Shekhar Kapur reveals plans to make an ‘Indian equivalent to Harry Potter’

The filmmaker’s latest movie, What’s Love Got to Do With It, released in India last month

The filmmaker thinks that Indians are ‘used to things that are otherworldly’

National Award-winning filmmaker Shekhar Kapur - whose much talked-about British romantic comedy-drama film What’s Love Got to Do With It starring Shabana Azmi, Emma Thompson, Lily James, Shazad Latif, Sajal Aly, Oliver Chris, Asim Chaudhry, Jeff Mirza and Alice Orr-Ewing, released in India last month - has revealed that he planning a new project which will be the ‘Indian equivalent’ to JK Rowling’s Harry Potter franchise.

In a recent interview with The Times of India the director said, “I am actually planning a project, which is kind of like the Indian Harry Potter. I’m not making Harry Potter. But the Indian equivalent to it. Same genre. That genre of Harry Potter because I think in India, with the market we have, we are so used to things that are otherworldly. We’ve grown up with those kinds of stories. I am now developing and probably will make a film franchise like Harry Potter, that comes out of India and not the West.”

Also read: What's Love Got To Do With It review: Shekhar Kapur's film barely justifies the title

Considered a major comeback for Shekhar - whose last movie Elizabeth: The Golden Age a biographical period drama film, starring Cate Blanchett, was released in 2007 - What’s Love Got to Do With It is a cross-cultural romantic comedy, set between London and Lahore. It follows a filmmaker, who documents her childhood friend and neighbour’s arranged marriage to a bride from Pakistan. A StudioCanal production, the movie had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2022. It bagged the ‘Best Comedy’ (‘Ugo Tognazzi’) Award at the Rome Film Fest in October 2022. Music maestro Rahat Fateh Ali Khan also makes a cameo appearance in the film.

Also read: Shekhar Kapur on metaverse in cinema: It can take narratives to frontiers that we have never explored before

Known as a filmmaker who makes movies of substance, Shekhar made a mark from his very first directorial venture Masoom - a cult classic that was released in 1983, starring Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi. He then went on to make movies like Mr. India (1987), Bandit Queen (1994) and The Four Feathers (2002), among others. In 2017, he directed four episodes of costume drama Will. Shekhar is the winner of a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award and three Filmfare awards.

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