MUMBAI: Applause Entertainment’s delightful coming-of-age series ‘Rasbhari’ is all set to create a new benchmark for Indian content, as it becomes the first ever Indian series to be selected for the Short Forms Competition at the prestigious Series Mania International Festival, in France.
Series Mania International Festival, at Lille in France, brings together the most renowned names of the global series universe together on one common platform.
Rasbhari has been selected alongside the best in the world for the Short Forms Competition, namely – Break Up (France), Drive (Singapore), Fourchette (Canada), Germain s'éteint (Canada), Hell Is Other People (Denmark), M (Argentina), People Talking (Spain), State of the Union (United Kingdom) and ZéroStérone (France). The global audience at Series Mania will also get to see the world premiere of two episodes of Rasbhari.
Produced and co-created for Applause by Tanveer Bookwala, written by Shantanu Shrivastava and directed by Nikhil Nagesh Bhatt, ‘Rasbhari’ is a coming of age love story, set in the Hindi heartland of small-town Meerut. Shantanu’s sparkling writing with his delectable turn of phrase, delightful local dialect and wicked sense of humour, coupled with Nikhil’s deft direction makes every character in this delightful dramedy love story comes alive. Headlining a terrific cast of actors, the critically acclaimed actor, Swara Bhasker plays the stern English Teacher – Shanu madam, who is the object of attraction for not only our young hero Nand (Ayushmaan Saxena), but also the entire male population of Meerut. The show also features Rashmi Agdekar, Pradyuman Singh, Neelu Kohli and Chitranjan Tripathi in pivotal roles, and the title music has been composed by Chirantan Bhatt.
“'We are delighted to represent India at the esteemed Series Mania International Festival, France. Good content has a global resonance, and our selection into the much sought after Series Mania Competition is a strong validation of this belief. Working in close collaboration with Team Applause, Tanveer, Shantanu and Nikhil have created a sparkling gem of storytelling, which is now finding an audience across borders and continents. We are excited to showcase this labour of love at the festival and are looking forward to stream it soon for viewers all over the world,” says Sameer Nair, CEO Applause Entertainment.
Tanveer Bookwala, Founder – Creative Director of Ding Entertainment added, “Rasbhari (literally translated to ‘juicy’) is many parts sexy and all part social satire. We have created a delightfully quirky and heart-warming tale, set in the landscape of exotic small town India that we hope will appeal to prudes and poets alike.”
Swara Bhasker adds, “The artiste in me was thrilled to be a part of a unique narrative like ‘Rasbhari’ and I’m now beyond thrilled to know that our series has been selected for the prestigious Series Mania International Festival! Thank you Tanveer and Ding for pulling this together, Shantanu for the writing, Nikhil for bringing it to life, my wonderful co-stars, especially Ayushmaan Saxena (Nand) and Applause Entertainment for their bold belief in us.”
Rasbhari will be streaming soon on a digital platform near you.
