Bringing again the Kohinoor

Express News Service

There is an web meme doing the rounds for some time which claims that if each merchandise within the British Museum in London had been to be returned to its authentic proprietor, the museum can be empty. An upcoming fact-meets-fiction heist collection plans to deliver again India’s most well-known and undoubtedly the dearest diamond—the Kohinoor—which presently resides in The Tower of London. Titled The Diamond, the worldwide collection is a collaboration between Bobby Bedi of Contentflow Studios, Jay Galla of Amara Raja Media & Entertainment and Rahul Aggarwal of Star Entertainment.

“The Kohinoor is in itself a very interesting story. Different myths have attached themselves to the reality of the gem making it more mysterious. Using fiction as a means of storytelling is what makes it accessible to millions of people, bringing it to a much larger audience,” explains Bedi. Currently, within the developmental section, the trio is negotiating with totally different OTT platforms to bag an excellent deal.

Once that’s sorted, they shall begin taking pictures the action-adventure-packed collection in India, Britain and varied different unique locales in Asia and the Middle East. The fascinating story across the 106-carat diamond shall weave collectively its varied myths and legends with the Mughals, mobsters and essentially the most ingenious of prison masterminds peppering the plot. From Alauddin Khilji, Shah Jahan to Ranjit Singh and members of the British Royal household, the diamond has had a tainted journey. It is believed to have introduced unhealthy luck to any male who dared put on it.

To deliver all this collectively on display screen is a expertise pool that features English actor-writer Charlie Higson, identified for creating the 10-part Jekyll and Hyde TV collection and writing the Young Bond novels. He is joined by Indian-born British author Farrukh Dhondy, who wrote the comedy TV collection Tandoori Nights (1985-87) and screenplay for Mangal Pandey: The Rising (2005). British movie and tv director Colin Teague (Doctor Who) shall be directing The Diamond. Only an ensemble like this might make Bedi get again to the movie world after virtually a decade.

In between, one other undertaking that referred to as out to him is a collection on Phoolan Devi, which takes off from the 1994 Shekhar Kapur-directed Bandit Queen, which Bedi had produced. The film, which gained three National Film Awards, portrayed how Devi was raped by higher caste males and dacoits, and later grew to become an outlaw and took revenge by killing them. She later gave up arms in 1983 and turned to politics and activism, earlier than being assassinated in 2001.

“The plan is to have three seasons, showcasing her prison term, entry into politics, the assassination and possibly also an investigation into her death,” says Bedi. It shall be directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia, who was a part of the unique movie as a casting director and the lead character shall be performed by Tannishtha Chatterjee.What can be fascinating to see is how the investigation a part of the collection talks about Sher Singh Rana, convicted within the homicide of Devi, and who after his launch from jail in 2016 additionally began a political occasion.

In in style tradition

Agatha Christie’s 1925 novel The Secret of Chimneys options the Kohinoor, which is stolen from The Tower of London by a French thief

Koh-i-Noor: The History of the World’s Most Infamous Diamond (printed by Juggernaut in 2016), written by Anita Anand and William Dalrymple, traces its journey and demystifies its vibrant previous