Idris Elba's detective John Luther is getting a Bollywood counterpart, with actor Ajay Devgn playing the lead role in the Indian adaptation of the hit British show Luther.
Called Rudra - The Edge of Darkness, the series, which also marks Devgn's foray into the small screen, will premiere on Disney+ Hotstar and will be produced by BBC Studios India and Applause Entertainment.
"Happy to announce the crime thriller of the year Hotstar Specials Rudra - The Edge Of Darkness. This one's going to be 'killer'," Devgn posted on social media on Tuesday.
The 52-year-old actor and director, who is known for playing cops in many of his films, said in a statement he was drawn to the complex lead character.
“Playing a cop on screen is not new to me, but this time the character is more intense and dark. What drew me most to his persona, is that he is possibly the greyest character you may come across in recent times.”
He also added that he wanted to “raise the bar of entertainment in India”.
"My attempt has always been to tell unique stories and work with good talent. The digital world excites me, and I am looking forward to working with Applause and BBC to bring this series to life on Disney+ Hotstar. Rudra – The Edge of Darkness is a compelling and highly intriguing story and I can't wait to begin this new journey," he said.
In Luther, Elba plays a dedicated but sometimes violent police officer who gets consumed by the dark crimes he investigates.
The BBC show, which ran for five series, has won Elba a number of awards and Emmy nominations.
“The narrative is bold and genre-defining, crafted not just for metro audiences but also appealing to hundreds of millions of users across the country. We’re thrilled to have Ajay Devgn headline the series and we are certain that his fans would be happy to see him in a new avatar,” said Sunil Rayan, the president of Disney+ Hotstar.
Production is set to begin soon across Mumbai, but may face delays as India grapples with rising coronavirus cases, which has resulted in film shoots being temporarily banned.
Disney+ Hotstar already has a number of British adaptations on its streaming service, including Indian versions of The Office and Criminal Justice.
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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