Agatha Christie‘s “The Sittaford Mystery” will be adapted as “Charlie Chopra & The Mystery Of Solang Valley” for streamer SonyLIV by renowned Indian filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj.
Set in the mountains of Himachal Pradesh, northern India, the series will follow the journey of Charlie Chopra and her quest to uncover a mystery. Bhardwaj will serve as director and co-producer and co-screenwriter alongside Anjum Rajabali and Jyotsna Hariharan. The cast includes Wamiqa Gabbi, Priyanshu Painyuli, Naseeruddin Shah, Neena Gupta, Ratna Pathak Shah, Gulshan Grover, Lara Dutta, Chandan Roy Sanyal and Paoli Dam.
Vishal Bhardwaj Pictures will produce with Priti Shahani’s Tusk Tale Films in association with Agatha Christie Limited. Bhardwaj’s film franchise based on the works of Christie was announced in 2020.
Bhardwaj is best known internationally for his acclaimed Shakespeare trilogy “Maqbool,” (Macbeth) “Omkara” (Othello) and “Haider” (Hamlet).
James Prichard, Basi Akpabio and Leo Dezoysa will serve as executive producers on the show on behalf of Agatha Christie Limited.
Christie has a huge fan following in the Indian subcontinent with several films being inspired by her works over the years. The 1960’s Bengali-language “Chupi Chupi Aashey” is a nod to stage play “The Mousetrap” and radio play and short story “Three Blind Mice,” while 1973’s Hindi-language “Dhund” is an homage to stage play “The Unexpected Guest.”
Novel, “And Then There Were None” is the most popular, with tributes to it including 1965’s Hindi-language “Gumnaam,” two Tamil-language films, 1970’s “Nadu Iravil,” and 2011’s “Aduthathu” and 2015’s Kannada-language “Aatagara.”
Other Indian homages to Christie works include 2003’s Bengali-language “Shubho Mahurat” that tips its hat to “The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side,” 2012’s “Grandmaster” that is a tribute to “The A.B.C. Murders” and 2016’s “Chorabali” that celebrates “Cards on the Table.”
