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Animated Bollywood-Focused Musical ‘Diya’ in the Works at Paramount From Producers Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley (Exclusive)
Paramount Animation is developing an original animated musical comedy called "Diya," which centres on the Bollywood tradition, with director Nitya Mehra attached and a producing team that includes "Game Night" duo Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley alongside "Big Bang Theory" actor Kunal Nayyar. The project follows an Indian American teenage girl from New Jersey who is unexpectedly transported into the world of a Bollywood musical, reflecting the studio's push to diversify its animated slate.
Writers Jaydeep Hasrajani and Jake Goldman are penning the script, with Reel FX Animation Studios producing and Sara Smith overseeing for GoldDay, while Logan Kovarick will executive produce for Nayyar's Good Karma banner. The announcement comes amid a busy period for Paramount Animation president Jennifer Dodge, whose slate also includes Robert Rodriguez's "The Naughty List," a "Survivor" animated adaptation and Dan Trachtenberg's "Freddy the 13th," alongside Goldstein and Daley's separate work directing an original "Star Trek" film for the studio.
In short
- Paramount developing animated Bollywood musical "Diya" with Nitya Mehra directing
- Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, Kunal Nayyar producing the film
- Story follows an Indian American teen transported into a Bollywood musical
Explained simply
Bollywood is the name commonly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai, known for films that often combine drama, dance and music. Indian American communities include people with family roots in India who live in the United States; New Jersey is home to a large such community.
The story follows a teenage girl who is transported from New Jersey into a Bollywood musical. Nitya Mehra is attached to direct, and the project’s producers include filmmakers Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, actor Kunal Nayyar and animation studio Reel FX.
Paramount Animation is part of the film studio Paramount and makes animated films. The project sits within the studio’s wider effort to develop a varied slate of animation, and brings together people from film, television and animation.