Rana Daggubati, the South Indian star of global hit film “Baahubali” and Netflix series “Rana Naidu,” is poised to make a superhero-sized impact at San Diego Comic-Con. His Spirit Media company will unveil film, TV and comic-book projects with a variety of partners.
Prime among these is movie project “Hiranyakashyap,” being developed by Spirit Media and set to be directed by Trivikram, who is scripting currently. The picture is inspired by Amar Chitra Katha’s comics of the mythological figure, the powerful demon Hiranyakashyap, and his plan to achieve vengeance by destroying Lord Indira’s kingdom.
In the series space, Spirit Media has inked partnership with streamer SonyLIV on historical epic action-drama “Lords of the Deccan.” Based on the novel of the same title, the show takes audiences back in time to witness the birth of the Chalukyas, a dynasty that shaped southern India for centuries.
In the comics arena, Rana Daggubati’s Spirit Media has partnered with Weekend Blockbusters, the producer of the widely-loved Malayalam superhero film “Minnal Murali,” to launch Minnal Murali as a comic book character, which will find its home in the popular Indian comic magazine Tinkle. Netflix released “Minnal Murali” in 2021 and enjoyed more than 25 million hours of viewing.
Spirit has boarded Nag Ashwin’s “Project K,” starring Prabhas, Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan and Kamal Haasan as its international marketing and distribution partner. The project is being presented at SDCC.
Rana Daggubati’s Spirit Media Join Forces with Minnal Murali
“We’re excited to join forces with Spirit Media, who share our love for the superheroes genre. ‘Minnal Murali’ was a work of deep love and passion and we’re thrilled to present him in a new comic avatar to the fans,” said Sophia Paul, co-founder of Weekend Blockbusters.
Saugata Mukharjee, head of content at Sony LIV, said: “[We] believe in taking great Indian stories to audiences across the globe. And in keeping with that, we are embarking on the exciting journey of capturing the history of the glorious dynasties of southern India by adapting the celebrated book ‘Lords of the Deccan’ by Anirudh Kanisetti [..] We are excited about bringing these untold histories – the glorious dynasties, the majestic lands, the valiant kings and their many wars – to our audiences from across the world.”
Comic-Con ran in July 20-23 in San Diego. Given the impact of the SAG strike on actors doing promotion, the event promises to be a different affair from previous years.