“Bridgerton” star Charithra Chandran is lending her voice to upcoming BBC animated sitcom “Nikhil & Jay.”
based on the books by Chitra Soundar, the series follows the adventures of two young Indian/British dual heritage brothers and their adorable family.
“With both Indian and English grandparents, their life is a rich blend of customs, traditions, festivals, foods and music,” reads the logline. “‘Nikhil & Jay’ celebrates the similarities and differences with funny and relatable stories that authentically represent dual heritage British Asian children and are full of warmth, heart and humour.”
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The adaptation is set to launch on BBC kids service CBeebies later this year.
Chandran, who is of British Tamil heritage, will play the boys’ mother Amma. As well as playing debutante Edwina Sharma in “Bridgerton,” she has appeared in “Alex Rider” and “How to Date Billy Walsh” and is set to appear in the series “Dune Prophecy.”
“It’s really wonderful to see a show like this on the BBC and to see my culture specifically represented. I never had anything like this when I was growing up,” said Chandran.
Playing brothers Nikhil and Jay are 7-year olds Shiv Senthilkumar and Sai Ganesh Nadesan while Ben Harris plays the boys’ dad Appa. Rounding out the cast are Janine Duvitski as Nana, Mark Benton as grandpa Jim, Janaki Sabesh as granny Ammamma, Ravi Swami as grandpa Thatha, Tez Ilyas as neighbour Mr Awan and Harriet Carmichael plays family cat Max. Michelle Jones of Brilliant Casting cast the series.
King Banana TV (“Yakka Dee!”), Paper Owl Films (“Pablo”) produce while CAKE (“Angry Birds Summer Madness”) exec produce and distribute the series. Northern Ireland Screen contributed funding.
