Netflix is making waves in India with localised content and the most recent on the list is Bard of Blood, a series which has some big Bollywood names associated with it. Produced by Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment, this spy thriller series is based on the 2015 novel of the same name written by Bilal Siddiqi.
The series, whose trailer was released on Thursday, looks like a high octane drama with plenty of action.
It opens with Indian spies held hostage and executed in Balochistan, Pakistan. Enter Emraan Hashmi as ‘Adonis’, aka Kabir Anand, a seemingly nondescript school teacher who is also a troubled and, apparently, disgraced spy. Adonis is sent into Balochistan along with two others – Isha Khanna, played by Made in Heaven fame Sobhita Dhulipala, and Veer, played by Vineet Kumar. We see Emraan taking risks, much to the displeasure of his colleagues, and beating people up in scenes peppered with plenty of gunfights, explosions and car chases.
Others starring in the series include Kirti Kulhari, Jaideep Ahlawat, and Rajit Kapoor. Created by Bilal Siddiqi and Gaurav Verma, Bard of Blood is directed by Ribhu Dasgupta.
A promotional video featuring Shah Rukh Khan and Emraan Hashmi was also released. It showed an interrogation where Shah Rukh, who is questioning Adonis – Emraan’s character ends up being the interrogated. The narrative, while comical, establishes Emraan’s character as a smart, risk-taking agent that he likely plays in Bard of Blood.
The series will release in India on 27 September 2019.