Acclaimed author and politician, Dr. Shashi Tharoor
announced today on his official twitter account (@ShashiTharoor) that his well
received book, Why I am a Hindu, would be converted into a web series by
National award winning producer Sheetal Talwar. Taking head-on the current
misinterpretation and misappropriation of Hinduism, Dr. Tharoor’s book is about
the history of Hinduism and its core tenets, as well as socio-cultural
developments in India that relate to Hinduism and his own religious
convictions.
The book is a repudiation of Hindu nationalism, and its rise in Indian society,
which relied upon an interpretation of the religion which was markedly
different from the one with which he has grown up, practiced and had studied.
Commenting about the adaptation of the book into a web series, Dr. Tharoor in a
statement said “In any time and era, an adaptation of this book into film would
be relevant, but in the current political, social and cultural environment it
is imperative that the message of true Hinduism - the Hinduism of acceptance
reach the widest audience possible. I am glad that Sheetal and I - who share a
similar belief system-are collaborating on this effort.” Sheetal Talwar, who
will be seen, producing in India after a period of nearly 7 years, in a
statement said, “When I finished reading, ‘Why I am Hindu’, it just shook me.
And I was ashamed that as someone whose profession is to voice, I had not
raised my voice and done nothing while the inherent integrity of our pluralism
was being threatened. After “Dharm” and “Rann”, it is after years that I have
been so excited about a subject. I am glad that I could convince Shashi to not
only make this into a web series, but also offer his time as a narrator to the
series.”
The Series that will headline numerous known filmmakers film an episode each,
is set to be made in various Indian languages and will be released in the first
quarter of 2019.
An author, politician, and former international civil servant, Shashi Tharoor
straddles several worlds of experience. Currently a second-term Lok Sabha Member
of Parliment representing the Thiruvananthapuram constituency and Chairman of
the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, he has previously
served as Minister of State for Human Resource Development and Minister of
State for External Affairs in the Government of India.
Shashi Tharoor At His Book Launch Event
During his nearly three-decade long prior career at the United Nations, he
served as a peacekeeper, refugee worker, and administrator at the highest
levels, serving as Under-Secretary General during Kofi Annan's
leadership of the organisation. He is a prolific and acclaimed writer and has
authored 17 bestselling works of fiction and non-fiction since 1981, all of
which are centred on India and its history, culture, film, politics, society
and foreign policy.
Talking about National award winning producer Sheetal Talwar, well, he is the
new breed of film producers who came from advertising and banking background to
feature films, with a clear mandate to make socially relevant content. His
first production “Dharm” (Pankaj Kapoor) was critically acclaimed and won him
the National Award. Ever since he has tried to stay the course of telling
socially relevant stories and producing meaningful cinema - and the critically
successful “Rann” (Amitabh Bachchan), “The Eichmann Show” (Martin Freeman), “
The Joneses” (Demi Moore, David Decauney, Amber Heard), “Romans"
(Orlando Bloom) and “Raktha Charitra” (Suriya, Vivek Oberoi, Shatrughan Sinha)
are representative of this.
Image Source: taylorweek, theprints, asianhouseart, gettyimages