Taaha Shah Badusha, Paresh Pahuja, Aakanksha Singh and Nikita Dutta have been roped in to lead Karan Johar’s new series ‘Nazdikyan’ from Dharmatic Entertainment on India’s Prime Video.
Variety understands that the project is an adaptation of Johar’s 2006 film ‘Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna’.
Produced by Johar, Adar Poonawalla and Apoorva Mehta, the series follows two couples whose lives undergo upheaval as their spouses are drawn into an all-consuming relationship and each is forced to choose between duty and desire. The logline is very similar to Johar’s film ‘Kabhi Arvida Na Kehna’, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, Preity Zinta and Abhishek Bachchan, about marital dissatisfaction and infidelity.
Directed by Ruchill Arun, the film is written by Priyanka Bannerjee, Prateek Payodi, Abhinandan Sridhar and Heem Verma, with dialogues by Preity Mangain.
For Badusha, the project marks a return to the Dharma fold after ‘Gippi’ and ‘Baar Baar Dekho’, and follows a career-defining development in director Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Heeramandi’, in which he played Nawab Tajdar on Netflix. The Emirati actor, who made his screen debut in Luv Ka The End, has also appeared in Taj: Divided by Blood and Ranchi Diaries, and rose to international fame with Paro – The Untold Story of Bride Slavery, which dealt with bride trafficking.
“I feel very special today,” the actor said. “From being a part of Dharma’s ‘Gippi’ and ‘Baar Baar Dekho’ to collaborating with Karan Johar again, it feels like a full circle journey. After working with Mr. Sanjay Leela Bhansali, I am excited to explore a whole new space with ‘Nazdikyan’.” I am grateful and really looking forward for the audience to experience it. ”
