Shashi Tharoor’s 2018 non-fiction book Why I Am A Hindu will be adapted into a web series by Sheetal Vinod Talwar.
A trailer for the series, which will be narrated by the Congress leader and MP, was released on Wednesday. “I struggle to find the single answer to the question, why I am a Hindu,” Tharoor says in the clip. “And yet today, there are forces in the country who are trying to tear up the fabric of the inclusive Hinduism we know.”
Tharoor’s bestselling book explores the history of Hinduism and its various philosophies and schools of thought. It compares this with the religion’s contemporary understanding and stresses its pluralist roots in the light of the rise of Hindu nationalism.
In a press statement, Tharoor said, “In any time and era, an adaptation of this book into film would be relevant, but in the current political, social and cultural environment it is imperative that the message of true Hinduism – the Hinduism of acceptance reach the widest audience possible.”
Talwar, who has produced the Hindi films Mausam (2011), Dharm (2007) and Rann (2010) apart from several American movies, said that he felt the need to speak up after reading the book. “When I finished reading Why I am Hindu, it just shook me,” Talwar said in the press note. “And I was ashamed that as someone whose profession is to voice, I had not raised my voice and done nothing while the inherent integrity of our pluralism was being threatened.”
Various filmmakers will be roped in to direct the series, which is looking to be released in the first quarter of 2019 in different languages, according to the press note. Other details are yet to be announced.
