book in Novoneel Chakraborty’s Stranger trilogy, show runner Goldie Behl has finalised Anuja Joshi to play the protagonist Rivanah. The actress joins Gaurav Chopra, Mrinal Dutt and Priya Banerjee, who portray key characters in the series that captures the journey of the protagonist. The story is aimed at young Indians with Anuja slated to bring freshness to the role. Actor-filmmaker Faruk Kabir, who’s made the short The Awakening and the feature-length Allah Ke Bandey, has directed the series, which is one of the premiere shows of Applause Entertainment, the content studio from the Aditya Birla Group headed by Sameer Nair.

Born and brought up in the US, Anuja has studied acting and direction at New York University, and has professional theatre experience in New York with directors like Julie Taymor and Mira Nair. She will be featuring in the upcoming Hollywood film My Cousin Sister’s Wedding.

Sameer Nair, CEO, Applause Entertainment, said, “Marry Me, Stranger belongs to the ‘sexy and scary’ genre and Goldie has brought Novoneel’s disturbing book to life. It is a dark, twisted story in the universe of the young and restless urban India”.

Goldie added, “The Stranger series with its present-day and relatable context is the perfect web series for today’s audiences and I’m happy to be working on it.”

Anuja said, “I am thrilled for the opportunity to portray Rivanah. We have passionately created an edge-of-the-seat adventure. I hope everyone will enjoy the trippy ride that is Marry Me, Stranger.”

Applause Entertainment has been making premium, contemporary digital series. Marry Me, Stranger is currently in the post-production phase and will be ready to stream soon.


L-R: Sameer Nair, CEO, Applause Entertainment, Goldie Behl, Novoneel Chakraborty; Anuja Joshi (left)