EXCLUSIVE: The Night Manager’s Indian remake launches this week and its stars are now set to feature on the cover of the original John le Carre novel — a first for an Indian series.
Stars Anil Kapoor and Aditya Roy Kapur will appear on a re-issue of the novel, which was first published in 1993, following an discussions involving Disney+ Hotstar, The Manager Rights owner The Ink Factory and Penguin Random House India.
This is believed to be the first time characters from an Indian series have appeared on an international bestseller. It provides more momentum for the buzzy series, which launches in India on Disney+ Hotstar on February 17 under the Hotstar Specials brand. The Ink Factory and Banijay Asia made the show, with Sandeep Modi the showrunner.
In the series, Kapoor and Kapur take on the roles Hugh Laurie and Tom Hiddlestone first made famous in the BBC and AMC series back in 2016. Sobhita Dhulipala, Tillotama Shome, Saswata Chatterjee and Ravi Behl also star.
The espionage drama follows a hotel manager and former soldier who decides to take down an illegal arms dealer.
“The Night Manager is John Le Carré’s best-known work of espionage writing,” said Manoj Satti, Group Vice President – International Product & Marketing, Penguin Random House India. This is a moment of absolute joy for us to witness an international book of such renown being made into an Indian OTT show. We hope this endeavor spreads the thrill of reading Mr. Carré’s works amongst a wider audience set.”
Le Carre’s sons Nick, Stephen and Simon Cornwell said in a statement: “Moments like these prove how well the story has traveled, and how it has echoed across the globe. And it’s incredibly exciting to see two of Bollywood’s greatest actors, Anil Kapoor and Aditya Roy Kapur, on the cover of the book.”
Head of Content for Disney+ Hotstar and HSM Entertainment Network for Disney Star Gaurav Banerjee said the agreement was “such a strong validation of what we have done with the Indian version.”
“The Night Manager has been a very special project for me. I’m a huge fan of the book and for our poster to make it to the cover of the book it’s based on, we couldn’t have asked for more,” said Kapur.
Last week, we sat down with Kapoor, Ink Factory co-CEO Simon Cornwell and Modi ahead of the show’s launch.