Cannot wait to dive back into the stories of my motherland: Freida Pinto bags TV adaptation of 'The Henna Artist'

By IANS

on August 17, 2020

Actress Freida Pinto of Slumdog Millionaire fame will star in and produce the TV series on The Henna Artist.

The Henna Artist, Alka Joshi's bestselling debut novel, is based on 17-year old Lakshmi, who escapes from an abusive marriage and makes her way alone to the 1950s pink city of Jaipur. There, she becomes the most highly requested henna artist and confidante to the wealthy women of the upper class. But trusted with the secrets of the wealthy, she never can reveal her own.

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Ok World! It's finally here. I have been patiently waiting to share this exciting news! I am so proud and honoured to be producing/starring in The Henna Artist. This book was on @reesesbookclub for the month of May and so a special shoutout to the awesome @reesewitherspoon for constantly introducing the world to wonderful, unique stories that keep our imagination alive and creativity flowing. @thealkajoshi is a phenomenal author who has painted a breathtaking world of India where the female characters are complex, nuanced and fight to have agency. Where the Indian culture of art and healing are both explored in depth and respected at the same time. I cannot imagine doing this with anyone other than my producing partner, my dear friend, Michael Edelstein. When Michael asked me to read The Henna Artist and invited me to produce this with him, I simply knew he could already see the future of this book in his experienced eyes and it was about to be groundbreaking. Together, we have a beautiful dream for this book that we are so excited to bring it to life. Thank you to Miramax TV for believing in this project, Marc Helwig and his entire team. To my fab team at CAA - Hylda, Ben, Harrison and Leah and my awesome manager Larry- your unwavering support and belief in me enables me to push the envelope and do all the things I dream of doing. Also, thank you Lakshmi Shastri - You empower me!

A post shared by Freida Pinto (@freidapinto) on Aug 14, 2020 at 1:05pm PDT

"'The Henna Artist' has tremendous potential to become that bingeable, high-quality, multilayered television show that honours the glory and beauty of India, its culture and its people," said Pinto, reports deadline.com.

Reading the book, Pinto was drawn to Lakshmi, "the kind of character I'd been dying to seek my teeth into". "As an actress, I cannot wait to dive back into the stories of my motherland and make my women (and my men) of all backgrounds, with all their good and their complexities, feel seen and heard," said the actress, who was born and raised in India.