Days after announcing that he is adapting an Agatha Christie novel for the Indian audience, Vishal Bhardwaj is busy location scouting. The filmmaker, who has been living in his Mussoorie home for a while now, was recently in Auli, Uttarakhand, where he plans to set the film, and visited the ITBP (Indo-Tibetan Border Police) Mountaineering and Skiing Institute. There, he met Gambhir Singh Chauhan, DIG ITBP, and discussed the feasibility of filming in the area.

Vivek Kumar Pandey, spokesperson, ITBP, says, “Vishal Bhardwaj was in Auli on October 23 and 24 as he was looking for shooting locations for his upcoming film. He visited the nearby area and discussed the feasibility with officials. He was quite impressed with the location.” October 24 was also ITBP’s Raising Day, and Bhardwaj participated in the celebrations and even sang a song written by his father for the personnel.

K S Chauhan, Nodal officer, Film Facilitation Office, Uttarakhand, who accompanied Bhardwaj, says, “He told us that he needed snowy mountains and is planning to shoot in January and February. He really liked the location.”

Actor Shernaz Patel, while talking about her new play; adds that things are changing in theatre
Sanskrita Bharadwaj (HINDUSTAN TIMES; January 30, 2020)

Strap: says actor Shernaz Patel, while talking about her new play; adds how things are ‘somewhat’ changing in theatre

Shernaz Patel, who will be seen as Miss Mistry, a 76-year-old single woman living alone in Goa in the play The Mirror Crack’d — the Indian adaptation of Agatha Christie’s murder mystery, says it’s indeed a “whodunit but it’s still quite different”. “There is enough humour in it. But what I find interesting is that nobody is two dimensional in the play. Each and every individual character has a story,” she says.

Shernaz, whose character is the Indian version of Miss Marple, feels that her character has the ability to look at crime by understanding what people are like as — “she observes everything!”

Talking about her character grappling with ageing, she says that the world treats old people “very callously”. “Retirement hits people and they already start feeling like they have nothing to give back to society. We make people feel bad about growing old. Here, we are just doing one play where an old woman (Miss Marple) is solving crime, but Agatha Christie wrote her in so many of her books and stories, and made her iconic. It’s incredible,” Shernaz says. The play has been adapted for theatre in the UK, and is recreated by the NCPA by director Melly Still and re-imagined for an Indian audience by Ayeesha Menon.

Shernaz, who is one of the most popular faces of the Indian theatre community is the daughter of Gujarati stage veterans Ruby and Burjor Patel, and was born and raised in a theatre-loving family. She says, “Everyone I know who started watching theatre when they were young have always continued to watch it.”

Talking about the state of theatre in India, Shernaz adds that the money usually goes into production of big musicals. “That’s what, unfortunately, our audiences pay to watch. I feel we need to do a lot of work at the grassroots level. We are not doing enough in our schools,” she says, adding that things are changing. “NCPA is doing good stuff, G5A is doing experimental and interesting plays, Prithvi has an entire gamut of fantastic stuff that’s been happening for years. Aram Nagar is doing these smaller productions. So, it’s a good time for theatre, because everyone is able to coexist,” she concludes.

Renuka Vyavahare (BOMBAY TIMES; September 12, 2019)

After working with Dame Judi Dench in Victoria & Abdul, Ali Fazal has bagged another biggie. The actor will be seen in the film adaptation of Agatha Christie’s 1937 detective fiction novel, Death On The Nile, which will be directed by Kenneth Branagh. The director, who has previously helmed movies like Murder On The Orient Express and the Thor series, will continue to play detective Hercule Poirot in the film.

Like Victoria & Abdul, Ali’s next, too, has a stellar cast, including Wonder Woman Gal Gadot and Armie Hammer, to name a few. The film explores Poirot’s investigation of a murder that takes place in a cruise on the Nile. As the probe begins, a handful of suspects emerge, but later, several of them meet their demise, further deepening the mystery.

The film is part of the detective series, which earlier saw the star-studded Murder On The Orient Express (2017), starring the likes of Penelope Cruz and Johnny Depp. Death On The Nile has previously been made in 1978, starring legends, including Bette Davis, Maggie Smith, Mia Farrow and others. The film is slated to go on floors later this month in London and parts of Europe.

Confirming the news, Ali told Bombay Times, “Yes, I am a part of this wonderful journey and I am looking forward to it. My mother and I have always been huge fans of Agatha Christie novels, so this is special.” About working with director Kenneth Branagh, he added, “Kenneth is a master of his craft and I’m excited to be directed by him. And what a stellar cast to join hands with on this project!”