Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; July 6, 2020)

With their films hitting a roadblock due to the lockdown, production house Viacom18 Motion Pictures has sped up work in its digital wing, Tipping Point. The studio has signed on directors Suparn Verma, Kanishka Verma, Anand Tiwari, Vijay Lalwani of Karthik Calling Karthik fame and Milind Dhaimade to create five web series. "Some stories lend themselves better as series," says CEO Ajit Andhare, citing the example of Third Eye, which was pitched as a feature film to the studio, two years ago. "It is an intriguing series around hypnosis and repressed anger, developed by Vijay."

The line-up includes a political thriller inspired by the Radia Tapes controversy. For the unversed, the Indian income tax office had tapped political lobbyist Niira Radia's telephone conversations with politicians, senior journalists and corporate houses between 2008 and 2009. It was alleged that some of the conversations outlined Radia's attempts to broker deals in relation to the 2G spectrum sale. "Suparn Verma is writing and directing The Tapes, an adaptation of Neelima Kota's book, The Honest Season," informs Andhare.

A retelling of the Burari case, where 11 members of the Chundawat family were discovered dead in 2018, is also on the cards. He adds, "Kanishka Verma is developing it as an investigative series with paranormal undertones. Dhaimade of Tu Hai Mera Sunday fame is writing a situational comedy, and Tiwari is working on the adaptation of the book, Boots, Belts and Berets."


Former telecom minister A Raja; Radia