A musical comedy film celebrating the spirit of Bollywood is ready to spring to life for Paramount Animation.
The original animated feature Diya is in development at the studio, with Nitya Mehra (Baar Baar Dekho) attached to direct, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. Jaydeep Hasrajani and Jake Goldman will write the script for the project that includes Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley and Kunal Nayyar as producers.
Diya centers on an Indian American teen girl in New Jersey who unexpectedly finds herself transported into the world of a Bollywood musical. Goldstein and Daley produce for GoldDay through a first-look deal with the studio, with Sara Smith overseeing the film. Nayyar produces for Good Karma, with Logan Kovarick executive producing. The project originated with Reel FX Animation Studios, which is set to produce.
Paramount Animation has seen a busy run for president Jennifer Dodge, who took on the role at the start of the year. Among the projects in the works for the animation group include Robert Rodriguez’s original Christmas feature The Naughty List, an animated film adapting the CBS series Survivor and Dan Trachtenberg’s family-friendly horror-comedy Freddy the 13th. Paramount Pictures‘ PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie hits theaters Aug. 14.
Mehra served as executive producer and showrunner on the Prime Video series Made in Heaven, along with creating the Prime Video show Big Girls Don’t Cry. Hitting Hotstar on Sept. 18 is Hunkkaar, which counts Mehra as co-creator, showunner and director.
Kunal Nayyar
Rick Bhatia/Courtesy
Goldstein and Daley are attached to direct an original Star Trek movie for Paramount after having helmed such movies as Game Night, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and Apple TV’s forthcoming Mayday that stars Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh. The duo’s screenwriting credits include Horrible Bosses and Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Nayyar is known for his role as Raj Koothrappali on The Big Bang Theory. He leads Apple TV’s Suspicion alongside Uma Thurman, while his forthcoming features include Patel, opposite Kal Penn, and director Chris Long’s Up and Comer.
Hasrajani is an Indian-American animator and filmmaker known for creating Netflix’s Boons and Curses, along with working on The Powerpuff Girls, The Fungies! and Ghee Happy. Goldman is an Emmy-nominated writer whose credits include Hero Inside, DC Metalforce, The Powerpuff Girls and Futurama. He has also written comics for Oni Press and IDW.
